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Earth Observation for Economic Empowerment

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Marketing and capacity building to promote Earth observation products and services

End users, especially in developing countries, may not be familiar with new Earth observation (EO) products and services for environmental applications or the value they bring. An EU initiative set out to raise awareness of the benefits.

Digital Economy icon Digital Economy

Building on the marketing outcomes and synergies of past and ongoing EO-related initiatives, particularly the GEONETCAB project, the EU-funded EOPOWER (Earth observation for economic empowerment) project set out to familiarise new groups of end users with EO products and services. The aim was to empower them through capacity-building and promotion activities. EOPOWER developed a framework to assess the impact of a selected number of EO solutions such as applications and dissemination, networking and promotion actions. The framework also evaluates the business potential and contribution to Global Earth Observation System of Systems for the entire innovation chain, and addresses gaps and weaknesses that hinder improvement. The impact assessment framework was then applied to several regions, namely the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey and Turkish-speaking countries, Balkan and Black Sea regions, Latin America, Ukraine, and southern and French-speaking African countries. Training materials in environmental applications of EO for economic development were created targeting practitioners, decisionmakers and communities. Project partners focused on course design and curriculum development, and formulated a conceptual framework for certification of beginner and advanced courses. Initially designed in the previous GEONETCAB project, the new GEOCAB web portal was enhanced, updated and expanded to provide EO resources such as products, methodological tools, techniques and training organisations in the various regions. EOPOWER introduced effective ways to market and exploit EO applications in order to deliver innovative products and support services. It reached new potential end users in several regions that were not familiar yet with the possibilities of EO. The successful application of EO solutions worldwide may soon become reality.

Keywords

Earth observation, environmental applications, economic empowerment, Global Earth Observation System, impact assessment framework

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