Build a mobile app to empower citizen scientists in support of the Sustainable Development Goals

The best apps will be showcased at the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) 2019, in Geneva Switzerland.

People around the world are continuously affected by shocks from different origins including natural disasters, economic shocks, health emergencies, social conflict and war. Building the capacity of communities to respond, mitigate and recover from shocks is critical for sustainable development. New technologies, particularly those digitally enabled, have the potential to strengthen the resilience of communities. For instance, they enable rapid data collection about the safety and location of people during natural disasters.

Rapid data collection by people on the ground, can expand the capacity of Governments and other organizations to capture data to understand a phenomena or event. This crowdsourced data can then be analyzed for scientific purposes or to respond to emergencies effectively.

Can you develop (or share your existing open source) mobile phone app that serves as a platform for quick deployment of citizen science projects?

This app could reduce the costs of starting citizen science projects, as well as help standardize data collection, potentially multiplying the value of citizen science contributions.

Background

The CSTD is the UN forum for the examination of science and technology questions and their implications for development. The next session of the CSTD will take place in May 2019 bringing together representatives from its forty-three-member countries to discuss “The role of STI in building resilient communities, including through citizen science”. UNCTAD, the Secretariat of the CSTD will use the materials you send through this challenge to showcase the potential of citizen science to support a resilient and sustainable future. The materials will inform the discussions at the CSTD and a video will be edited and shared at through the Internet.

Deliverables

A mobile App in which a researcher can configure:

• the sensor(s) of the mobile phone which will be used to capture data e.g. accelerometer or motion sensing, camera, GPS, accelerometer or motion sensing, temperature, atmospheric pressure, etc.
• the labels (text) shown to the user (citizen) who will be collecting the data,
• the metadata associated with the data collections,
• the destination of the data after it is collected (a web service, e-mail address, messaging app e.g. WhatsApp, etc.)

A video (2 minutes maximum) presenting your app. It may include your presentation, images, charts, animations, data visualizations, live footage, etc.

Rewards

• The apps selected will be showcased at the CSTD 2019 
• The videos selected will be aggregated into a short documentary (edited)

Timeline

• Launch the challenge: 15 November 2018
• Final day for submissions: 15 March 2019
• Evaluation of submissions completed: April 2019
• Announcement of winners: May 2019

Open Source & Innovation Principles

All the inputs and outputs of this project must be covered by recognized open source and creative commons licensing. You will be asked to accept terms and conditions prior to submitting any content. It is encouraged that teams leverage and extend existing open source frameworks.

Throughout this challenge, the participants will be encouraged to follow the Principles for Digital Development, which have been developed by United Nations Agencies Funds and Programmes and endorsed by International Organizations worldwide. See: https://digitalprinciples.org

Contact points

Mr. Clovis Freire, UNCTAD
Dr. Jonathan D. Paul, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London
Mr. Jorge Martinez Navarrete, UN-OICT
Contact them by creating your account on Unite Ideas.

Get started!
Click on "Post Idea", register to the Unite Ideas website, and then post your draft or even just the title of your preliminary idea. This lets the challenge team invite you to special discussions or information sessions about this challenge. You will be able to edit your idea until the last day of the submission phase.