Testing four design interventions for sustained participation in an agricultural citizen science project

Citizen science has emerged as a collaborative model that engages non-professional scientists in scientific research, leveraging their contributions to achieve large-scale data collection and fostering community engagement. Despite its successes, participant retention remains a critical challenge. Drawing upon the Octalysis Framework, this study examines the effectiveness of four intervention strategies—creation of an online ‘Community’, ‘Gamification’, highlighting the importance of ‘Individual Contribution’, and ‘Social feedback’—on sustained participation in an agricultural citizen science project. Data analysis revealed that ‘Community’, ‘Gamification’ and ‘Individual contribution’ significantly improved overall participation and reduced drop-out rates compared to the control group. Moreover, ‘Community’ demonstrated a particularly high retention rate during the challenging flowering stage, attributed to collaborative support. Regression analysis highlighted the influence of age on intervention effectiveness, with younger participants (18−34) responding most positively to ‘Gamification’, while middle-aged (46−55) participants responded very negatively to ‘Social feedback’, and senior participants (65 +) positively benefited from all interventions. These findings suggest that tailored intervention strategies can enhance long-term engagement in citizen science projects. By addressing both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations through targeted design interventions, project leaders can improve participant retention, ensuring the sustainability and success of citizen science initiatives. This study provides practical recommendations for optimizing engagement strategies across different project stages and demographic groups, offering valuable insights for future citizen science projects.