ALBATROSS collaborates on a publication in Nature Communications Sustainability

A recent publication in Nature Communications Sustainability, a group of international researchers, led by IIASA and with the participation of the ALBATROSS partner François Grey, from the University of Geneva, explores the potential of citizen science as a suitable source of information for the official data systems that monitor the Sustainable Development Goals.

The loss of major health surveys, supported by the United States Agency for International Development and terminated in February 2025 due to US government budget cuts, constitutes a crisis for official statistics and threatens the tracking of sustainable development, as it leaves a data gap. This situation is particularly dramatic in low- and middle-income countries, where the implementation relies on key indicators related to health and inequality.

To counter this phenomenon, the group of experts advocates in their analysis for citizen science, which involves collecting data generated by volunteers and local communities. They show that this approach must become central and could contribute to 60% of the SDG indicators currently reliant on household surveys.

“The goal is not to completely replace traditional surveys, but to more routinely adopt participatory approaches when it makes sense,” explains the ALBATROSS partner François Grey, co-author of the article and citizen science researcher at the Geneva School of Economics and Management (GSEM) at the University of Geneva (UNIGE). ALBATROSS has supported this piece of research and contributed to it by sharing its experience of using citizen science to collect climate change data and information on its impact on the continent.