Objectif Sciences International

Participatory Research Project Creation – Permanent Call for Proposals

Thomas EGLI — 2026-01-25T16:24:40Z

Universities - Laboratories - Research Centers...

Gain for your research:

funding,
support for production,
and strengthened mobilization of results.

Do you have a research question, a need for knowledge, a field site or community in mind and want to broaden it through a Participatory Research initiative or project? Let's work together to design the project that suits you.

For over 30 years, the NGO OSI has promoted Participatory Research activities across all continents, including in support of Governmental Policies for Sustainable Development.

Respond to the Ongoing Call for Proposals by the NGO Objectif Sciences International.

Enjoy a simple and lightweight process: an express form (30–60 seconds), with no commitment, followed by a short qualification to frame the core of the project.

Increase your scientific output by broadening the research spectrum (multi-site, multi-audience)
Enable knowledge transfer and mobilization through the participatory dimension
Trigger and obtain additional funding thanks to operational formats of Participatory Research (scientific trips, hackathons, classes, observer networks, data challenges, etc.)

OSI and Participatory Research

1992: Launch of OSI's first Participatory Research project

2005: Pilot year: all children's and teenagers' science trips, school discovery classes, educational travel, and family trips are dedicated to real research and produce scientific results across all fields

2011: Granted Special Consultative Status with the UN (ECOSOC), and start of partnerships with UNESCO, UNEP, UN-Habitat...

2022: Co-Chair of the Selection Committee for the French National Research Agency's Participatory Research Call for Projects

Why this Call for Proposals?

Participatory research enables “more and better,” and “with”: more data, more fieldwork, more perspectives, and results more easily usable by society (public authorities, local governments, associations, companies, educational audiences...). Of course, there are many other benefits from the societal (engagement) and individual (capacity building, discernment, scientific literacy) perspectives as well.

The NGO Objectif Sciences International maintains this page with a Continuous Call for Proposals to help you initiate, shape, and deploy Participatory Research projects that strengthen at once:

scientific production (multi-site data collection, robust protocols, structured contributions),
transfer/mobilization of results (from the design stage, not just “at the end”),
the capacity to fund scientific production (fieldwork, facilitation, dissemination) via operational formats compatible with research.

A lightweight process

More than 30 years of experience are made available to you, including through an agile and entrepreneurial approach dedicated to designing Participatory Research projects, allowing for a lightweight journey designed to avoid burdening research teams at the proposal stage.

Step 1 — Express submission (30–60 seconds)

You outline the essentials via a short form, no documents to produce, no commitment.

Step 2 — Short qualification

OSI will contact you for a brief exchange to clarify the core of the project: research question, field, type of participation, possible trajectory, constraints, implementation and funding opportunities.

Step 3 — Optional project prototype framing

If interest and alignment are there, a short (video) session is held to turn the idea into an operational prototype (sketch): simple protocol, participation, data quality, format, timeline, dissemination.

Step 4 — Implementation (in chosen format)

Field coordination, followed by scale-up (multi-site / multi-season), publication and dissemination according to your strategy.

What you gain

1) Support for scientific production

broadened research scope (multi-site, multi-audience, multi-context),
faster field data collection,
improved ability to test protocols “under real conditions.”

2) Results mobilization integrated from the start

transfer, usage, appropriation: considered from the beginning,
structured dissemination and outreach (scientific + societal),
recognition and traceability of contributions (participants, partners, territories).

3) Additional funding through implementation formats

Depending on the format, the NGO can provide direct or indirect co-funding:

participation / training revenues (to fund field costs, logistics, participant facilitation),
public/private co-funding, sponsors, territorial programs, accessible due to the format chosen for the Participatory Research project,
foundations / philanthropy, funding one or several project components aligned with their goals,
dissemination / valorization budgets that complement the scientific core, through various pre-existing mechanisms.

Who can submit a proposal?

