Global data gaps highlight why citizen science has now become essential for official statistics

For more than three decades, DHS provided vital demographic and health data on population, health, HIV, and nutrition in over 90 countries. Its termination leaves major gaps in tracking the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

This issue has highlighted the key risks of overreliance on a single country or institution to provide a global, top-down survey approach that places minimal responsibility and financial investment on individual countries for their own data collection. In addition, growing financial pressures on statistical systems and their capacity to monitor the SDGs are a global concern affecting countries across all income levels. Many high-income countries, particularly European ones, are experiencing similar challenges as national budgets are being diverted to increased defense spending. Along with these budget cuts comes a risk that perceived efficiency gains from AI are increasingly viewed as a pretense to put further budgetary pressure on National Statistical Offices (NSOs). In this evolving environment, the authors argue that citizen science, which to date has been considered as a complementary approach to official statistics, may now need to play a more central role, and become more integrated into national and global data ecosystems.

“The end of the DHS leaves a data vacuum. Citizen science offers a powerful way to fill this gap while engaging people directly in the issues that affect their lives,” says Dilek Fraisl, lead author and senior researcher in the Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability (NODES) Research Group of the IIASA Advancing Systems Analysis Program. “In a time when many countries face financial pressures on their statistical systems, citizen science provides timely, cost-efficient, and flexible data that can strengthen official statistics in the long term.”

The piece, published in Nature Communications Sustainability, is coauthored with IIASA colleagues Linda See, Inian Moorthy, and Ian McCallum, alongside experts from the global statistics and UN community, including the Director General of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) and Chairman of the UN Statistical Commission, the Chief Statistician of the OECD, and senior experts from Ghana and the University of Geneva.

The authors argue that citizen science – data generated by volunteers and communities – should no longer be seen as supplementary but systematically integrated into national and global statistical systems. Their analysis shows that citizen science could support 60% of SDG indicators currently dependent on household survey data, with particularly strong potential for SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.

“Citizen science is often associated with environmental and biodiversity research, but its applications extend far beyond that, covering areas from health and wellbeing to the social sciences,” explains Linda See who is also a senior researcher in the NODES Research Group. “A pilot initiative in Ghana, for example, used citizen science to measure satisfaction with public services, informing SDG indicators on peace, justice, and strong institutions. Such projects demonstrate how citizen science can reach underserved groups and adapt to local contexts.”

The commentary also sets out a roadmap for integrating citizen science into official statistical systems, addressing challenges such as data quality, participation bias, and sustainable financing.

“This is about making statistical systems more resilient. By integrating citizen science, we can build adaptive, inclusive, and sustainable approaches to data collection worldwide,” emphasizes Ian McCallum, who leads the NODES Research Group at IIASA.

Reference
Fraisl, D., See, L., MacFeely, S., Moorthy, I., Ulrich, G.-S., Seidu, O., Grey, F., Schütz, S., McCallum, I. (2025) Citizen science is now essential for official statistics Nature Communications Sustainability nature.com/articles/s44458-025-00008-4

Researcher contact

Dilek Fraisl
Senior Researcher 
Advancing Systems Analysis Program
Tel: +43 2236 807 398
fraisl@iiasa.ac.at

Linda See
Senior Researcher
Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group
Advancing Systems Analysis Program
Tel: +43 2236 807 423
see@iiasa.ac.at

Inian Moorthy
Research Scholar
Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group
Advancing Systems Analysis Program
moorthy@iiasa.ac.at

Ian McCallum
Research Group Leader and Principal Research Scholar
Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group
Advancing Systems Analysis Program
Tel: +43 676 83 807 328
mccallum@iiasa.ac.at

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Bettina Greenwell
IIASA Press Office
Tel: +43 2236 807 282
greenwell@iiasa.ac.at

About IIASA:

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change that we face in the twenty-first century. Our findings provide valuable options to policymakers to shape the future of our changing world. IIASA is independent and funded by prestigious research funding agencies in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.