More and more people and organizations in the Netherlands are conducting their own measurements in their living environment. The Together Measuring project by RIVM has facilitated this citizen science over the past eight years. There are now dozens of measurement initiatives and approximately 4000 sensors. Five billion measurements of air quality and two billion noise measurements are available at togethermeasuring.rivm.nl. In addition to providing extra data, the measurements initiate a dialogue between citizens, science, and government. There are also technical possibilities for supplying, analyzing, and visualizing data. This and more is included in the report Data, Dialogue, and Infrastructure: The Results of Eight Years of Together Measuring.
The Together Measuring project is an initiative of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. An important part of this assignment is the research into the value of citizen measurements. Precisely because many different parties are involved, trust in national monitoring can grow. By investing in the Together Measuring infrastructure, we are working on the measurement network of the future.
Sensor data is a good supplement
Inexpensive sensors provide important supplementary information about local sources or peaks in concentration. Conversely, comparing with official measurements improves the quality of sensor data. The sensors cannot yet replace official measurements. The quality of the sensors is still not consistent enough for that.
In about 9 out of 10 Dutch municipalities, there are sensors measuring fine particulate matter. Together Measuring is also possible for other substances and with other measuring techniques. Many schools, for example, participate in projects where students measure nitrogen dioxide with tubes, or fine particulate matter with a sensor on a bike.
Together Measuring strengthens mutual understanding and trust
Through Together Measuring, collaboration and dialogue between the government, citizens, and knowledge institutions emerge. This can contribute to a shared understanding and trust in the monitoring of environmental quality.
A good infrastructure helps new initiatives
Together Measuring has grown into a national infrastructure for citizen measurements of the living environment. It provides a technical solution for practical challenges, such as the possibilities for storage, analysis, and visualization of all measurements. Together Measuring has also contributed to a community of local measurement initiatives. New initiatives can therefore quickly get started to further illustrate issues around specific sources.