Final Report Summary - EOPOWER (Earth Observation for Economic Empowerment)
Executive Summary:
EOPOWER stands for “Earth Observation for economic emPOWERment”. The main purpose of the project is create conditions for sustainable economic development through the increased use of Earth observation products and services for environmental applications. This purpose serves the higher goal of effective use of earth observation for decision making and management of economic and sustainable development processes. The marketing instruments applied to achieve this purpose are promotion, capacity building, and science valorisation.
As EOPOWER is about economic development, the focus of the project is on impact assessment of the project activities and on impact assessment of a selected number of earth observation solutions. A framework was developed specifically for this purpose. Although there are quite some marketing and strategy instruments that cover market and business development, it was felt that they are sound, but do not quite address the issue of technological innovation and introduction of new technology in the best possible way, in particular when this new technology is applied to solving environmental problems.
In the EOPOWER project case studies and activities were analysed that demonstrate the impact of earth observation applications and promotion of earth observation, using the EOPOWER impact assessment framework. The framework looks at a step-by-step analysis of where the EO application fits (or does not fit) in an conventional economic model, it applies a number of indicators to the application or activity (fit-for-purpose, comparative advantage, complexity to user / ease- of-use, elegance, cost-benefit, sustainability, resilience, reproduction capacity / flexibility, acceptance, level of knowledge transfer required, and ethics, transparency, public accountability, objectivity and impartiality), and looks at the general business environment. For promotion activities, it also takes into consideration a set of input indicators (promotion efforts) and output indicators (use of earth observation, resources mobilised for earth observation, level of raised awareness, participation in networks, media coverage, use of earth observation-related information, participation in capacity building activities and data use, sharing and submission in GEOSS).
The strategy lessons for successful promotion of earth observation are:
- Dissemination and capacity building increase exposure,
- Exposure creates opportunities,
- Opportunities need a tailor-made approach: building relationships.
The best instruments / lessons for successful dissemination and capacity building are:
- Dissemination and capacity building activities should be (also) directed at target groups outside the regular EO community,
- It is good practice to organise events with a part for decision-makers and a part for professional target groups,
- Webinars are very successful, especially when face-to-face meetings with the target group are difficult,
- Web portals (in the local language) are a must, success depends on active promotion,
- These web portals are preferably linked in a capacity building resources facilities network,
- Marketing toolkits and supporting materials facilitate easy access to information on EO and on (business) environmental factors to decision makers, policy makers, professionals, local communities and students,
- Tried and tested courses on earth observation applications and GEO/GEOSS are very useful, either delivered face-to-face or online.
Examples of created opportunities are:
- Additional (co-)funding of capacity building,
- New forms of cooperation,
- (Financial) support for testing and implementation of EO applications,
- Multiplier effect through increased activity of newly created committed communities,
- Increased involvement in the GEO process, including accession of new members.
The success of a tailor-made approach and building of relationships is demonstrated by:
- Provision of support specifically targeted at the end-user, such as processing of images and flexible capacity building adapted to end-user needs,
- Specific efforts to remove bottlenecks in developing countries, notably Africa, in the areas of web infrastructure and access to, and availability of, data,
- Success stories, where the link with decision-making has been made explicit, with special emphasis on the following: operational and fit-for-purpose aspects, reduction of the complexity of use (by simplifying user operations and/or technology transfer), increase of resilience (by always having a plan B available) and demonstrating reproduction capacity (scalability) of applications.
Project Context and Objectives:
Context
The EOPOWER project is not about science, although it benefits from and uses the results of scientific research in Earth observation and its application areas. Building on the GEONetCab, EGIDA, enviroGRIDS, BalkanGEONet, OBSERVE and SEOCA projects, EOPOWER provides a link (and feedback) between the science community and civil society. The co-ordination of EOPOWER consists of several elements:
• Valorisation of science for practical applications,
• Feedback from the end-users to the science and development community,
• Connection of different pilot regions to benefit and learn from each other experiences,
• Inter-regional dissemination of successful practices and results, and
• Interaction with the GEO community to contribute to the achievement of the GEOSS targets.
EOPOWER will be a project dedicated to action. In the different regions promotion activities will be carried out, each coordinated by a node in the region. The plan and strategy for each region can be different, depending on the specific circumstances. An essential element is that the drivers in the different regions are organizations that are committed to the promotion of earth observation applications and have a proven track record in this area.
The activities in the regions are complemented and supported by a number of ‘central’ initiatives: • A central feedback node, where experiences from the regions are processed and fed back to the other regions. This activity builds on the brokerage function of the GEONetCab project. The main aim of this activity is to deliver a compelling marketing concept and to demonstrate the value of earth observation to customers. It also has a monitoring and evaluation function, with the aim to capitalise on lessons learned from past experiences.
• A capacity building node, where successful practices for capacity building in earth observation for environmental applications are generated and disseminated.
• The resource facility on capacity building and resource mobilization that will be enhanced as part of the GEO web portal.
• A central node that is dedicated to the conceptual aspects of the valorisation of scientific results in Earth observation.
All the other action concentrates on the regions, except an effort to involve international organizations (get Earth observation on the agenda), for which a separate work package is reserved. The regions of the project are:
• Southern Africa,
• French-speaking Africa,
• Czech Republic and Slovakia,
• Poland and Ukraine,
• Balkan region,
• Black Sea region,
• Turkey and Turkish-speaking countries,
• Latin America.
These regions are selected because they provide a broad geographical coverage, with active players in the context of GEO and are of specific interest from the viewpoint of European cooperation in Earth observation. Of course, there are other regions that potentially fulfil these criteria, but practical considerations pose a limit on the number of partners. Additionally, in most of the regions previous projects have been carried out, such as GEONetCab, which makes it possible to increase the number of partners without putting too much strain on co-ordination, because this project can build on past experiences and results. As the GEONetCab project has shown, although regions may be very different, comparing the differences and similarities yields interesting results and is very useful for learning from each other and formulating a general strategy for successful promotion.
Objectives
The purpose of the EOPOWER project is to create conditions for sustainable economic development through the increased use of Earth observation products and services for environmental applications. This purpose serves the higher goal of effective use of Earth observation for decision-making and management of economic and sustainable development processes.
This will be achieved through the following activities:
1. Roadshow activities to promote the increased use of EO products and services for environmental applications, including capacity building;
2. Portfolio of potential EO applications for economic development and environmental management; 3. Enhancement of the resource facility on capacity building in the GEO web portal;
4. Establishment of local focal points (nodes) that actively promote and provide capacity building on the use of EO for environmental applications effectively and at low-cost;
5. Explore the establishment of a high-level forum of stakeholders (resource providers, international organizations) that have an interest in EO for economic development and environmental applications; 6. Establishment of a central feedback node that digests and shares information on incubators, innovation, successes, experiences, visibility and provides brokerage and advice on resource mobilization.
This will result in the output presented below:
1. Opportunities created for economic development, in particular in developing countries;
2. Key international economic development processes identified that require environmental information and mechanisms to develop them in a sustainable fashion;
3. Local communities and authorities have received capacity building and are able to collaborate with international development programs, use environmental EO information and products, and engage resource providers;
4. Mechanism established to market and to exploit EO applications for the creation of new innovative products and support services.
Project Results:
1. THE EOPOWER IMPACT ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK
As EOPOWER is about economic development, the focus of the project period is on impact assessment of the project activities and on impact assessment of a selected number of earth observation solutions. A framework was developed specifically for this purpose. Although there are quite some marketing and strategy instruments that cover market and business development, it was felt that they are sound, but do not quite address the issue of technological innovation and introduction of new technology in the best possible way, in particular when this new technology is applied to solving environmental problems. The developed framework aims at closing this gap, with a special emphasis on earth observation. The methodology is shortly described below.
The benefits of earth observation applications need to be placed in a framework that not only accounts for economic aspects, but also for benefits that are currently not captured in economic calculations, such as those relating to sustainable management of natural resources and climate change (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Framework for a step-by-step analysis of the benefits of earth observation (source: GEONetCab, 2013).
To better relate to customer value propositions, the following questions are asked:
• Does the new application cause a paradigm shift?
• Is the current business or organisation process improved?
• Does the application provide economic value that can be quantified?
• Is a clear measurable goal defined to which the earth observation application contributes?
• Is a future payment scheme or other economic mechanism foreseen in which the earth observation application fits?
If earth observation provides added value, the answers to the questions yield a set of comparative advantages that is attuned to the state-of-the-art of the problem to be tackled and to the way the client perceives this problem.
In addition to stressing technical features of the proposed earth observation solutions, a number of indicators are used to identify weaknesses and to achieve a better focus of promotion activities. The indicators describe the following characteristics: fit-for-purpose, comparative advantage, complexity to user / ease-of-use, elegance, cost-benefit, sustainability, resilience, reproduction capacity / flexibility, acceptance, level of knowledge transfer required, and ethics, transparency, public accountability, objectivity and impartiality. Where possible, a quantitative analysis is carried out, accompanied by a qualitative assessment for all indicators (see table below).
