A joint action plan was prepared by the two Copernicus hub sister projects CopHub.AC and CoRDiNet including strategic goals and events regular coordination meetings. An initial joint project leaflet was complemented by a comprehensive joint policy brief towards the end of the projects. Both projects were amended to extend the implementation phase and jointly maximize impacts towards the end. CopHub.AC was involved in the Copernicus European Regional Strategy Panel (CERSP) of CoRdiNet.
Key dissemination activities included networking events during the General Assemblies in 2018, 2019, and 2020 with presentations, interactive sessions, video documentations, virtual booths, networking tables. A highlight was the “Hitchhiker’s guide to digitalisation in Europe” attracting more than 100 participants from regional authorities, industry and academia.
Work carried out in the context of the “Copernicus ecosystem” [WP 2] focused on the Thematic Working Groups (TWG) operational procedures, pursued by regular telcons and exchanges. With respect to the (potential) amendments of the current membership procedures, we the “Published membership conditions” backed by exchanges with DG GROW, the CSO, and Advisory Board members,. On technical level, the “Gateway demonstrator” implies an extended format of gathering relevant expertise from existing and new partners, prototypically is accessible through the CopHub.AC website (www.cophub-ac.eu).
“Copernicus Academy R&I capacities” [WP 3] was inaugurated by an in-depth working session in early 2019. The general strategy evolved to an Innovation Pipeline, as an innovation concept. The Knowledge Landscape was prototypically implemented, gathering relevant Copernicus Academy in a database to better visualise and query the distributed expertise.
“Copernicus Academy outreach” [WP 4] aimed to identify and link up with the existing partner networks and establishing synergies, in particular with the Erasmus+ Skills Alliance project EO4GEO. Intensive discussions were conducted with respect to the Body of Knowledge (in particular the BoK knowledge area “Thematic Applications”) to streamline the vocabulary in terms of application areas, market taxonomies, and societal areas. As a facilitating tool, the CopHub.AC Citizen App was prototyped, showcasing ‘stories’ in different application domains or core service areas.
Work on “Connectedness / connectivity” [WP 5] led to an Annual Event Calendar, constantly updated with events relevant to the Academy or other key communities, such as GEO, SGAC, UNOOSA, etc. Linkages to, and interaction with, the CSO were ensured. A virtual Summer School was held, and an interactive repository on training elements complied.
Finally, work pushing “Copernicus Academy sustainability” [WP 6] focused on the means and conditions to establish long(er)-term perspectives of the Academy as a network. A set of networking indicators was proposed as a baseline to evaluate the success of measures in sustaining the network. One of the key outcomes was the active contribution to the GA, through interactive sessions, talks, workshops or hand-outs. Key dissemination strategies and their respective impacts were discussed in the joint Policy Brief. It culminated in the presentation of a Roadmap document, including achievements and recommendations for future implementations.
