MISTRAL marked an important milestone with its first participation in the Citizen Science for Health 2025 conference in Zurich (6–7 November 2025).
Representing the consortium, Ilaria Bortone (PLANET), together with the University of Oxford, Maaret Jokela Pansini, presented:
“MISTRAL: Co-Creating AI-Enabled Policy Tools for Urban Health Impact Assessment”
during the Toolkits and Data Handling session.
The presentation highlighted how MISTRAL brings together citizen science, urban data infrastructures, and AI-powered modelling to support healthier and more equitable cities.
Community Engagement at the Core
A central part of the contribution focused on MISTRAL’s progressive stakeholder and community engagement framework, which shifts participation from passive consultation to co-creation and shared implementation.
Key elements presented included:
- Multi-level stakeholder mapping across institutions, healthcare providers, civil society, and residents
- Country-specific engagement strategies, such as socio-economic segmentation in Taranto
- Participatory methods and peer-to-peer recruitment strengthening local involvement
- Reciprocal incentives, such as free health checks, making engagement more meaningful
These strategies are already helping build trust, relevance, and co-ownership, ensuring that MISTRAL’s AI tools are shaped by community needs and values.
Looking Ahead
The next phase of the project involves co-designing the Urban Health Impact Dashboard, where stakeholders will define the priority policies to be modelled and tested.
This participatory approach ensures that MISTRAL’s outputs directly support evidence-based decision-making at local and regional levels.
A Milestone for the Project
This first appearance at CS4H strengthened MISTRAL’s visibility within the international citizen science community and reaffirmed the consortium’s commitment to empowering communities, sharing data in responsible ways, and co-developing policy tools that reflect the realities of those most exposed to urban environmental pressures.
