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The purpose of this paper is to provide answers regarding the factors that motivate or discourage the quadruple helix (QH) stakeholders and the wider public in citizen science (CS) activities. The research reveals a current overview of the perceptions, attitudes, concerns and motivation with regard to development of CS ecosystem in four countries: Greece, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Spain.

The researchers deploy a mixed methodology, entailing an in-depth literature review and a large-scale quantitative survey (approximately 2,000 citizens) targeting QH stakeholders and general public from the local national ecosystems. The results contain both descriptive statistics and statistical analysis per country. After the comprehensive overview of drivers and barriers regarding the participation in CS activities in general, the focus is narrowed down on the engagement motivation of different QH stakeholders and the differences in enabling/hindering factors at the local ecosystems.

Depending on the country and the pre-existing level of CS maturity, the results provide a complicated network of factors that unlock or block participation in CS activities. These factors include, to name a few, political maturity, civic engagement, technological infrastructures, economic growth, culture of stakeholder collaboration, psychological stimulus and surplus of resources. The implications of the findings necessitate the alignment of the envisioned CS ecosystem with the local dynamics in each country.

The quantitative nature of the survey method, limited sample size and only four countries context are noted as limitations of the study and offer future research potential for longitudinal settings and mixed-methods studies.

The results contribute to the wider literature on CS that focuses on perspectives, possibilities and differences in local contexts with respect to the public engagement by developing CS ecosystem. At the same time, its added value lies in the overall practical proposition, and how the latter can effectively and efficiently attract and retain different stakeholder groups and citizens, under a collaborative approach.

Contemporary urban environmental management calls for dissemination of environmental information among the public. This can be achieved by using a simple, while at the same time efficient, environmental management system platform, that integrates the monitoring and modelling of environmental data. The use of such a platform enables the urban planner and the environment‐related decision maker to have direct access to the relevant monitoring data, while a library of environmental management scenarios is developed and can be enriched. This article discusses the results of the IRENIE Environmental Telematics project in Athens, Greece, including the Web‐based geographical information system and its configuration. This specific project involves the application possibilities mentioned above, while integrating environmental monitoring, modelling and mapping over the Internet. The results discussed here demonstrate a significant increase in the capabilities of relevant authorities to advance their environmental management potential and to better inform the sensitive members of the public on potential health hazards.