No. Indicator Quantitative assessment Qualitative assessment
(to be indicated on a scale of 1 (= poor) to 5 (= excellent)
1 Fit-for-purpose Not applicable Based on description of what the EO application actually does
2 Comparative advantage Calculation of degree in which the EO application is better than alternatives Based on listing of comparative advantages
3 Complexity (to user) / ease-of-use Not applicable Based on user testimonials and user surveys
4 Elegance None, or it should be the size of the user community Based on user testimonials and user surveys
5 Cost-benefit Cost-benefit calculation Based on quantitative assessment
6 Sustainability Not applicable Based on sensitivity analysis of the EO application
7 Resilience Cost-benefit calculation of plan B Based on risk analysis of the EO application
8 Reproduction capacity / flexibility Calculation of reproduction costs for application in other regions or situations; measurement of spreading of actual use Based on quantitative assessment and description of EO application
9 Acceptance None, or survey results about acceptance. After introduction of the solution: number of clients and/or users. Based on user testimonials and user surveys
10 Level of knowledge transfer required Cost and time required to get the users at the desired knowledge and skill level Based on knowledge transfer plans and evaluation of training activities
11 Ethics, transparency, public accountability, objectivity and impartiality Not applicable Based on user testimonials and user surveys
Table 1: Impact assessment indicators
A rating of the business environment is also needed. This is done by assessing the following aspects:
• Willingness to pay (by clients);
• Embedding (in organisational processes);
• Openness (transparency and ease of doing business, access to markets);
• Institutions (is the institutional environment conducive to doing business, acceptance of new solutions?).
Apart from general marketing considerations that deal with customer value propositions, buyer behaviour and motivation and crossing the technology chasm, a number of elements is particularly interesting to geospatial solutions, such as openness and free availability of geospatial data, accompanying regulatory and legislative frameworks and the inclusion of systems of environmental accounting and payment for ecosystem services.
For promotion, networking and dissemination, the activity level with respect to success stories, marketing toolkits, pilot projects, resource facilities, dissemination efforts and organisation/attendance of promotion events is measured as input indicators. The following output indicators are applied: use of earth observation, resources mobilised for earth observation, level of raised awareness, participation in networks, media coverage, use of earth observation-related information, participation in capacity building activities and data use, sharing and submission in GEOSS.
To assess the impact of the promotion, networking and dissemination activities for earth observation a reflexive approach is adopted, where the assessment for earth observation applications is repeated, but now at the meta-level for promotion. This means that the same indicators are used, but with a focus on promotion, networking and dissemination.
The final result is then a total impact assessment package that provides a good indication and description of (potential) impact of earth observation applications and dissemination, networking and promotion activities and a good insight in the critical missing elements or shortcomings that merit particular attention to improve performance.
This methodology was applied in the different regions of the project on the following subjects:
• Southern Africa: increased use of EO data with emphasis on the use of SPOT (and other) satellite imagery,
• French-speaking Africa: regional conferences for the promotion of the use of EO,
• Czech Republic and Slovakia: use of EO technologies in national parks,
• Poland and Ukraine: promotion, networking and dissemination activities for EO,
• Turkey and Turkish-speaking countries: promotion of the use of RASAT satellite images and the use of the GEZGIN Geoportal,
• Balkan region: support to flood and land management in Serbia and Caravan events (workshops to raise awareness on GEO, GEOSS and EO and address questions of interest for the future of the EO) held in the Balkan region,
• Black Sea region: “Bringing GEOSS Services into Practice” workshop and EO promotion activities and their impact in Armenia,
• Latin America and the Caribbean: networking and capacity building in disaster reduction,
• International organisations: EO for water resources management, related to the Water Partnership Programme of the World Bank.
2. TOWARDS EMPOWERMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Dissemination and capacity building increase exposure
That dissemination activities should be directed more broadly at target groups outside the (traditional) EO community was an important lesson of the GEONetCab project. The EOPOWER project also continued with the organisation of so-called “combined events”: with a part for both decision-makers and professionals, preferably starting with a general part focused on decision-making, then followed by a more technical workshop or course for professionals that takes some more time. This approach was adopted by most project participants. In Poland webinars were used to circumvent the communication problems that were a result of the crisis in Ukraine. This proved to be a very effective approach.
Web portals are also a popular and effective instrument for dissemination. The snow cover portal in Poland draws quite a number of visitors during the winter months (see figure 2). Related to this portal CBK WAW established an EOPOWER web portal. The number of visits to the website is correlated with events that are organised, underpinning the importance of continuous dissemination.
Figure 2: Statistics for the snow-cover portal (Poland).
Promotion of GEO and GEOSS was also done successfully through the course “Bringing GEOSS services into practice” (figure 3), developed by UNIGE and others in the enviroGRIDS project. As a consequence of this course created communities were created that contribute actively to the work of GEO. Another good example is the series of Caravan workshops, coordinated by AUTH.
Figure 3: Cumulative number of downloads of the workshop material of the course “Bringing GEOSS services into practice” in function of time (March 2014 to December 2014) from the open archive of Geneva University.
In the Balkan region events contributed to show the comparative advantages of EO, the reliability of the application to increase acceptance and resulted in awareness raising, partnering and networking. Similarly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia impact was achieved by showing data availability and comparative advantages to potential users. The accompanying networking activities and institutional support were very important for the success of the training courses. The Czech Republic (with support from ESA) and South Africa (outreach programme to schools), and also others, such as Poland, focused on young target groups: training at all school levels and universities. An important lesson is that to reach the pupils you have to go through the trainers. In Latin America and the Caribbean INAOE/CRETEALC created a network of supporting institutions, with a focus on disaster management. Receiving and processing feedback when doing this is important as TUBITAK also learned, while managing the GEZGIN portal on images of Turkish satellites, such as RASAT (see figure 4). TUBITAK also provides training on how to use the portal and the images, as do other project partners, such as SANSA for the SPOT multi-user licence. TUBITAK plans to extend the use to the Black Sea region and has already built a close relationship with Azerbaijan.
Figure 4: GEZGİN geoportal opening meeting and mass media event (19 August 2014).
Similar successful experiences with web portals were obtained in the Czech Republic, the Balkan Region (where the PNF is very successful) and French-speaking Africa. One of the project results was the establishment of the GEO resource facility for capacity building, GEOCAB that was developed by IRD as a node in the network of resource facilities for capacity building.
Facilitating access to information remains very important. Decision makers, policy makers, professionals, local communities and students should have easy access to information on earth observation applications and on the general (business) environment. The marketing toolkits and reference lists that were developed and updated by HCP for this purpose where downloaded about 20,000 times, of which more than 18,000 from the PNF. ITC developed a number of short, online courses for professionals on earth observation topics that cover all GEO societal benefit areas.
Exposure creates opportunities
The exposure that resulted from dissemination activities and capacity building, funded by the EOPOWER project, created opportunities: for (co-)funding of new activities (as CRASTE-LF did for French-speaking Africa with ISESCO), and for new types of cooperation (as CUNI did in the Czech Republic with the Copernicus secretariat and CRECTEALC in Latin America and the Caribbean with UN-SPIDER, SWF, and others). In several parts of the Balkan region, support was received by regional government. The approach has convinced people of the usefulness of earth observation and opened a dialogue between stakeholders. As stated above, the creation of committed communities that already took part in various projects or activities, provided a big boost to further promotion of earth observation. Although not entirely attributable to project efforts, EOPOWER definitely contributed to the accession of Armenia, Georgia and Poland to GEO.
Opportunities need a tailor-made approach: building relationships
The focus should always be on the end-user and maintaining a dialogue with the target group at the appropriate level is important. CRASTE-LF therefore made a distinction in French-speaking Africa between different regional zones and target groups, depending on how advanced they were in the uptake of earth observation. Remaining in Africa and looking at the “business environment”: no or slow internet access in Africa is a bottleneck for the uptake of earth observation (as was experienced in the project for the French-speaking Africa region and SADC-region). Until this is resolved, alternative solutions have to be provided, such as delivering data through GEONETCast, which was actively promoted by the project. Whatever the means, access to data remains important: the project (notably UNIGE) worked on promotion and further development of the AfroMaison Africa broker (figure 5) to improve data accessibility. The broker will also play a role in the AfriGEOSS initiative.
Figure 5: Brokered resources in the Africa broker.
In Turkey an important lesson learned was to provide (different types of) processing of images for different target groups: scientists may prefer raw images, but, for example, disaster agencies want (processed) “before” and “after” images. By doing this, the number of users and types of applications can be increased, while continuously receiving and processing feedback. In the Balkan region success UNS, UNIST and AUTH obtained success by looking for promising applications, such as flood management, hydrology mapping and wetland management (in combination with agriculture). The relevance to decision-making depends on the proposed solution, it is very important to take the “complexity-to-the-user” aspect seriously.
Figure 6: Waterlogging near the lock Botoš (Vojvodina, Serbia).
SANSA was actively engaged in promoting the multi-user SPOT-licence: it provided workshops on specific topics and processing of images for different target groups (just as in Turkey). The impact has been very positive in South Africa, with 87% of customers using the data and over 90% of this group satisfied about the data (rated 8 out of 10). A positive side-effect is that data sharing is taking place.
More often than not, contact with end-user target groups result in a powerful feedback message to the remote sensing community (scientists, administrators, private sector). Take the case of the World Bank Water Partnership Programme. The WPP became convinced of the potential of earth observation for water resources management and an extensive analysis of the feasibility of EO for WB operations was carried out. During the process it became evident that a very clear message back to remote sensing community is that relevance to decision-making should be made more evident (compare experiences in the Balkan region mentioned above). The remote sensing community should more clearly demonstrate that the applications are operational and fit-for-purpose, reduce the complexity of use (by simplifying user operations and/or technology transfer), increase resilience (by always have a plan B available) and ensure reproduction capacity (scalability) of applications.