This Call for Proposals is deliberately inclusive: Participatory Research can stem from a scientific question, a local need, an association-driven issue, or a student project — and can then be strengthened with the right partners.

You can submit as:

Laboratory / University / Research center
Public authority (municipality, regional entity, natural park, public service…)
Association / NGO / collective
Students (master's work, group, PhD candidates, student association, junior enterprise…)
Company / startup (if relevant for transfer, implementation, or tools)
Citizens / field experts (if sponsorship is possible or can be built)

Even without a partner already identified, you can submit: OSI can assist with matching (lab, territory, participant network, dissemination partner, etc.) at various national or international events throughout the year.

What is eligible

To submit, you simply need:

a research question or need for knowledge,
a potential field/community (even broad: a territory, a network, a public, an ecosystem, a sector…).

Proposals are accepted at all levels of maturity:

idea / intuition,
already formulated question,
ongoing project (to scale / amplify / industrialize),
project ready for “landing” (valorize, disseminate, transfer, sustain).

Types of projects sought

The page welcomes a continuum, from “data collection” to “co-constructed”:

Participatory Science: public contribution to data collection / observation / interpretation (structured crowdsourcing).
Participatory Research: co-construction from the outset (question, method, analysis, dissemination) with societal actors.

Open themes: all. Technologies, physics, chemistry, electronics, energy, transport, paleontology, archaeology, meteorology, oceanography, environment, health, education, culture, territories, transitions, biodiversity, climate, water, risks, humanities, integrated agriculture, regenerative economy…

Priority to topics where participatory approaches truly scale up speed, geographic diversity, or result mobilization.

And extra credit for projects that can engage the public in fundamental research or in support of sustainable development!

Possible operational formats

OSI has a library of formats compatible with Participatory Research, such as:

Scientific trips / scientific expeditions / camps
Discovery classes / school projects
Hackathons / bootcamps (proto + data + tools)
Observer networks & multi-site campaigns
Data challenges / gamification (image analysis, classification, etc.)

These formats are fundable because they allow for mobilizing:

participation (field / training / supervised experience),
territorial partnerships,
public, strategic, international funding,
support from foundations / philanthropy,
dissemination and valorization budgets,
while strengthening scientific production.

What Objectif Sciences International provides

Goal: zero unnecessary burden for research teams, and maximum robustness on implementation.

Depending on the project, OSI can provide:

Participatory engineering: participation design + data quality
Community engagement: recruitment, engagement, retention
Logistics & pedagogy: for trips/school/hackathon formats
Communication & dissemination: science + general public + partners
Financial planning support: packaging, budgeting, partners, adaptations
Field deployment: multi-site coordination, tools, operational monitoring

How the project is dimensioned after qualification

After the one-click submission and brief project outline discussion, OSI helps you clarify:

the scientific core (question, hypothesis, indicators, simple protocol),
the type of participation (who contributes, how, with what safeguards),
the format (trip, network, school, hackathon, data challenge…),
the timeline (season, fieldwork, constraints),
the trajectory: pilot → scale-up → publication/dissemination → sustainability.

Trusted framework: what you validate and control

The Lightweight Process ensures rigor without burden at the start.
You retain control over:

principles of transparency and recognition of contributions,
open science when relevant and possible,
intellectual property / licensing options (open / hybrid / transfer),
data and consent management where necessary,
ethics, safety, scientific integrity standards.

Submit a proposal (30–60 seconds)

No commitment – no heavy documents – fast response for qualification

Minimum information required:

who you are (category + contact),
a short title,
your research question / knowledge need,
your field / community,
the type of approach (Participatory Science / Participatory Research / not sure),
the envisaged format (trip, hackathon, class, network, data challenge…),
what you are mainly seeking (protocol, participants/sites, lab partner, territory partner, funding, dissemination…).

Submit in 60 seconds

FAQ

If I'm not from a lab, do I need to already have a lab partner?
No. You can submit with just a question and an intended field. OSI can assist with matching.

How long does it really take?
Submission is designed to take less than a minute. The qualification exchange is short (40-minute video call).

