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Open call for Creative Practitioners | Art, Design & Citizen Science

The CitiObs project together with the Distributed Design Platform invites artists, designers, makers, and creative practitioners to submit proposals to collaborate with the project as external service providers. This open call aims to contract creative professionals to develop and implement artistic and participatory actions that engage communities in environmental monitoring and citizen science activities connected to air quality and environmental observation.

We are interested in practices that operate at the intersection of arts, design, making, and citizen science, and that treat environmental challenges as cultural, social, and political questions as much as technical ones. The call is intentionally broad. We welcome diverse formats, scales, and positions, and encourage proposals that are situated, experimental, and critical.

This open call is global. We are interested in work emerging from different geographies and contexts, recognising that environmental issues are locally experienced yet globally entangled.

We are looking to support up to five projects, each eligible to receive a grant of up to €3,000. The final number of projects selected will depend on the quality of the applications received, the evaluation criteria, and considerations of best value for money.

In addition to the funded projects, up to ten additional projects that are not selected for the financial support may still be invited to present their work on the Distributed Design platform website. These projects will also have the opportunity to be featured across the CitiObs communication channels, increasing their visibility and sharing their ideas with a broader community.

Selected applicants will enter into a service agreement with the CitiObs project under the ‘Other Goods and Services’ budget category of the EU grant. 

What we are looking for

We invite submissions from individuals, collectives, and organisations working with, or alongside, communities working on:

• Citizen-led or community-based environmental monitoring
• Participatory design and co-creation processes
• Artistic or design-led research addressing environmental issues
• Maker-based or open-source approaches to environmental action
• Projects that combine qualitative and quantitative knowledge
• Critical reflections on data, technology, care, and responsibility

We are particularly interested in projects that question how environmental knowledge is produced, who it is produced with, and what forms of action it enables.

Scope of the services

Selected applicants will be expected to: 

• Design and implement a creative intervention or artistic production linked to CitiObs objectives 
• Collaborate with CitiObs partners in the development and refinement of the work 
• Document the process (text, visuals, short reports) 
• The exact scope of work, timeline, and deliverables will be defined in a service contract. 

Who can apply

This call is open to individual artists, designers, makers, collectives, studios, and cultural practitioners. Applicants may be based in any country, provided they can enter into a service agreement and issue invoices in compliance with EU project requirements. Experience working with communities, environmental themes, or participatory processes is desirable. 

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 

• Relevance to CitiObs (30%)
  Clear connection to environmental monitoring, air quality, and citizen science; alignment with participatory approaches.

• Quality and Feasibility (25%)
  Clarity of concept and methodology; realistic and achievable work plan.

• Artistic and Conceptual Strength (25%)
  Creative quality, originality, and capacity to translate environmental knowledge into accessible formats.
• Best Value for Money (20%)
  Proportionality between the proposed budget and the expected results, clear and justified cost structure, efficient and economical use of resources in relation to the scope of services.

The evaluation will be carried out by representatives of the CitiObs consortium. The decision of the evaluation committee is final. 

Financial Conditions 

Selected applicants will receive remuneration for services rendered, based on an agreed budget and defined deliverables. 

• Maximum available budget for the service: 3000 € 

• The service fee will be formalized through a service agreement 

• The service will be paid against invoice and delivery of agreed outputs 

• The service may include travel and production costs where relevant and pre-approved 

Timeline (Indicative) 

• Call publication: Second week of May 
• Submission deadline:  3rd of June
• Notification of selected service providers: 5th of June
• Contracting period: 11th of May – 30th of September
• Final service delivered:  30th of September
• The project reserves the right to adjust the timeline if necessary. 

Submission Requirements 

Applicants must submit: 

• Project proposal including concept and methodology 

• Work plan and timeline 

• Budget breakdown 

• Portfolio or relevant previous work 

• Short bio(s) of applicant(s) 

Incomplete submissions may not be evaluated. 

Rights and Responsibilities 

Applicants must ensure that submitted work does not infringe third-party rights. 

Selected service providers agree to collaborate closely with the CitiObs project partners. 

CitiObs reserves the right to use documentation of the commissioned work for communication and dissemination purposes (with proper credit). 

The commissioned work will be visible through the Distributed Design Platform. 

The commissioned work will be part of a CitiObs exhibition at FabLab Barcelona. 

Intellectual property conditions will be specified in the service agreement. 

APPLY HERE 👉 https://form.typeform.com/to/oxDL6BXs