The tailor-made aspect and building of relationships are also important for contributions to GEO. Pilots implemented during the EOPOWER project, guided by CNR-IIA, as follow-up from the EGIDA project, showed that some institutional players are prepared to contribute datasets to GEOSS, but for others (for example National Parks in the Czech Republic) it is simply too far removed from their mandate and/or they do not have the required time or capacity. An intermediary should then fulfil this role, such as CUNI or the Copernicus secretariat.
3. CAPACITY BUILDING
Learning and knowledge management are very important elements in the promotion of the use of new technologies, such as earth observation. In fact, marketing of earth observation can be defined as promotion and capacity building. As complement to GEOSS, which contains “hard” datasets on earth observation, the EOPOWER project therefore had the aim to establish a one-stop shop with references to capacity building resources and material, building on previous efforts in the GEONetCab project. In the GEO Plenary of November 2014 this system, called GEOCAB, was officially adopted and is accessible through the GEO website and directly: www.geocab.org.
Figure 7: GEOCAB home page.
The portal contains about a 1,000 references; a group consisting of virtually all the project partners and the GEO Secretariat, with support from CEOS, has committed itself to expand and maintain the portal after the end of the project. In addition to GEOCAB, a number of regional web resource facilities were established, expanded and/or improved. Considerable effort went into achieving compatibility between the regional websites and GEOCAB, for which a broker was designed, similar to the brokering approach used for GEOSS. Regional resource facilities are especially important, because they can address local issues more effectively than a central facility and they can reach the target group in the local language. Important course and information material on EO, until now only available in English, was therefore translated in an array of languages.
To enlarge the target group of potential EO users, capacity building material was developed in the form of 3-day courses for professionals. In this way the knowledge, skills and competences can be upgraded and/or expanded of groups that were not familiar with EO before. Each societal benefit area of GEO (except health and energy) is covered with a specific topic: climate/weather, biodiversity, biomass and carbon mapping, flooding, landslides and crop monitoring. The courses are interactive and contain theory, exercises, videos and a quiz. A building block of 3-days corresponds to 1 European credit (part of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)).
Figure 8: Example of the front page of the course on earth observation for forest biomass and carbon mapping.
4. PROMOTION
Within the EOPOWER project regions, each partner has its own strategy, approach and focus for the promotion of EO, connected together by the general EOPOWER promotion materials and formats. All regional partners made use of websites and associated resource facilities that provide data and services and built and maintain databases of local stakeholders. Most partners also compiled success stories.
In Southern Africa the focus of dissemination activities was mainly on water, agriculture, environment and human settlement. The activities were directed at different target groups, ranging from school level (including Fundisa disk delivery) to scientists. Local nodes were identified to strengthen local presence throughout the region. The World Space Week, ESA-TIGER training-of–trainers project and AARSE conference provided special occasions to emphasise capacity building and promote EO. The SPOT multi-licence for government agencies provides a good umbrella for promotion and capacity building in the public sector.
Figure 9: Example of national value added products derived from SPOT 5.
In French-speaking Africa a wide array of dissemination activities was organised, such as workshops and conferences in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Benin, Tunisia and Morocco, with participants from many countries. The subjects were related to water, agriculture, (space) weather and climate change. For the latter a network of African scientists (RAOCC) was created and expanded. A website hosts two portals for water management data and information in Morocco and Ivory Coast.
Figure 10: Press coverage in Ivory Coast of EOPOWER event.
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia cooperation continued with national parks on environmental management. The Czech experience was leveraged to Slovakia, with the help of strategic partners in both countries. Dissemination activities also focused on educational projects at school and university level. An atlas with local success stories was produced.
Figure 11: Page from the atlas showing forest monitoring using remote sensing in Sumava park.
In Poland and Ukraine also special activities were organised for teachers, students, youths and parents. Other target groups of the dissemination activities were professionals, policy makers, public administrators and SMEs. The website provides the backbone for interaction with these target groups. Special effort went into strengthening ties with the (potential) EO community in Ukraine, which was difficult because of the political situation. The organisation of webinars proved to be the solution to interact and transfer knowledge. In addition, actions have been taken to lobby for Poland’s membership of GEO (resulting in accession).
Figure 12: Representatives of Polish and Ukraine scientific and educational institutions and NGOs meet at CBK WAW.
Turkey and the Turkish-speaking countries provide another example of a strong web-based presence, where the distribution of RASAT satellite images and the presence of the GEZGIN Geoportal is used to strengthen dissemination and receive feedback from users. In South-Eastern Anatolia a pilot is supported on (sustainable) agriculture and cooperation with various government agencies was intensified, particularly in the area of disaster and emergency management. Several activities were organised in the framework of Asia – Pacific cooperation. For networking in the region use was made of the existing contacts of the previous SEOCA project. Special attention was given to Azerbaijan, in the form of cooperation visits and training. A lobby was started for GEO-membership of Azerbaijan, possibly followed by accession of other countries of the region.
Figure 13: Training in EO satellites and data of Azercosmos staff.
In the Balkan region four Caravan workshops were organised: one in Novi Sad on the future of EO in the Balkan region, one in Thessaloniki on marketing and use of the resource facility (in combination with the GEOBIA conference), one in Kosovo for the promotion of EO and one in Serbia to connect scientists and SMEs on the state-of-the-art of EO. Output was also published in the South-Eastern European Journal of Earth Observation and Geomatics. Apart from the focus on general technological advancement, agriculture and flooding (waterlogging) received special attention. A Balkan Liaison Office was established. The Permanent Networking Facility that was set up in the earlier BalkanGEONET project and enhanced during the EOPOWER project is so successful, that it now also hosts data and services for EO users in Africa, in the framework of the AfriGEOSS initiative.
Figure 14: Television interview at the first Caravan workshop.
Similar to South Africa and Turkey, a technical web-based platform for water, soil and environmental modelling was one of the backbones for dissemination in the Black Sea region. The work builds on the results of the former enviroGRIDS project and is supported by technical workshops. Another dissemination instrument is the course “Bringing GEOSS services into practice”, which was given quite a number of times, both inside and outside the region. The lobby for GEO-membership of Armenia and Georgia was strongly supported and resulted in accession to GEO for both countries.
Figure 15: Web-based GUI of the common EOPOWER-IASON platform for the Black Sea region.
In Latin America and the Caribbean the focus of dissemination activities is exclusively on disaster reduction. In total 16 events were organised (one in El Salvador, one in Costa Rica and the rest in Mexico) with the aim to involve all stakeholders in disaster management. To optimise results, this was done in cooperation with a strong field of international partners, such as the GEO Secretariat, UN-SPIDER, SWF, CEOS and MCTP. Three workshops deserve special mention: participants from twelve countries received training on the use of open-source software for disaster reduction and flood modelling. A working group is established by focal points that were identified earlier. The self-motivation of the working group is the wish to build further capacity in EO applications to reduce flood and drought disasters and to strengthen operational use of EO in their day to day work. At present, the working group has representatives from twelve user institutions in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Venezuela including two space agencies of the region and three international organisations, including INAOE/CRECTEALC.
Figure 16: Participants in the workshop on the use of open-source software and satellite data in the prevention of, and response to, disasters in Mesoamerica in Puebla, Mexico.
The project also gave special attention to the promotion of the use of earth observation in international organisations, such as UN-SPIDER, EuropeAid, the World Bank, ICPDR, BSCPS and UNEP.
All these activities contributed to achieving the goals of several tasks in the GEO 2012 – 2015 Work Plan, notably task ID-05-C1 “Resource mobilisation for capacity building”, ID-02 “Capacity building” and ID-04 “User engagement”.
5. THE INNOVATION CHAIN
The EGIDA methodology is a general methodological approach for implementing a (re-) engineering process of the S&T national infrastructures and systems, which can be adopted by national/regional S&T communities, for a sustainable contribution to the GEOSS and relevant European initiatives based on a system of systems (SoS) approach, through the mobilisation of resources made available from the participation in national, European and international initiatives and projects. In the EOPOWER project the methodology was tested in the following pilot projects to see how it can be improved:
• EO for sustainable management of nature protected areas (Czech Republic and Slovakia),
• Environmental SDI in Armenia,
• River banks of the Bouregreg dam (Morocco),
• ` Advanced level webinars in the EO field (Poland and Ukraine).
Figure 17: Framework of the EGIDA methodology.
Based on the outcome of the pilots, a number of issues were identified that are used to improve the EGIDA methodology. The issues to be dealt with concern the use of questionnaires, social media and stakeholder databases for networking, and suggestions for processing user feedback, guidelines and communication for technical activities. To improve the technical activities further, in a joint effort of the EOPOWER and IASON projects, the EOPOWER framework for impact assessment (highlighted above) was integrated with the EGIDA Methodology to cover assessment of business potential and contribution to GEOSS for the whole innovation chain.
In WP1 “Central feedback node, monitoring and evaluation” the GEONetCab toolkits for marketing of Earth observation were updated. A new format for the toolkits was developed that includes the elements of the new framework for impact assessment that was developed. Interaction between regions was provided through various meetings, conference calls, elaboration of the promotion and dissemination plan, the selection of pilot projects for science valorisation and synchronisation of resource facilities. A cooperation arrangement with CEOS has been set up to share the information gathered on capacity development in the EOPOWER resource facility. The EOPOWER partners participated actively in the implementation of GEO tasks and the GEO Institutions and Development Implementation Board. The business template for SMEs (how to structure and organise to compete successfully in an international environment) has been developed and is published on the EOPOWER website. The EOPOWER methodological framework for impact assessment of Earth observation applications for environmental applications was developed and published in a report. In cooperation with WP4 and the IASON project the EOPOWER framework for impact assessment was integrated with the EGIDA Methodology to cover assessment of business potential and contribution to GEOSS for the whole innovation chain.
