During the 12 months of the project, the activities have been mainly focused on: a) strategic positioning and impact assessment of the ERC and ECoE, b) communication and dissemination activities targeting local, regional and European partners, both private and public in the framework of the OI2.0 b) impact assessment of the ERC and the proposed ECoE, c) development of the Stage-2 Business plan.
Within the WP2, EXCELSIOR provided outreach activities to all 4 pillars of stakeholders (industry, government, academia and society) to promote cutting edge research in Earth Observation, Remote Sensing and Space Technology and to promote the concrete benefits of space to the non-space sector. The ERC promote its activities through a series of outreach campaigns targeted to the specific stakeholders. Furthermore, activities undertaken to strategically position Cyprus and the proposed ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence on the regional, European and International Level. In collaboration with the project partners, mainly from the high-performance Institutions, EXCELSIOR partners from Cyprus visited International Leading Institutions, attended International Fora and carried out Networking activities.
The main purpose of WP3 was to create the Communication and Dissemination Plan (Deliverable 3.1) of EXCELSIOR project, highlighting the different communication target audiences, the tools and methodologies utilised towards their effective involvement in the project’s activities. Thus, the tools (e.g. website, brochure, events) and strategic communication priorities were tailored considering the diverse nature of the different stakeholder groups.
The Communication Strategy and Action Plan is part of WP3 “Dissemination and Outreach”, whose main objective is to ensure that the impact of the upgrade of the Eratosthenes CoE was maximized through an effective campaign of communication, dissemination and engagement activities based on a well-defined strategy, a toolbox of communication and outreach material. The communication Plan had strong inter-dependencies with other WPs of the project – especially in relation to the different needs of different target audiences.
In the WP4, the EXCELSIOR team produces a detailed business plan for the ERATOSTHENES CoE for the 7 years of the operation of Phase 2 which includes a longer-term plan for the period following the completion of Phase 2. The Business Plan and the longer-term plan have been reviewed and updated on a regular basis under the supervision of the Supervisory Board and assisted by the External Advisory Committee.
This Business Plan is a requirement for planning the business development activities to identify the required resources and the financial constraints. An exhaustive communication campaign –under the WP2 and WP3 implementation- to all audience targets, have been special designed for provide stakeholders with detailed information about the objectives of the Centre, and the collaboration opportunities. The EXCELSIOR team, have been supported in a regular manner by external experts, developed processes and procedures for strategic and operational management.
