NWA Citizen Science Call 2026 (Astrobiology, Origin of life, Biosignatures)

Dear all, We would like to draw your attention to the NWA Citizen Science Call 2026. This call offers citizen collectives the opportunity to investigate a societal question together with professional researchers within one of the NWA routes, including the route The origins of life – on earth and in the universe.

The call is explicitly intended for questions that originate from society. This means that the initiative lies with a citizen collective: a group of engaged citizens organised as, for example, a foundation, association or other official non-profit entity. They bring forward a question that is important to them and that they would like to develop further in collaboration with researchers.

For the Origins route, we are particularly interested in questions related to themes such as the origin and evolution of life, planetary habitability, biosignatures, the relationship between life and its environment, or broader societal questions concerning how we understand, discuss and shape research on life on Earth and beyond. The question does not need to be formulated as a scientific research question yet; the collaboration between the citizen collective and researchers is meant to further refine the question.

When reviewing the submitted questions, the Origins route will consider a limited number of substantive and practical aspects. It is important that the question clearly originates from the citizen collective itself and connects to the themes of the route. We will also consider the feasibility of the idea within the framework of the call, the added value of collaboration between the citizen collective and researchers, and the expected contribution to strengthening the connection between society and scientists working on questions related to the origin and evolution of life. We also consider it important that the results can be shared back in an appropriate way with the involved community or wider society. Initiatives will receive further information about the selection once they are connected to scientists.

Who can submit a question? A citizen collective may participate if it:

• consists of a group of engaged citizens;
• is organised as a foundation, association or other official entity;
  has no profit motive;
• is willing to actively collaborate with researchers and has time available to do so;
  brings forward a question with societal relevance to which research can contribute.

Important dates

• No later than 15 June 2026, 15:00 CEST: citizen collectives submit their question through Citizen Science Nederland.
• June 2026: the submitted questions will be made public, and matchmaking will take place between citizen collectives, researchers and NWA routes.
• Each NWA route may nominate a maximum of two consortia.
• July–September 2026: nominated consortia will develop their joint research plan. A preparatory allowance of €2,500 may be requested for this phase.
• 17 September 2026, 14:00 CEST: deadline for submitting the full joint research plan to NWO.
• December 2026: decision-making by NWO.
• 2027: awarded projects will be carried out, with a maximum duration of 12 months.

Each project may request a maximum budget of €100,000. At least 25% of the total project budget must be spent on citizen science activities, including appropriate compensation for the involvement of the citizen collective.

What do we ask of you?

Do you know a citizen collective, foundation, association or citizen science initiative with a question that may fit the Origins route? Please feel free to share this call with them and encourage them to submit their question by 15 June.

Are you a researcher and do you see opportunities to contribute to a question from a citizen collective? Please also let us know. After 15 June, we will review which submitted questions align well with the Origins route and, where possible, help identify suitable scientific matches.

More information and the submission form can be found via the NWA Citizen Science page of Citizen Science Nederland.

The NWA Citizen Science 2026 brochure with more detailed information can be found here.

Please feel free to share this information with your network. We hope to receive many interesting initiatives.

Astrobiology, Astrobiologie,