University of Siena (UNISI)

The University of Siena in Tuscany is one of the oldest universities in Italy. Founded in 1240, the university underwent a massive expansion in the 20th century. The number of faculties increased alongside student numbers, evolving from an original offering of medicine, surgery and law to a broad and diverse academic portfolio across 15 academic departments. Courses are taught in either Italian or English, and summer schools exist for professionals and students looking to develop their specific knowledge in many fields.

Elements	Evidence for this
1.1 Are there research projects using CS methodology? (Yes/ No) If yes, provide description of any tracked past and present projects employing CS, Crowdsourcing, Participatory-Action-Research or a Co-productive approach. For definition of citizen science, see ECSA characteristics of citizen science	Yes, the project Polli:Bright/X-Polli:Nation, raising awareness of the importance of pollinating insects and increasing knowledge of their presence and distribution, especially in urban areas. The project mainly involves primary and secondary schools. Valli verdi is a project for mapping resources and public paths in the Valli Verdi in Siena for a new planning of these areas. Women@DIISM, was born in 2021 at Department of Information Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Siena. The research in the engineering and mathematical area is seeing a constant expansion. However number of women doing research in these areas is low, even if is in constant growth. The association has the objective of creating opportunities to keep the group cohesive, to promote the diffusion of research and the diffusion of knowledge about research scholarship dedicated to women in tech and mathematics.
1.2 Do researchers and students belong to a CS network? (Yes/No) If yes, provide details of the different links with CS networks. A citizen science network can be formal (e.g. an association or organisation) or informal (a shared mailing list)	Single research staff members do but not the institution itself
1.3 Do researchers and students have established working collaborations with CS groups? (Yes/ No) If yes, state name of projects and type of collaboration with external CS groups or projects. External CS groups can be an existing organisations or ad-hoc nature observation club, or a group of people that are self-quantifying. It can also be a collaboration with an organisation that runs CS programmes such as Earthwatch.	Single research staff members do but not the institution itself
1.4 Do researchers and students participation in national or international CS projects? (Yes, national; Yes, international; Yes, both national and international; No CS collaborations yet) If yes, provide a brief description of past and present cases. In some countries there are no official networks, such as the UK, but informal networks can run and be active	Single research staff members do but not the institution itself
2.1 Does the institution have training programmes on CS? (Yes, for students;Yes, for researchers; Yes, for citizen scientist; Yes, for different actors [state]; No, training programmes) If yes, provide a brief description of past and present training programmes	Yes, there are some courses that introduce citizen sciences (to students) as part of their syllabus
2.2 Does the institution provide CS activities in both formal and informal education? (Yes, formal; Yes, informal; Yes, as part of a research project without a link to education; Yes, a mix of formal and informal[state]; No, no CS activities are organised). If yes, provide a brief description of past and present training programmes	NA
2.3 Does the institution offer assistance for scientists and partners (recipients, stakeholders and groups of interest) regarding cooperative CS activities? (Yes, advice on participatory activities; Yes, courses and training; Yes, both participatory activities and courses and trainings; No, there is no assistante from the institution for CS activities) If yes, provide a brief description of activities.	NA
2.4 Does the institution have “CS champions” at the research level? (Yes, there is a point of contact in the institution; Yes, there is an unofficial champion (person that people get in touch with); Yes, there is a person who pushes citizen science in the institution and promote it; No, there is not such a thing as a CS Champion). If yes, please provide more details about the CS Champion.	Yes, Steven Loiselle is an Associate Professor at the University of Siena (Italy) and a Senior Researcher at Earthwatch Europe.
2.5 Does the institution have more than one CS Champion? (Yes, there are different points of contact in different labs/research groups; Yes, there are different points of contact in different departments; Yes, other [list]; No, there are no more CS champions in the institution). If yes, please provide more details.
2.6 Does the institution have “CS champions” at the student level? (Yes/No). If yes, please provide more details about department/projects with CS student champions.	NA
2.7 Does the institution offer information sessions on CS? (Yes, for researchers; Yes, for students; Yes, for management; No, no information sessions are provided). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
2.8 Does the institution offer informal occasions for interactions with CS researchers? (Yes/ No). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
2.9 Does the institution nurture “CS champions”? (Yes, at the management level; Yes, at the student level; Yes, at the researchers level; No, CS Champions don’t have any institutional recognition). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
2.10 Does the institution include CS into scientific research in university teaching programmes? (Yes, Undergrad 1 programme; Yes, Postgrad 1 programme; Yes, Undergrad multiple programmes; Yes, Postgrad multiple programmes; No, CS is not included in the teaching curricula). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
3.1 Does the institution have an official strategic plan for advancing CS? (Yes, short [a year or less]; Yes, medium [between 1-3 years]; Yes, long term goals [4+ years]) . If yes, please provide more details.	No, there are initiatives to promote third sector (voluntary work) but not explicitly dealing with citizen sceince
3.2 Does the institution promote and fund CS coordinators? (Yes/ No). If yes, please provide more details.	No. But UNISI has applied to become a national center for biodiversity monitoring which hopefully will be funded with the EU recovery fund
3.3 Does the institution promote and fund CS communicators? (Yes/ No). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
3.4 Do the CS projects at the institution receive any Short Term Funding (6-12 months) ? (Yes, full; Yes, partial; Yes, other; No, there are no short term funding options). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
3.5 Do the CS projects at the institution receive any Medium Term Funding (12-36 months)? (Yes, full; Yes, partial; Yes, other; No, there are no medium term funding options). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
3.6 Do the CS projects at the institution receive any Long Term Funding (Over 36 months)? (Yes, full; Yes, partial; Yes, other; No, there are no long term funding options). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
3.7 Does the institution have internal funds that can be used for CS initiatives?  (Yes, public engagement; Yes, science communication; Other, list; No, there are no internal funds available). If yes, please provide more details.	Yes, some funding can be allocated for public participation in research, for example, Women@DIISM was funded by the Department of Information Engineering and Mathematics
3.8 Has any of the CS initiatives in your institution received external funding (research national)? (Yes/ No) . If yes, please provide more details.	Yes, Valli Verdi was locally funded by CESVOT and Polli:Bright/X-Polli:Nation received funding from the Tuscany Environment Foundation
3.9 Has any of the CS initiatives in your institution received external funding (research international)? (Yes/ No). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
3.10 Has any of the CS initiatives in your institution received external funding (Prestige funding [ERC, UKRI future research leaders and other high profile])? (Yes/ No). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
3.11 Has any of the CS initiatives in your institution received external funding (Charity Funding)? (Yes/ No). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
3.12 How many projects were funded in the institution over the past 5 years in the area of citizen science? (provide number)	At least the three documented
3.13 Does the institution offer the researchers adequate communication channels to reach relevant partners? (Yes, support for public communication; Yes, media relations department; Yes, community engagement expertise; No, there is no support to reach relevant partners). If yes, please provide more details.	NA
3.14 Does the institution develop/ make available open and free tools or technical know how solutions that can be used in CS projects? (Yes/No). If yes, please provide more details.	No
4.1 Has the institution adopted explicit mission statements and strategies regarding CS? (Yes/No). If yes, please provide more details.	No
4.2 Has the institution developed institutional norms, regulations, policies or agreements in support of CS? (Yes/No/Other). If yes or other, please provide more details.	No
4.3 Has the institution developed or consider public engagement and CS contributions in the evaluation of researcher? (Yes/No). If yes, please provide more details.	No
4.4 Does the institution have a set of guidelines for collaboration agreements between institutionally-affiliated and independent CS partners? (Yes/No). If yes, please provide more details.	No