Citizen science projects frequently experience uncertainty linked to short-term funding structures (Wigboldus et al., 2016). Responsible sustainability planning therefore involves considering how knowledge, relationships, leadership, and community trust can be maintained even when formal resources fluctuate.

Additionally, long-term sustainability depends on more than financial continuity (Wigboldus et al., 2016; Fraisl et al., 2022).

Projects also require:

• trust;

• leadership continuity;

• organisational learning;

• technical maintenance;

• governance stability;

• and participant motivation.

Practitioners may wish to consider how different funding pathways influence participation, relationships, and longer-term resilience.

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