Copernicus for Emergency Management

The R&I area is:

Innovative methods and technologies for emergency related applications to derive advanced products and open new opportunities for an operational deployment addressing the needs of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service

Different aspects should be considered for the service evolution:

• enhancement of an existing element or component through e.g.: technology improvements such as optimal automation of existing processes encompassing innovative artificial intelligent procedures and High Performance Computing (HPC) or adding new data streams in core services; methodological improvements such as optimised modelling tools and multi-platform, multi sensor AI techniques for automatic recognition of severe to extreme events and production of early warning indicators;
• new elements or components to the existing (core) service;
• new services complementing the core services and providing added functionality as required by users; e.g. in a national or regional context.

Actions aimed at service evolution should be developed in response to specific policy and user requirements while seizing the opportunities provided by the evolution in technology.

Although there is no guarantee that developments will be integrated into the operational CEMS, proposals should duly take into consideration practical aspects related to the integration of results into Copernicus services, including feasibility and cost/benefit analysis as well as timeline for technology maturity of the solutions proposed and their deployment in operational environments. Proposals should aim at reaching technology readiness level TRL6 and should include either a proof-of-concept or prototype demonstrating the feasibility of the integration in the existing core service or the added-value of new elements in new application areas.

Additionally, the transfer of research results to possible operations should receive active attention during the course of the project to strengthen the readiness for an operational deployment in the future. Appropriate interaction with the relevant Entrusted Entity of the Copernicus services, the conditions for making available, for re-using and exploiting the results (including IPR) by the said entities must be addressed during the project implementation.

Proposals should build, where possible and relevant, on free and open-source models, tools and datasets already used or produced by CEMS and the software developed should be open licensed.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding. The possible participation of the JRC may consist in (1) ensuring access to relevant models, tools and datasets of the operational CEMS, (2) providing a good understanding of existing operational workflows and advice regarding the operational feasibility of new developments and (3) testing of new developments/prototypes in a pre-operational setting.

On data fusion, vast amounts of EO-data are now being available for applications in the disaster domains. Identification of complementary data sets, development and testing of new and innovative ways (if applicable also in the context of social innovation) to efficiently integrate them in emergency applications will be used to generate added value and new intelligence. Besides satellite data, additional ones include in-situ and ground-based observations and measurements, meteorological data from ground weather stations and radar, data from aerial platforms, social media or crowdsourcing, as well as information generated from other sources and other Copernicus services. Whenever appropriate, the project should take advantage from Copernicus and EGNSS synergy. Potential security threats (e.g. cybersecurity) in the data flow and sensitivity of data and service products should be duly taken into account.

Proposals are expected to provide tangible results (new or improved products or service elements) for the Copernicus service within the period 2021-2027. The proposed research and development should be modular and scalable and should support the automatization of different processes orchestration. The activities of the project should also contribute to the objectives set by the Group on Earth Observation and outcomes and relevant results of the project should be promoted also at international level through the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

Applicants are advised to consult information on the Copernicus programme in general at https://www.copernicus.eu/en and further details on the topic in the Guidance document.

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.