The first task of WP2 “Capacity building” was already finished in the first project period. A conceptual framework was selected for certification of courses in environmental applications of Earth observation for economic development for both the beginners and advanced courses. The main focus of activities in the second year was on course design/curriculum development. A generic curriculum format (5 EC’s) has been produced considering two target groups. Intensive work has been done on updating the teaching material “Bringing GEOSS services into practice”.
Activities for WP3 “Resource facility” focused on establishing the interoperability between the different systems using ontology and semantic web technologies. New resources were discovered and consultation components for the capacity building resource facility GEOCAB were added. GEOCAB is now the capacity building resource facility that functions as a component of GEOSS and is accessible through the GEO website. A technical note, called “Architectural Framework for a Capacity Building System of Systems” was drafted in cooperation with CNR-IAA (P. Mazetti) and sent to the EOPOWER and IASON partners and the CEOS members of the Capacity Building working group. This note presents a brokering approach, similar to the approach of the Global Earth observation System of Systems (GEOSS), to build a Capacity Building System of Systems connecting the current systems, but also future ones. Joint actions between EOPOWER and IASON projects were conducted for both projects to use the GEOCAB portal to reference the capacity building resources of both projects. External partners, such as members of The Working Group on Capacity Building & Data Democracy (WGCapD) of CEOS, participated in discussions on technical elements to enlarge the CB resources inventory.
In WP4 “Science valorisation” pilot projects for assessment of the EGIDA Methodology were selected and implemented. The partners responsible for the selected pilots applied the EGIDA Methodology to their specific use-cases and provided feedback on the relevant emerging issues. Reports were summarised, cross-compared and discussed, prospecting possible areas of improvement of the EGIDA Methodology. CNR-IAA consolidated all the feedback deemed significant, seeking clarifications from the pilot teams when necessary; determined possible corrective actions to improve the EGIDA Methodology and implemented a number of them in a revised version.
WP5 “Empowering economic development Southern Africa” was dedicated to promotion activities and the organisations of Road Shows and larger events. A request was sent to EO practitioners in neighbouring countries to see if any of them had success stories they wished to share. Output from the Agricultural workshop that was identified regional Point of Contacts (POC). The agricultural workshop held on 8-9 May 2015, under the AfriGEOSS/GEOGLAM/ EOPOWER has been an important step to mobilising and stimulating resources within the region to take part in GEO initiatives. Experiences continued with the organisation of special activities for educators and secondary school children.
In WP6 “Empowering economic development French-speaking Africa” short courses and demonstration of successful examples and their benefits in the regions were organised in Zone 3 & 4 in order to assist and promote the use of EO tools. The use of EO in zones 3 and 4 was promoted to develop a process that encourages and fosters collaboration between policy makers and scientists focusing on the benefit derived from the use of EO. This contributes to the development of socio-economic benefits and their impact on the people and communities of the region. More decision makers were involved in the RAOCC network in order to encourage joint use of EO in the EOPOWER project. Capacity building continued through the use of the Web, including the website of CRASTE-LF and the Geoportal of GEONetCaB, GEO, and various institutions in the French-speaking African region.
In WP7 “Empowering economic development Czech Republic and Slovakia” the structure of an improved database was developed; internet and interview search of EO resources development and of new EO resources in the Czech Republic were completed. The main partners for EO dissemination activities have been identified and the database of EO resources and success stories in the Slovak Republic was completed. Cooperation with Krkonoše Mountains and Šumava National Park was further developed and intensified. Cooperation with the Department of Space Technologies and Satellite Systems in the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic and with National Secretariat GEOSS/GMES of the Czech Republic was initiated. Coordination and collaboration on the Academy of Geoinformatics Skills (www.agid.cz) was developed. EO education activities were implemented through cooperation with ESA and NASA. Promotion of EO was realised through dissemination activities. In cooperation with the EGIDA team (WP4) the pilot project “Atlas of EO case studies in the Czech Republic” was carried out.
WP8 “Empowering economic development Poland and Ukraine” continued with the conduction of lectures at school and university level. A presentation of EO capabilities was given for officials in Brussels in the frame of the Polish stand for the tenth anniversary of Polish accession to the EU. Posters were used in conferences. The website is an important source of information, as well as an information exchange platform for the EO community: institutions, experts and end-users, especially for those from Poland and Ukraine. This was implemented in parallel to the promotion of the website created for the EO community. Webinars were organised for Ukrainian partners, to counter the effects of the difficult political situation in Ukraine.
As part of WP9 “Empowering economic development Turkey and Turkish-speaking countries” TÜBİTAK UZAY capitalised on the existing list of contacts from public and private EO organisations. TÜBİTAK UZAY contacted many governmental and other organisations to update the inventory of stakeholders. The network was strengthened through on-going projects and the organisation of symposia/workshops. TÜBİTAK UZAY contacted many organisations in Turkey and abroad. TÜBİTAK UZAY signed MoUs with some governmental organisations to provide freely available RASAT satellite images. Especially with the help of the on-going RASAT satellite project and the Geo-portal for image distribution and sharing, TÜBİTAK UZAY has gained popularity in Turkey.
In WP10 “Empowering economic development Balkan region” the participation in and organisation of several workshops continued. The GEOBIA conference was co-organised. A discussion forum was created on the EOPOWER website. The structure of the PNF database was upgraded. The capability of the web services to interface and interact with other portals was improved. Staff from the BioSense Centre was assigned to create the Balkan Liaison Office.
WP11 “Empowering economic development Black Sea region” took advantage of synergies with the IASON project, in which developers of some enviroGRIDS tools are partner (Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania) in the development of technical tools. Two enviroGRIDS tools promotion workshops were organised. The technology to be used to develop the platform was identified and the platform for use of the online tools was developed. Several success stories of the region were identified and formulated. The methodology for packaging the success stories in the region was selected.
In WP12 “Empowering economic development Latin America” the stakeholders’ database was developed and established. The database was used in various initiatives to improve coordination. A network of focal points was established and various promotion activities were carried out. Several workshops were organised and support to other initiatives was provided. The main EOPOWER products were translated in Spanish. E-learning tutorials were developed.
WP13 “International organisations / high level forum on EO applications” continued with working on improved engagement of the private sector with GEO. Participation to various promotion events and visits to organisations, with special emphasis on the Water Partnership Programme of the World Bank was another focal point. The uptake of the enviroGRIDS results by the two regional Commissions of the Black Sea region was promoted through the preparation of an MoU of collaboration with both Commissions. The main expected outcome of this collaboration is to support both Commissions in the improvement of their use of EO tools and data, and in the specific use of enviroGRIDS outputs. The participation of UNIGE (through its GRID-Geneva partnership) in the UNEP current flagship project, UNEP-live, was used to promote the GEO data sharing principles within UNEP. In the frame of the AFROMAISON project, a first version of a discovery broker had been deployed to harvest African EO data. In the frame of the EOPOWER project, this tool has been improved and customised with the help of its developers – the CNR IAA team, also partner of the EOPOWER project – with the aim of becoming an African broker.
Activities in WP14 “Management” consisted in the annual meeting, 3-monthly work package leader virtual meetings, elaboration of the 6-monthly interim reports and the 12-month periodic report, maintenance of the website, financial management and preparation of the financial information for the 12-month periodic report. All deliverables were uploaded and submitted to the EC. Regular contact was maintained with Advisory Board members, two of the three participated in the final project meeting.
Potential Impact:
The expected results of the project are:
1. Opportunities created for economic development, in particular in developing countries.
2. Key international economic development processes identified that require environmental information and mechanisms to develop them in a sustainable fashion.
3. Local communities and authorities have received capacity building and are able to collaborate with international development programs, use environmental EO information and products, and engage resource providers.
4. Mechanism established to market and exploit EO applications for the creation of new innovative products and support services.
The benefits of earth observation applications need to be placed in a framework that not only accounts for economic aspects, but also for benefits that are currently not captured in economic calculations, such as those relating to sustainable management of natural resources and climate change. In addition to stressing technical features of the proposed earth observation solutions, a number of indicators are used to identify weaknesses and to achieve a better focus of promotion activities. The indicators describe the following characteristics: fit-for-purpose, comparative advantage, complexity to user / ease- of-use, elegance, cost-benefit, sustainability, resilience, reproduction capacity / flexibility, acceptance, level of knowledge transfer required, and ethics, transparency, public accountability, objectivity and impartiality. Where possible, a quantitative analysis is carried out, accompanied by a qualitative assessment for all indicators.
A rating of the business environment is also needed. This is done by assessing the following aspects: • Willingness to pay (by clients);
• Embedding (in organizational processes);
• Openness (transparency and ease of doing business, access to markets);
• Institutions (is the institutional environment conducive to doing business, acceptance of new solutions?).
Based on the impact assessment in the project regions an overall impact assessment will be carried out in the last months of the project. The final result is then a total impact assessment package that provides a good indication and description of (potential) impact of earth observation applications and dissemination, networking and promotion activities and a good insight in the critical missing elements or shortcomings that merit particular attention to improve performance.
