Structured abstract: Introduction:Despite the relatively high prevalence and challenges of visual impairments, limited funding is available for ophthalmo logic research in the Netherlands. The research needs of people with visual impairments could aid the ophthalmological research community to optimally distribute research resources. The objective of the study presented here was to identify daily life problems, concerns, and wishes for future research from people with ophthalmological disorders, visual impairments, or deafblindness in order to set a research agenda that provides directions for future ophthalmology research. Methods: A four-phase participatory research approach was carried out using mixed methods to stimulate needs-articulation. Eight focus group discus sions, seven feedback meetings, and seven interviews were organized, in which 89 consumers were consulted. Surveys to prioritize the topics were developed for both the medical and sociopsychological topics, which were completed by 784 and 631 respondents, respectively. Results: For the medical research agenda, research directly aimed at the cause of the ophthalmological disorders was considered more important than research aimed at improving quality of life. The themes "new and regenerative medicine," "cause and disease mechanism," "prevention and diagnosis," and "improvement of current treatments" were prioritized as high. For the sociopsychological agenda, needs concerning the "improvement of technologies for people with visual impairments" and "navi gation, orientation, and accessibility of public space" were considered top priorities. Discussion: The identified research needs were relatively uniform across different consumer groups, providing opportunities for joint action. The research agenda included themes that can be taken up by "traditional" ophthal mological research, more broadly defined health care-related research, and more policy-influencing strategies. Implications for practitioners: The research needs could help researchers and policymakers in ophthalmology and visual impair ment research to guide their research focus and legislation priorities.

Water pollution is an urgent and complex problem worldwide, with many dire consequences for ecosystems, human health and economic development. Although policy measures in OECD countries have helped to reduce point source pollution, the situation is set to worsen: population growth and climate change are placing increasing pressures on the ability of water bodies to process wastewater, nutrients and contaminants [1].For future generations to maintain a sufficient supply of clean drinking water and to retain a vital level of biodiversity, it is critical to involve the general public in dealing with the problems of water quality and water pollution. One specifically important and increasingly prominent way for the general public to get acquainted with water quality issues is through participation in research projects. All around the world numerous citizen science (CS) projects take place in the field of (drinking) water quality, hydrology, groundwater levels, and water biology [2]. In most cases these projects are motivated by the enormous potential volunteering citizens have to increase the temporal and spatial data availability. We argue that the value of many CS projects lies beyond data availability, in the broader societal benefits that these projects aspire or claim to achieve. In turn, these benefits could improve the way we approach water quality issues. The list of claimed and potential benefits is long: raising awareness, democratisation of science, development of mutual trust, confidence, and respect between scientists, authorities and the public, increased knowledge and scientific literacy, social learning, incorporation of local, traditional and indigenous knowledge, increased social capital, citizen empowerment, behavioural change, improved environment, health and livelihoods, and finally motivational benefits [3].Many of these broader societal benefits of public engagement with water research are especially important to battle water related issues worldwide. Increased 'water awareness' among the public is needed to encourage a general sense of urgency and hence support for research investments and policy measures. In the Netherlands, like in many other countries, many citizens take safe and clean (drinking) water for granted [4]. Therefore, people are not sufficiently aware what investments are needed to provide safe tap water and what they themselves should do to reduce domestic water pollution. To truly counter the dangers of deteriorating water quality, water science and policy must be organised more inclusively and democratically.The potential societal effect of CS in the water quality sector is substantial. In the Netherlands alone, more than 100,000 citizens volunteer as 'sensors' or observers in the numerous nature oriented research projects, in which they, for example, count aquatic animals or measure the chemical composition of river water. These projects are generally low-threshold, because the research tasks are relatively simple and adapted to the limited expertise and research skills of t...

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