What maturity levels are accepted?
From an idea to an ongoing project, or a project ready to be valorized / disseminated / transferred.

Is this compatible with scientific publications?
Yes: the goal is to increase available data, strengthen production, and boost publications for the scientific partner, with contributor recognition included in these additional articles.

What types of funding are possible?
Depending on the chosen Participatory Research format(s), many types of funding can be brought to the project, such as participation/training for field costs, public co-funding, financial instruments, foundations/philanthropy, dissemination/valorization budgets, territorial partnerships.

How are participants/contributors recognized?
Depending on the project: acknowledgments, cited contributions, described roles, traceability, involvement in outreach events, with clear rules established during project framing.

Contact

Any questions before submitting? Write to us: info-un osi-ngo.org
Or submit directly: see the form above

Global Alliance of Citizen Science for Ocean

Thomas EGLI, Chloé LAROSE — 2024-09-18T11:05:00Z

The Global Citizen Science Alliance for Ocean is a global initiative that invites everyone to take action for ocean conservation by participating in concrete scientific research.

Data collection, collaborative games, educational workshops: the project brings together citizens, schools, and researchers in a shared dynamic.

Accessible to all, it builds bridges between science, engagement, and local action, across the world.

Science can no longer be the concern of a few, nor the ocean the concern of none: a global alliance to connect perspectives, connect knowledge, and unite commitments around the Ocean.

Click here to view the official commitment.

The Global Citizen Science Alliance for Ocean is a global initiative that aims to build an international alliance of citizen science applied to the ocean, structured around four pillars: field data collection, participatory digital tools (including gamification), environmental education, and South-North cooperation. It draws on local dynamics driven by 'Ocean Clubs', strengthened by international scientific and educational infrastructures. The project places particular focus on Central and West Africa, aiming to reduce disparities in access to research, while contributing to the knowledge, protection, and sustainable governance of marine ecosystems.

The Global Citizen Science Alliance for Ocean is set against a backdrop of increasing pressure on marine ecosystems. Climate change, biodiversity collapse, pollution (plastic, noise, chemical), and unsustainable extractive practices are threatening oceanic balance. Faced with these systemic challenges, academic research, though essential, cannot alone meet the urgency of the ecological crisis. A more open, collaborative, distributed, and inclusive production of knowledge is emerging as a key strategic lever. In this context, the project offers a model of global participatory research Participatory Research see : http://www.voyages-scientifiques.com , rooted in citizen engagement, technological innovation, and interdisciplinarity. It seeks to strengthen local capacities to observe, understand, and document the state of marine environments, while bridging scientific knowledge, local knowledge, and active pedagogy. This project aligns with SDG 14 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and fits within the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. From the Arctic to West Africa, from island archipelagos to urban coastal zones, the initiative brings together a wide diversity of actors (e.g., scientists, educators, students, citizens), around a common mission: to make the ocean visible, understandable, and protected through an unprecedented global mobilization.

The Global Citizen Science Alliance for Ocean is an international participatory science initiative that enables everyone—youth, families, schools, associations, curious citizens—to actively engage in ocean protection. It aims to make scientific research a collective and accessible endeavor, mobilizing a wide range of audiences through field activities, digital tools, and innovative educational formats.

This global project seeks to build an international alliance of citizen science applied to the ocean, based on four complementary pillars: i) field activities, through citizen-collected data; ii) digital tools that enable large-scale participation (including gamification); iii) educational initiatives, adapted to different contexts; and iv) South-North cooperation aimed at building local capacities and reducing inequities in access to research. It is rooted in local dynamics supported by international scientific and educational infrastructure, with a particular focus on Central and West Africa, identified as priority development zones. The project revolves around Ocean Clubs, self-declared groups that emerge locally across all continents, initiated by students, teachers, researchers, or community organizations. These clubs act as hubs for action and research, supported by an international network of experts and institutions. Equipped with sensors, drones, mobile applications, or underwater cameras, participants collect data on marine biodiversity, water quality, pollution, or the effects of climate change. All data are structured according to open protocols and transmitted to a shared database, sometimes in real time, via networks such as Terra Forma.

