A series of people-based observing activities have been piloted in Disko Bay, Greenland, and in Svalbard. Our aims were to examine the feasibility of specific community-based and citizen science observing and networking activities and, at the same time, to assess their potential for wider use. We assessed the observing activities against six criteria: (1) the cost, (2) the need for expertise, (3) the ability to detect trends, (4) the ability to support decision-making, (5) the potential for enhancing local stakeholder capacity, and (6) the capacity to inform international monitoring. The results of our tests are presented and discussed in this report.