List of Websites:
http://www.eopower.eu
EOPOWER stands for “Earth Observation for economic emPOWERment”. The main purpose of the project is create conditions for sustainable economic development through the increased use of Earth observation products and services for environmental applications. This purpose serves the higher goal of effective use of earth observation for decision making and management of economic and sustainable development processes. The marketing instruments applied to achieve this purpose are promotion, capacity building, and science valorisation.
As EOPOWER is about economic development, the focus of the project is on impact assessment of the project activities and on impact assessment of a selected number of earth observation solutions. A framework was developed specifically for this purpose. Although there are quite some marketing and strategy instruments that cover market and business development, it was felt that they are sound, but do not quite address the issue of technological innovation and introduction of new technology in the best possible way, in particular when this new technology is applied to solving environmental problems.
In the EOPOWER project case studies and activities were analysed that demonstrate the impact of earth observation applications and promotion of earth observation, using the EOPOWER impact assessment framework. The framework looks at a step-by-step analysis of where the EO application fits (or does not fit) in an conventional economic model, it applies a number of indicators to the application or activity (fit-for-purpose, comparative advantage, complexity to user / ease- of-use, elegance, cost-benefit, sustainability, resilience, reproduction capacity / flexibility, acceptance, level of knowledge transfer required, and ethics, transparency, public accountability, objectivity and impartiality), and looks at the general business environment. For promotion activities, it also takes into consideration a set of input indicators (promotion efforts) and output indicators (use of earth observation, resources mobilised for earth observation, level of raised awareness, participation in networks, media coverage, use of earth observation-related information, participation in capacity building activities and data use, sharing and submission in GEOSS).
The strategy lessons for successful promotion of earth observation are:
- Dissemination and capacity building increase exposure,
- Exposure creates opportunities,
- Opportunities need a tailor-made approach: building relationships.
The best instruments / lessons for successful dissemination and capacity building are:
- Dissemination and capacity building activities should be (also) directed at target groups outside the regular EO community,
- It is good practice to organise events with a part for decision-makers and a part for professional target groups,
- Webinars are very successful, especially when face-to-face meetings with the target group are difficult,
- Web portals (in the local language) are a must, success depends on active promotion,
- These web portals are preferably linked in a capacity building resources facilities network,
- Marketing toolkits and supporting materials facilitate easy access to information on EO and on (business) environmental factors to decision makers, policy makers, professionals, local communities and students,
- Tried and tested courses on earth observation applications and GEO/GEOSS are very useful, either delivered face-to-face or online.
Examples of created opportunities are:
- Additional (co-)funding of capacity building,
- New forms of cooperation,
- (Financial) support for testing and implementation of EO applications,
- Multiplier effect through increased activity of newly created committed communities,
- Increased involvement in the GEO process, including accession of new members.
The success of a tailor-made approach and building of relationships is demonstrated by:
- Provision of support specifically targeted at the end-user, such as processing of images and flexible capacity building adapted to end-user needs,
- Specific efforts to remove bottlenecks in developing countries, notably Africa, in the areas of web infrastructure and access to, and availability of, data,
- Success stories, where the link with decision-making has been made explicit, with special emphasis on the following: operational and fit-for-purpose aspects, reduction of the complexity of use (by simplifying user operations and/or technology transfer), increase of resilience (by always having a plan B available) and demonstrating reproduction capacity (scalability) of applications.
Project Context and Objectives:
Context
The EOPOWER project is not about science, although it benefits from and uses the results of scientific research in Earth observation and its application areas. Building on the GEONetCab, EGIDA, enviroGRIDS, BalkanGEONet, OBSERVE and SEOCA projects, EOPOWER provides a link (and feedback) between the science community and civil society. The co-ordination of EOPOWER consists of several elements:
• Valorisation of science for practical applications,
• Feedback from the end-users to the science and development community,
• Connection of different pilot regions to benefit and learn from each other experiences,
• Inter-regional dissemination of successful practices and results, and
• Interaction with the GEO community to contribute to the achievement of the GEOSS targets.
EOPOWER will be a project dedicated to action. In the different regions promotion activities will be carried out, each coordinated by a node in the region. The plan and strategy for each region can be different, depending on the specific circumstances. An essential element is that the drivers in the different regions are organizations that are committed to the promotion of earth observation applications and have a proven track record in this area.
The activities in the regions are complemented and supported by a number of ‘central’ initiatives: • A central feedback node, where experiences from the regions are processed and fed back to the other regions. This activity builds on the brokerage function of the GEONetCab project. The main aim of this activity is to deliver a compelling marketing concept and to demonstrate the value of earth observation to customers. It also has a monitoring and evaluation function, with the aim to capitalise on lessons learned from past experiences.
• A capacity building node, where successful practices for capacity building in earth observation for environmental applications are generated and disseminated.
• The resource facility on capacity building and resource mobilization that will be enhanced as part of the GEO web portal.
• A central node that is dedicated to the conceptual aspects of the valorisation of scientific results in Earth observation.
All the other action concentrates on the regions, except an effort to involve international organizations (get Earth observation on the agenda), for which a separate work package is reserved. The regions of the project are:
• Southern Africa,
• French-speaking Africa,
• Czech Republic and Slovakia,
• Poland and Ukraine,
• Balkan region,
• Black Sea region,
• Turkey and Turkish-speaking countries,
• Latin America.
These regions are selected because they provide a broad geographical coverage, with active players in the context of GEO and are of specific interest from the viewpoint of European cooperation in Earth observation. Of course, there are other regions that potentially fulfil these criteria, but practical considerations pose a limit on the number of partners. Additionally, in most of the regions previous projects have been carried out, such as GEONetCab, which makes it possible to increase the number of partners without putting too much strain on co-ordination, because this project can build on past experiences and results. As the GEONetCab project has shown, although regions may be very different, comparing the differences and similarities yields interesting results and is very useful for learning from each other and formulating a general strategy for successful promotion.
Objectives
The purpose of the EOPOWER project is to create conditions for sustainable economic development through the increased use of Earth observation products and services for environmental applications. This purpose serves the higher goal of effective use of Earth observation for decision-making and management of economic and sustainable development processes.
This will be achieved through the following activities:
1. Roadshow activities to promote the increased use of EO products and services for environmental applications, including capacity building;
2. Portfolio of potential EO applications for economic development and environmental management; 3. Enhancement of the resource facility on capacity building in the GEO web portal;
4. Establishment of local focal points (nodes) that actively promote and provide capacity building on the use of EO for environmental applications effectively and at low-cost;
5. Explore the establishment of a high-level forum of stakeholders (resource providers, international organizations) that have an interest in EO for economic development and environmental applications; 6. Establishment of a central feedback node that digests and shares information on incubators, innovation, successes, experiences, visibility and provides brokerage and advice on resource mobilization.
This will result in the output presented below:
1. Opportunities created for economic development, in particular in developing countries;
2. Key international economic development processes identified that require environmental information and mechanisms to develop them in a sustainable fashion;
3. Local communities and authorities have received capacity building and are able to collaborate with international development programs, use environmental EO information and products, and engage resource providers;
4. Mechanism established to market and to exploit EO applications for the creation of new innovative products and support services.
Project Results:
1. THE EOPOWER IMPACT ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK
As EOPOWER is about economic development, the focus of the project period is on impact assessment of the project activities and on impact assessment of a selected number of earth observation solutions. A framework was developed specifically for this purpose. Although there are quite some marketing and strategy instruments that cover market and business development, it was felt that they are sound, but do not quite address the issue of technological innovation and introduction of new technology in the best possible way, in particular when this new technology is applied to solving environmental problems. The developed framework aims at closing this gap, with a special emphasis on earth observation. The methodology is shortly described below.
The benefits of earth observation applications need to be placed in a framework that not only accounts for economic aspects, but also for benefits that are currently not captured in economic calculations, such as those relating to sustainable management of natural resources and climate change (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Framework for a step-by-step analysis of the benefits of earth observation (source: GEONetCab, 2013).
To better relate to customer value propositions, the following questions are asked:
• Does the new application cause a paradigm shift?
• Is the current business or organisation process improved?
• Does the application provide economic value that can be quantified?
• Is a clear measurable goal defined to which the earth observation application contributes?
• Is a future payment scheme or other economic mechanism foreseen in which the earth observation application fits?
If earth observation provides added value, the answers to the questions yield a set of comparative advantages that is attuned to the state-of-the-art of the problem to be tackled and to the way the client perceives this problem.
In addition to stressing technical features of the proposed earth observation solutions, a number of indicators are used to identify weaknesses and to achieve a better focus of promotion activities. The indicators describe the following characteristics: fit-for-purpose, comparative advantage, complexity to user / ease-of-use, elegance, cost-benefit, sustainability, resilience, reproduction capacity / flexibility, acceptance, level of knowledge transfer required, and ethics, transparency, public accountability, objectivity and impartiality. Where possible, a quantitative analysis is carried out, accompanied by a qualitative assessment for all indicators (see table below).