But the project goes beyond data collection. The data are integrated into a massive multiplayer educational video game, co-designed with Massively Multiplayer Online Science, the Computer Science School at McGill University, and a recognized game developer. Players around the world complete scientific missions: identifying species, classifying plankton images, analyzing sound recordings. Inspired by the Project Discovery model (EVE Online), this system transforms scientific analysis into a collaborative challenge, combining rigor, accessibility, and enjoyment.

The project also helps strengthen ocean education and scientific literacy. It develops pedagogical resources for schools and NGOs, supports the integration of marine environment content into educational curricula, and promotes systems like “blue passports” to recognize citizen engagement. Special attention is given to regions often overlooked by major oceanographic campaigns, Central and West Africa, Pacific Islands, indigenous coastal communities, by supporting the creation of local research centers and the inclusion of traditional knowledge in global scientific dynamics.

Led through a multi-stakeholder governance model, the project already brings together over a dozen partners (e.g., universities, research centers, NGOs, public institutions) based in France, Canada, the United States, and beyond. Engaged scientists contribute to defining protocols and validating data. A steering committee composed of representatives from each partner will ensure strategic coordination and project deployment, especially ahead of its official launch at the United Nations Ocean Conference in 2025.

Main Objectives

The Global Citizen Science Alliance for Ocean is structured around three core pillars, scientific production, citizen engagement, and educational innovation, integrated into a systemic approach to marine conservation. Cross-cutting objectives include building local capacities, opening new international partnerships, and supporting large-scale data structuring.

1) Producing scientific data through citizen participation: The project aims to generate reliable, relevant, and geographically diverse environmental data through a global network of Ocean Clubs. Citizens, whether students, teachers, fishers, or volunteers, are trained to use accessible tools (sensors, drones, underwater cameras, mobile apps) to measure biodiversity, water quality, pollutants, or climate effects. Guided by shared protocols, results are transmitted in real time to an open-access database (via networks like Terra Forma) and shared with scientific partners. The goal is to enhance observational capacity in under-monitored regions, particularly in Central and West Africa.

2) Deploying a digital platform for collaborative science: Field-collected data are transformed into interactive missions within a massively multiplayer educational game, developed with MMOS, McGill University, and a partner game studio. Players are invited to analyze real scientific data (plankton images, acoustic signals, pollution measurements), contributing to cross-validation while raising environmental awareness. This innovative approach, already tested in Project Discovery, mobilizes a wide public, including those far from coastlines. Beyond gaming, the initiative develops open digital tools, including a data platform, interactive maps, and visualization interfaces accessible to researchers, citizens, and decision-makers.

3) Strengthening environmental education and citizen engagement: The project embeds participatory science into both formal and informal education systems: open-source pedagogical resources, teacher training modules, school activities, public workshops, events, etc. It supports schools, NGOs, and local authorities in adopting marine issues, and recognizes engagement through tools like the “blue passport.” The aim is to develop a shared ocean literacy in support of ecological transition. Priority is given to historically underrepresented territories by supporting the creation of local citizen research centers, as seen in initiatives in Cameroon and Small Island Developing States.

4) Structuring international scientific and territorial cooperation: The project contributes to a strengthened cooperation dynamic around the sustainable blue economy, marine pollution mitigation, illegal fishing, and ecosystem resilience. It aims to build bridges between scientific actors, coastal territories, public institutions, and educational networks. This ambition includes consolidating a shared technical framework and supporting local research and observation policies, following a model of scientific diplomacy and shared development.

These four dimensions reinforce one another to create a scalable, reproducible model of citizen science at the global level. Supported by multi-stakeholder governance, the project aims to foster a generation of citizen-researchers and pilot territories at the heart of the oceanic ecological transition.