An increasing number of people and organisations in the Netherlands conduct measurements in their own living environment. The RIVM project Measure Together has been facilitating this citizen science infrastructure in the past eight years. As part of this project, dozens of citizen initiatives and around 4,000 sensors have been put in place. No fewer than five billion air quality measurements and two billion noise measurements are now available on samenmeten.rivm.nl. In addition to an abundance of extra data, the measurements have sparked a dialogue between citizens, scientists and the government. The infrastructure also includes technical options for supplying, analysing and visualising data. This and more can be found in the report ‘Data, dialogue and infrastructure: the benefits of eight years of Measure Together’.
The Measure Together project is an initiative of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. A key part of this project is to research the value of measurements conducted by citizens. Because many different parties are involved, trust in national monitoring might grow. By investing in the Measure Together infrastructure, we are building towards the measurement network of the future.
Sensor data: a welcome addition
Low-cost sensors provide key additional information on, for example, local sources or concentration peaks. Conversely, the comparison with official measurements enhances the quality of sensor data. So far, the sensors are not an adequate alternative to the official measurements, as their quality varies.
Sensors measuring particulate matter have been installed in approximately nine out of ten Dutch municipalities. Measure Together can also be used for other substances and different measurement techniques. For example, many schools participate in projects where students measure nitrogen dioxide using tubes, or particulate matter using a sensor mounted on their bike.
Measure Together enhances mutual understanding and trust
Measure Together facilitates cooperation and dialogue between the government, citizens and knowledge institutions. This contributes to a shared understanding and trust in the monitoring of environmental quality.
Proper infrastructure aids new initiatives
Measure Together has grown into a national infrastructure for measurements conducted by citizens in the living environment. It offers a technical solution to practical challenges, such as storage, analysis and visualisation options for all measurements. Measure Together has also contributed to a community of local measurement initiatives. This allows new initiatives to be launched quickly, for example to provide a fuller picture of the state of the local environment.