No. Indicator Quantitative assessment Qualitative assessment
(to be indicated on a scale of 1 (= poor) to 5 (= excellent)
1 Fit-for-purpose Not applicable Based on description of what the EO application actually does
2 Comparative advantage Calculation of degree in which the EO application is better than alternatives Based on listing of comparative advantages
3 Complexity (to user) / ease-of-use Not applicable Based on user testimonials and user surveys
4 Elegance None, or it should be the size of the user community Based on user testimonials and user surveys
5 Cost-benefit Cost-benefit calculation Based on quantitative assessment
6 Sustainability Not applicable Based on sensitivity analysis of the EO application
7 Resilience Cost-benefit calculation of plan B Based on risk analysis of the EO application
8 Reproduction capacity / flexibility Calculation of reproduction costs for application in other regions or situations; measurement of spreading of actual use Based on quantitative assessment and description of EO application
9 Acceptance None, or survey results about acceptance. After introduction of the solution: number of clients and/or users. Based on user testimonials and user surveys
10 Level of knowledge transfer required Cost and time required to get the users at the desired knowledge and skill level Based on knowledge transfer plans and evaluation of training activities
11 Ethics, transparency, public accountability, objectivity and impartiality Not applicable Based on user testimonials and user surveys
Table 1: Impact assessment indicators
A rating of the business environment is also needed. This is done by assessing the following aspects:
• Willingness to pay (by clients);
• Embedding (in organisational processes);
• Openness (transparency and ease of doing business, access to markets);
• Institutions (is the institutional environment conducive to doing business, acceptance of new solutions?).
Apart from general marketing considerations that deal with customer value propositions, buyer behaviour and motivation and crossing the technology chasm, a number of elements is particularly interesting to geospatial solutions, such as openness and free availability of geospatial data, accompanying regulatory and legislative frameworks and the inclusion of systems of environmental accounting and payment for ecosystem services.
For promotion, networking and dissemination, the activity level with respect to success stories, marketing toolkits, pilot projects, resource facilities, dissemination efforts and organisation/attendance of promotion events is measured as input indicators. The following output indicators are applied: use of earth observation, resources mobilised for earth observation, level of raised awareness, participation in networks, media coverage, use of earth observation-related information, participation in capacity building activities and data use, sharing and submission in GEOSS.
To assess the impact of the promotion, networking and dissemination activities for earth observation a reflexive approach is adopted, where the assessment for earth observation applications is repeated, but now at the meta-level for promotion. This means that the same indicators are used, but with a focus on promotion, networking and dissemination.
The final result is then a total impact assessment package that provides a good indication and description of (potential) impact of earth observation applications and dissemination, networking and promotion activities and a good insight in the critical missing elements or shortcomings that merit particular attention to improve performance.
This methodology was applied in the different regions of the project on the following subjects:
• Southern Africa: increased use of EO data with emphasis on the use of SPOT (and other) satellite imagery,
• French-speaking Africa: regional conferences for the promotion of the use of EO,
• Czech Republic and Slovakia: use of EO technologies in national parks,
• Poland and Ukraine: promotion, networking and dissemination activities for EO,
• Turkey and Turkish-speaking countries: promotion of the use of RASAT satellite images and the use of the GEZGIN Geoportal,
• Balkan region: support to flood and land management in Serbia and Caravan events (workshops to raise awareness on GEO, GEOSS and EO and address questions of interest for the future of the EO) held in the Balkan region,
• Black Sea region: “Bringing GEOSS Services into Practice” workshop and EO promotion activities and their impact in Armenia,
• Latin America and the Caribbean: networking and capacity building in disaster reduction,
• International organisations: EO for water resources management, related to the Water Partnership Programme of the World Bank.
2. TOWARDS EMPOWERMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Dissemination and capacity building increase exposure
That dissemination activities should be directed more broadly at target groups outside the (traditional) EO community was an important lesson of the GEONetCab project. The EOPOWER project also continued with the organisation of so-called “combined events”: with a part for both decision-makers and professionals, preferably starting with a general part focused on decision-making, then followed by a more technical workshop or course for professionals that takes some more time. This approach was adopted by most project participants. In Poland webinars were used to circumvent the communication problems that were a result of the crisis in Ukraine. This proved to be a very effective approach.
Web portals are also a popular and effective instrument for dissemination. The snow cover portal in Poland draws quite a number of visitors during the winter months (see figure 2). Related to this portal CBK WAW established an EOPOWER web portal. The number of visits to the website is correlated with events that are organised, underpinning the importance of continuous dissemination.
Figure 2: Statistics for the snow-cover portal (Poland).
Promotion of GEO and GEOSS was also done successfully through the course “Bringing GEOSS services into practice” (figure 3), developed by UNIGE and others in the enviroGRIDS project. As a consequence of this course created communities were created that contribute actively to the work of GEO. Another good example is the series of Caravan workshops, coordinated by AUTH.
Figure 3: Cumulative number of downloads of the workshop material of the course “Bringing GEOSS services into practice” in function of time (March 2014 to December 2014) from the open archive of Geneva University.
In the Balkan region events contributed to show the comparative advantages of EO, the reliability of the application to increase acceptance and resulted in awareness raising, partnering and networking. Similarly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia impact was achieved by showing data availability and comparative advantages to potential users. The accompanying networking activities and institutional support were very important for the success of the training courses. The Czech Republic (with support from ESA) and South Africa (outreach programme to schools), and also others, such as Poland, focused on young target groups: training at all school levels and universities. An important lesson is that to reach the pupils you have to go through the trainers. In Latin America and the Caribbean INAOE/CRETEALC created a network of supporting institutions, with a focus on disaster management. Receiving and processing feedback when doing this is important as TUBITAK also learned, while managing the GEZGIN portal on images of Turkish satellites, such as RASAT (see figure 4). TUBITAK also provides training on how to use the portal and the images, as do other project partners, such as SANSA for the SPOT multi-user licence. TUBITAK plans to extend the use to the Black Sea region and has already built a close relationship with Azerbaijan.
Figure 4: GEZGİN geoportal opening meeting and mass media event (19 August 2014).
Similar successful experiences with web portals were obtained in the Czech Republic, the Balkan Region (where the PNF is very successful) and French-speaking Africa. One of the project results was the establishment of the GEO resource facility for capacity building, GEOCAB that was developed by IRD as a node in the network of resource facilities for capacity building.
Facilitating access to information remains very important. Decision makers, policy makers, professionals, local communities and students should have easy access to information on earth observation applications and on the general (business) environment. The marketing toolkits and reference lists that were developed and updated by HCP for this purpose where downloaded about 20,000 times, of which more than 18,000 from the PNF. ITC developed a number of short, online courses for professionals on earth observation topics that cover all GEO societal benefit areas.
Exposure creates opportunities
The exposure that resulted from dissemination activities and capacity building, funded by the EOPOWER project, created opportunities: for (co-)funding of new activities (as CRASTE-LF did for French-speaking Africa with ISESCO), and for new types of cooperation (as CUNI did in the Czech Republic with the Copernicus secretariat and CRECTEALC in Latin America and the Caribbean with UN-SPIDER, SWF, and others). In several parts of the Balkan region, support was received by regional government. The approach has convinced people of the usefulness of earth observation and opened a dialogue between stakeholders. As stated above, the creation of committed communities that already took part in various projects or activities, provided a big boost to further promotion of earth observation. Although not entirely attributable to project efforts, EOPOWER definitely contributed to the accession of Armenia, Georgia and Poland to GEO.
Opportunities need a tailor-made approach: building relationships
The focus should always be on the end-user and maintaining a dialogue with the target group at the appropriate level is important. CRASTE-LF therefore made a distinction in French-speaking Africa between different regional zones and target groups, depending on how advanced they were in the uptake of earth observation. Remaining in Africa and looking at the “business environment”: no or slow internet access in Africa is a bottleneck for the uptake of earth observation (as was experienced in the project for the French-speaking Africa region and SADC-region). Until this is resolved, alternative solutions have to be provided, such as delivering data through GEONETCast, which was actively promoted by the project. Whatever the means, access to data remains important: the project (notably UNIGE) worked on promotion and further development of the AfroMaison Africa broker (figure 5) to improve data accessibility. The broker will also play a role in the AfriGEOSS initiative.
Figure 5: Brokered resources in the Africa broker.
In Turkey an important lesson learned was to provide (different types of) processing of images for different target groups: scientists may prefer raw images, but, for example, disaster agencies want (processed) “before” and “after” images. By doing this, the number of users and types of applications can be increased, while continuously receiving and processing feedback. In the Balkan region success UNS, UNIST and AUTH obtained success by looking for promising applications, such as flood management, hydrology mapping and wetland management (in combination with agriculture). The relevance to decision-making depends on the proposed solution, it is very important to take the “complexity-to-the-user” aspect seriously.
Figure 6: Waterlogging near the lock Botoš (Vojvodina, Serbia).
SANSA was actively engaged in promoting the multi-user SPOT-licence: it provided workshops on specific topics and processing of images for different target groups (just as in Turkey). The impact has been very positive in South Africa, with 87% of customers using the data and over 90% of this group satisfied about the data (rated 8 out of 10). A positive side-effect is that data sharing is taking place.
More often than not, contact with end-user target groups result in a powerful feedback message to the remote sensing community (scientists, administrators, private sector). Take the case of the World Bank Water Partnership Programme. The WPP became convinced of the potential of earth observation for water resources management and an extensive analysis of the feasibility of EO for WB operations was carried out. During the process it became evident that a very clear message back to remote sensing community is that relevance to decision-making should be made more evident (compare experiences in the Balkan region mentioned above). The remote sensing community should more clearly demonstrate that the applications are operational and fit-for-purpose, reduce the complexity of use (by simplifying user operations and/or technology transfer), increase resilience (by always have a plan B available) and ensure reproduction capacity (scalability) of applications.
