Mapping hydro-ecological citizen science activities to inform research infrastructure design (Chess Catchment, UK)

The UK's Floods and Droughts Research Infrastructure (FDRI) is a £38M government investment, aiming to catalyse hydrological research and innovation by improving hydrological datasets and providing a suite of supporting services. Citizen Science (CS) activities are now abundant in the UK and are a significant opportunity for integration if existing projects, their objectives, operational barriers and priorities for support can be identified. From user-design principles, we develop a multiple-methods approach mapping CS activities in the River Chess catchment, Buckinghamshire, using a literature review, 12 key informant interviews and thematic analysis. We identify six ecological and five hydrological CS projects. A shared priority among CS projects was that their data collection creates tangible impacts in science, policy or management. As such, the modal recommendation is for research support on practical questions. Delivery of quality research from CS activities can attract greater contributions of time, research and resources by satisfying objectives shared by citizen scientists and their supporting partners. We recommend replication of this scalable method as infrastructures expand, so that they capture opportunities to leverage existing CS projects with mutual benefits.