The tailor-made aspect and building of relationships are also important for contributions to GEO. Pilots implemented during the EOPOWER project, guided by CNR-IIA, as follow-up from the EGIDA project, showed that some institutional players are prepared to contribute datasets to GEOSS, but for others (for example National Parks in the Czech Republic) it is simply too far removed from their mandate and/or they do not have the required time or capacity. An intermediary should then fulfil this role, such as CUNI or the Copernicus secretariat.
3. CAPACITY BUILDING
Learning and knowledge management are very important elements in the promotion of the use of new technologies, such as earth observation. In fact, marketing of earth observation can be defined as promotion and capacity building. As complement to GEOSS, which contains “hard” datasets on earth observation, the EOPOWER project therefore had the aim to establish a one-stop shop with references to capacity building resources and material, building on previous efforts in the GEONetCab project. In the GEO Plenary of November 2014 this system, called GEOCAB, was officially adopted and is accessible through the GEO website and directly: www.geocab.org.
Figure 7: GEOCAB home page.
The portal contains about a 1,000 references; a group consisting of virtually all the project partners and the GEO Secretariat, with support from CEOS, has committed itself to expand and maintain the portal after the end of the project. In addition to GEOCAB, a number of regional web resource facilities were established, expanded and/or improved. Considerable effort went into achieving compatibility between the regional websites and GEOCAB, for which a broker was designed, similar to the brokering approach used for GEOSS. Regional resource facilities are especially important, because they can address local issues more effectively than a central facility and they can reach the target group in the local language. Important course and information material on EO, until now only available in English, was therefore translated in an array of languages.
To enlarge the target group of potential EO users, capacity building material was developed in the form of 3-day courses for professionals. In this way the knowledge, skills and competences can be upgraded and/or expanded of groups that were not familiar with EO before. Each societal benefit area of GEO (except health and energy) is covered with a specific topic: climate/weather, biodiversity, biomass and carbon mapping, flooding, landslides and crop monitoring. The courses are interactive and contain theory, exercises, videos and a quiz. A building block of 3-days corresponds to 1 European credit (part of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS)).
Figure 8: Example of the front page of the course on earth observation for forest biomass and carbon mapping.
4. PROMOTION
Within the EOPOWER project regions, each partner has its own strategy, approach and focus for the promotion of EO, connected together by the general EOPOWER promotion materials and formats. All regional partners made use of websites and associated resource facilities that provide data and services and built and maintain databases of local stakeholders. Most partners also compiled success stories.
In Southern Africa the focus of dissemination activities was mainly on water, agriculture, environment and human settlement. The activities were directed at different target groups, ranging from school level (including Fundisa disk delivery) to scientists. Local nodes were identified to strengthen local presence throughout the region. The World Space Week, ESA-TIGER training-of–trainers project and AARSE conference provided special occasions to emphasise capacity building and promote EO. The SPOT multi-licence for government agencies provides a good umbrella for promotion and capacity building in the public sector.
Figure 9: Example of national value added products derived from SPOT 5.
In French-speaking Africa a wide array of dissemination activities was organised, such as workshops and conferences in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Benin, Tunisia and Morocco, with participants from many countries. The subjects were related to water, agriculture, (space) weather and climate change. For the latter a network of African scientists (RAOCC) was created and expanded. A website hosts two portals for water management data and information in Morocco and Ivory Coast.
Figure 10: Press coverage in Ivory Coast of EOPOWER event.
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia cooperation continued with national parks on environmental management. The Czech experience was leveraged to Slovakia, with the help of strategic partners in both countries. Dissemination activities also focused on educational projects at school and university level. An atlas with local success stories was produced.
Figure 11: Page from the atlas showing forest monitoring using remote sensing in Sumava park.
In Poland and Ukraine also special activities were organised for teachers, students, youths and parents. Other target groups of the dissemination activities were professionals, policy makers, public administrators and SMEs. The website provides the backbone for interaction with these target groups. Special effort went into strengthening ties with the (potential) EO community in Ukraine, which was difficult because of the political situation. The organisation of webinars proved to be the solution to interact and transfer knowledge. In addition, actions have been taken to lobby for Poland’s membership of GEO (resulting in accession).
Figure 12: Representatives of Polish and Ukraine scientific and educational institutions and NGOs meet at CBK WAW.
Turkey and the Turkish-speaking countries provide another example of a strong web-based presence, where the distribution of RASAT satellite images and the presence of the GEZGIN Geoportal is used to strengthen dissemination and receive feedback from users. In South-Eastern Anatolia a pilot is supported on (sustainable) agriculture and cooperation with various government agencies was intensified, particularly in the area of disaster and emergency management. Several activities were organised in the framework of Asia – Pacific cooperation. For networking in the region use was made of the existing contacts of the previous SEOCA project. Special attention was given to Azerbaijan, in the form of cooperation visits and training. A lobby was started for GEO-membership of Azerbaijan, possibly followed by accession of other countries of the region.
Figure 13: Training in EO satellites and data of Azercosmos staff.
In the Balkan region four Caravan workshops were organised: one in Novi Sad on the future of EO in the Balkan region, one in Thessaloniki on marketing and use of the resource facility (in combination with the GEOBIA conference), one in Kosovo for the promotion of EO and one in Serbia to connect scientists and SMEs on the state-of-the-art of EO. Output was also published in the South-Eastern European Journal of Earth Observation and Geomatics. Apart from the focus on general technological advancement, agriculture and flooding (waterlogging) received special attention. A Balkan Liaison Office was established. The Permanent Networking Facility that was set up in the earlier BalkanGEONET project and enhanced during the EOPOWER project is so successful, that it now also hosts data and services for EO users in Africa, in the framework of the AfriGEOSS initiative.
Figure 14: Television interview at the first Caravan workshop.
Similar to South Africa and Turkey, a technical web-based platform for water, soil and environmental modelling was one of the backbones for dissemination in the Black Sea region. The work builds on the results of the former enviroGRIDS project and is supported by technical workshops. Another dissemination instrument is the course “Bringing GEOSS services into practice”, which was given quite a number of times, both inside and outside the region. The lobby for GEO-membership of Armenia and Georgia was strongly supported and resulted in accession to GEO for both countries.
Figure 15: Web-based GUI of the common EOPOWER-IASON platform for the Black Sea region.
In Latin America and the Caribbean the focus of dissemination activities is exclusively on disaster reduction. In total 16 events were organised (one in El Salvador, one in Costa Rica and the rest in Mexico) with the aim to involve all stakeholders in disaster management. To optimise results, this was done in cooperation with a strong field of international partners, such as the GEO Secretariat, UN-SPIDER, SWF, CEOS and MCTP. Three workshops deserve special mention: participants from twelve countries received training on the use of open-source software for disaster reduction and flood modelling. A working group is established by focal points that were identified earlier. The self-motivation of the working group is the wish to build further capacity in EO applications to reduce flood and drought disasters and to strengthen operational use of EO in their day to day work. At present, the working group has representatives from twelve user institutions in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Venezuela including two space agencies of the region and three international organisations, including INAOE/CRECTEALC.
Figure 16: Participants in the workshop on the use of open-source software and satellite data in the prevention of, and response to, disasters in Mesoamerica in Puebla, Mexico.
The project also gave special attention to the promotion of the use of earth observation in international organisations, such as UN-SPIDER, EuropeAid, the World Bank, ICPDR, BSCPS and UNEP.
All these activities contributed to achieving the goals of several tasks in the GEO 2012 – 2015 Work Plan, notably task ID-05-C1 “Resource mobilisation for capacity building”, ID-02 “Capacity building” and ID-04 “User engagement”.
5. THE INNOVATION CHAIN
The EGIDA methodology is a general methodological approach for implementing a (re-) engineering process of the S&T national infrastructures and systems, which can be adopted by national/regional S&T communities, for a sustainable contribution to the GEOSS and relevant European initiatives based on a system of systems (SoS) approach, through the mobilisation of resources made available from the participation in national, European and international initiatives and projects. In the EOPOWER project the methodology was tested in the following pilot projects to see how it can be improved:
• EO for sustainable management of nature protected areas (Czech Republic and Slovakia),
• Environmental SDI in Armenia,
• River banks of the Bouregreg dam (Morocco),
• ` Advanced level webinars in the EO field (Poland and Ukraine).
Figure 17: Framework of the EGIDA methodology.
Based on the outcome of the pilots, a number of issues were identified that are used to improve the EGIDA methodology. The issues to be dealt with concern the use of questionnaires, social media and stakeholder databases for networking, and suggestions for processing user feedback, guidelines and communication for technical activities. To improve the technical activities further, in a joint effort of the EOPOWER and IASON projects, the EOPOWER framework for impact assessment (highlighted above) was integrated with the EGIDA Methodology to cover assessment of business potential and contribution to GEOSS for the whole innovation chain.
In WP1 “Central feedback node, monitoring and evaluation” the GEONetCab toolkits for marketing of Earth observation were updated. A new format for the toolkits was developed that includes the elements of the new framework for impact assessment that was developed. Interaction between regions was provided through various meetings, conference calls, elaboration of the promotion and dissemination plan, the selection of pilot projects for science valorisation and synchronisation of resource facilities. A cooperation arrangement with CEOS has been set up to share the information gathered on capacity development in the EOPOWER resource facility. The EOPOWER partners participated actively in the implementation of GEO tasks and the GEO Institutions and Development Implementation Board. The business template for SMEs (how to structure and organise to compete successfully in an international environment) has been developed and is published on the EOPOWER website. The EOPOWER methodological framework for impact assessment of Earth observation applications for environmental applications was developed and published in a report. In cooperation with WP4 and the IASON project the EOPOWER framework for impact assessment was integrated with the EGIDA Methodology to cover assessment of business potential and contribution to GEOSS for the whole innovation chain.
The first task of WP2 “Capacity building” was already finished in the first project period. A conceptual framework was selected for certification of courses in environmental applications of Earth observation for economic development for both the beginners and advanced courses. The main focus of activities in the second year was on course design/curriculum development. A generic curriculum format (5 EC’s) has been produced considering two target groups. Intensive work has been done on updating the teaching material “Bringing GEOSS services into practice”.
Activities for WP3 “Resource facility” focused on establishing the interoperability between the different systems using ontology and semantic web technologies. New resources were discovered and consultation components for the capacity building resource facility GEOCAB were added. GEOCAB is now the capacity building resource facility that functions as a component of GEOSS and is accessible through the GEO website. A technical note, called “Architectural Framework for a Capacity Building System of Systems” was drafted in cooperation with CNR-IAA (P. Mazetti) and sent to the EOPOWER and IASON partners and the CEOS members of the Capacity Building working group. This note presents a brokering approach, similar to the approach of the Global Earth observation System of Systems (GEOSS), to build a Capacity Building System of Systems connecting the current systems, but also future ones. Joint actions between EOPOWER and IASON projects were conducted for both projects to use the GEOCAB portal to reference the capacity building resources of both projects. External partners, such as members of The Working Group on Capacity Building & Data Democracy (WGCapD) of CEOS, participated in discussions on technical elements to enlarge the CB resources inventory.
In WP4 “Science valorisation” pilot projects for assessment of the EGIDA Methodology were selected and implemented. The partners responsible for the selected pilots applied the EGIDA Methodology to their specific use-cases and provided feedback on the relevant emerging issues. Reports were summarised, cross-compared and discussed, prospecting possible areas of improvement of the EGIDA Methodology. CNR-IAA consolidated all the feedback deemed significant, seeking clarifications from the pilot teams when necessary; determined possible corrective actions to improve the EGIDA Methodology and implemented a number of them in a revised version.
WP5 “Empowering economic development Southern Africa” was dedicated to promotion activities and the organisations of Road Shows and larger events. A request was sent to EO practitioners in neighbouring countries to see if any of them had success stories they wished to share. Output from the Agricultural workshop that was identified regional Point of Contacts (POC). The agricultural workshop held on 8-9 May 2015, under the AfriGEOSS/GEOGLAM/ EOPOWER has been an important step to mobilising and stimulating resources within the region to take part in GEO initiatives. Experiences continued with the organisation of special activities for educators and secondary school children.
In WP6 “Empowering economic development French-speaking Africa” short courses and demonstration of successful examples and their benefits in the regions were organised in Zone 3 & 4 in order to assist and promote the use of EO tools. The use of EO in zones 3 and 4 was promoted to develop a process that encourages and fosters collaboration between policy makers and scientists focusing on the benefit derived from the use of EO. This contributes to the development of socio-economic benefits and their impact on the people and communities of the region. More decision makers were involved in the RAOCC network in order to encourage joint use of EO in the EOPOWER project. Capacity building continued through the use of the Web, including the website of CRASTE-LF and the Geoportal of GEONetCaB, GEO, and various institutions in the French-speaking African region.
In WP7 “Empowering economic development Czech Republic and Slovakia” the structure of an improved database was developed; internet and interview search of EO resources development and of new EO resources in the Czech Republic were completed. The main partners for EO dissemination activities have been identified and the database of EO resources and success stories in the Slovak Republic was completed. Cooperation with Krkonoše Mountains and Šumava National Park was further developed and intensified. Cooperation with the Department of Space Technologies and Satellite Systems in the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic and with National Secretariat GEOSS/GMES of the Czech Republic was initiated. Coordination and collaboration on the Academy of Geoinformatics Skills (www.agid.cz) was developed. EO education activities were implemented through cooperation with ESA and NASA. Promotion of EO was realised through dissemination activities. In cooperation with the EGIDA team (WP4) the pilot project “Atlas of EO case studies in the Czech Republic” was carried out.
WP8 “Empowering economic development Poland and Ukraine” continued with the conduction of lectures at school and university level. A presentation of EO capabilities was given for officials in Brussels in the frame of the Polish stand for the tenth anniversary of Polish accession to the EU. Posters were used in conferences. The website is an important source of information, as well as an information exchange platform for the EO community: institutions, experts and end-users, especially for those from Poland and Ukraine. This was implemented in parallel to the promotion of the website created for the EO community. Webinars were organised for Ukrainian partners, to counter the effects of the difficult political situation in Ukraine.
As part of WP9 “Empowering economic development Turkey and Turkish-speaking countries” TÜBİTAK UZAY capitalised on the existing list of contacts from public and private EO organisations. TÜBİTAK UZAY contacted many governmental and other organisations to update the inventory of stakeholders. The network was strengthened through on-going projects and the organisation of symposia/workshops. TÜBİTAK UZAY contacted many organisations in Turkey and abroad. TÜBİTAK UZAY signed MoUs with some governmental organisations to provide freely available RASAT satellite images. Especially with the help of the on-going RASAT satellite project and the Geo-portal for image distribution and sharing, TÜBİTAK UZAY has gained popularity in Turkey.
In WP10 “Empowering economic development Balkan region” the participation in and organisation of several workshops continued. The GEOBIA conference was co-organised. A discussion forum was created on the EOPOWER website. The structure of the PNF database was upgraded. The capability of the web services to interface and interact with other portals was improved. Staff from the BioSense Centre was assigned to create the Balkan Liaison Office.
WP11 “Empowering economic development Black Sea region” took advantage of synergies with the IASON project, in which developers of some enviroGRIDS tools are partner (Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania) in the development of technical tools. Two enviroGRIDS tools promotion workshops were organised. The technology to be used to develop the platform was identified and the platform for use of the online tools was developed. Several success stories of the region were identified and formulated. The methodology for packaging the success stories in the region was selected.
In WP12 “Empowering economic development Latin America” the stakeholders’ database was developed and established. The database was used in various initiatives to improve coordination. A network of focal points was established and various promotion activities were carried out. Several workshops were organised and support to other initiatives was provided. The main EOPOWER products were translated in Spanish. E-learning tutorials were developed.
WP13 “International organisations / high level forum on EO applications” continued with working on improved engagement of the private sector with GEO. Participation to various promotion events and visits to organisations, with special emphasis on the Water Partnership Programme of the World Bank was another focal point. The uptake of the enviroGRIDS results by the two regional Commissions of the Black Sea region was promoted through the preparation of an MoU of collaboration with both Commissions. The main expected outcome of this collaboration is to support both Commissions in the improvement of their use of EO tools and data, and in the specific use of enviroGRIDS outputs. The participation of UNIGE (through its GRID-Geneva partnership) in the UNEP current flagship project, UNEP-live, was used to promote the GEO data sharing principles within UNEP. In the frame of the AFROMAISON project, a first version of a discovery broker had been deployed to harvest African EO data. In the frame of the EOPOWER project, this tool has been improved and customised with the help of its developers – the CNR IAA team, also partner of the EOPOWER project – with the aim of becoming an African broker.
Activities in WP14 “Management” consisted in the annual meeting, 3-monthly work package leader virtual meetings, elaboration of the 6-monthly interim reports and the 12-month periodic report, maintenance of the website, financial management and preparation of the financial information for the 12-month periodic report. All deliverables were uploaded and submitted to the EC. Regular contact was maintained with Advisory Board members, two of the three participated in the final project meeting.
Potential Impact:
The expected results of the project are:
1. Opportunities created for economic development, in particular in developing countries.
2. Key international economic development processes identified that require environmental information and mechanisms to develop them in a sustainable fashion.
3. Local communities and authorities have received capacity building and are able to collaborate with international development programs, use environmental EO information and products, and engage resource providers.
4. Mechanism established to market and exploit EO applications for the creation of new innovative products and support services.
The benefits of earth observation applications need to be placed in a framework that not only accounts for economic aspects, but also for benefits that are currently not captured in economic calculations, such as those relating to sustainable management of natural resources and climate change. In addition to stressing technical features of the proposed earth observation solutions, a number of indicators are used to identify weaknesses and to achieve a better focus of promotion activities. The indicators describe the following characteristics: fit-for-purpose, comparative advantage, complexity to user / ease- of-use, elegance, cost-benefit, sustainability, resilience, reproduction capacity / flexibility, acceptance, level of knowledge transfer required, and ethics, transparency, public accountability, objectivity and impartiality. Where possible, a quantitative analysis is carried out, accompanied by a qualitative assessment for all indicators.
A rating of the business environment is also needed. This is done by assessing the following aspects: • Willingness to pay (by clients);
• Embedding (in organizational processes);
• Openness (transparency and ease of doing business, access to markets);
• Institutions (is the institutional environment conducive to doing business, acceptance of new solutions?).
Based on the impact assessment in the project regions an overall impact assessment will be carried out in the last months of the project. The final result is then a total impact assessment package that provides a good indication and description of (potential) impact of earth observation applications and dissemination, networking and promotion activities and a good insight in the critical missing elements or shortcomings that merit particular attention to improve performance.
List of Websites:
http://www.eopower.eu