Enhancing Earth Observation: Capacity Building Strategies

Capacity Building in GEO post 201518 September 2014Capacity Building session, EnschedeGregory GiulianiUniversity of GenevaUNEP/GRID-Geneva

GEO/GEOSS main objectives • Improve and Coordinate Observation Systems (avoid duplications) • Provide Easier & More Open Data Access • Foster Use (Science, Applications) • Building Capacity • Identify gaps in observations (based on user requirements) …Earth Observation Systems should becoordinated and shared internationally… to answer Society’s need for informed decision making

1. INFRASTRUCTURE (Architecture and Data Management) 2. INSTITUTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT (Capacity Building, Science and Technology, User Engagement) INFORMATION FOR SOCIETAL BENEFITS (All SBA Tasks, plus new transverse tasks on Oceans, Global Land Cover, Global Forest Observation, Impact Assessment of Human Activities) GEO 2012-2015 Work Plan Strategic Target Driven-Structure

Institutions and Development ID-01: Advancing GEOSS Data Sharing Principles ID-02: Developing Institutional and Individual Capacity ID-03: Science and Technology in GEOSS ID-04: Building a user-driven GEOSS ID-05: Catalyzing Resources for GEOSS implementation

ID-02: Developing Institutional and Individual Capacity • Establish regional capacity-building networks: Organize and reinforce international networks (incl. training opportunity networks) for the use and provision of Earth observations. Improve coordination of these networks through the GEO Portal and GEONETCast. • Create conditions for expanding GEO capacity building activities and improving their effectiveness across Societal Benefit Areas. • Develop qualitative and quantitative Performance Indicators for measuring the efficacy of institutional and individual capacity building programs • Strengthen regional and national capabilities to employ geographic information systems and remote sensing for environmental monitoring and decision-making.

GEO Capacity Building – Strategic Targets Before 2015, GEO aims to: Enhance the coordination of efforts to strengthen individual, institutional and infrastructure capacities, particularly in developing countries, to produce and use Earth observations and derived information products.

GEO Capacity Building – Strategic Targets • This will be achieved through: • working with and building on the capacity building efforts of GEO Members and Participating Organizations to further increase the synergies and effectiveness of national and international capacity building programmes; • ensuring the engagement and committed involvement of resource providers in the GEO capacity building process; • enhancing capacity building efforts to ensure the integration of mature Earth observation-based information systems into day by day end-user practices including decision making, management processes and planning for all Societal Benefit Areas.

GEO Capacity Building – Strategic Targets • This will be demonstrated by: • Networking activities that specifically build individual, institutional and infrastructure capacity. • Leveraging resources for Earth observation capacity building efforts. • Increased use of Earth observation in policy and decision making. • Enhanced participation of developing countries in GEO and GEOSS.

GEO Capacity Building Strategy http://www.earthobservations.org/documents/committees/cbc/capacity_building_strategy.pdf

GEO Capacity Building Strategy • Human capacity building refers to the education and training of individuals to be aware of, access, use and develop Earth observation data and products. • Institutional capacity building is focused on developing and fostering an environment for the use of Earth observations to enhance decision making. This includes building policies, programs and organizational structures in governments and organizations aimed at enhancing the understanding of the value of Earth observation data and products. • Infrastructure capacity building is related to the hardware, software and other technology required to access, use and develop Earth observation data and products for decision making. • http://www.earthobservations.org/documents/committees/cbc/capacity_building_strategy.pdf

Current status of EO Capacity Building Initiatives • Limited access to capacity building resources; • Lack of e-science infrastructure for Earth observation education and training; • Need for criteria and standards for Earth observation capacity building; • Gaps between Earth observation research and operational application; • Connectivity inefficiency between providers and users of Earth observation systems; • Need for cooperation within and between developed and developing countries and regions; • Lack of awareness about the value of Earth observations among decision makers; and • Duplication of Earth observation capacity building efforts.

Guiding Principles for GEO Capacity Building • Build on existing efforts and best practices; • Focus on user needs; • Foster collaboration and partnership, especially with and between developing countries, at the local, national, regional and global level, and within and between GEO societal benefit and transverse areas; • Concentrate on end-to-end Earth observation needs in each of GEO’s societal benefit areas, including user requirements; data access, collection, archiving and analysis; and product development and exchange; • Enhance the sustainability of existing and future Earth observation capacity building efforts by building awareness amongst decision makers in developing countries; and • Facilitate the development of comprehensive, sustainable capacity building efforts that address infrastructure capacity needs, education and training, and building local institutional capacity.

Priority Actions • Enabling capacity building through the GEO Web Portal • Enabling sustainable infrastructure capacity building efforts • Strengthening Earth observation capacity building networks • Promoting the development and use of open source software • Facilitating the development of national and regional capacity • Engaging donors on Earth observation capacity building priorities

Strategic Assessment Report Rationale for Target Rating: Capacity building activities are increasing in number and forces are joined to enhance capacity building initiatives. Twenty-one of the WP tasks have elements of capacity building activity, responding in some way to the one or more of the demonstrated by actions of the target. The activity level between these varies from small to robust. The spread of capacity building activities in the WP further highlights the cross–cutting nature of capacity building and the need for more robust coordination. The integration of the capacity development resource facility and the GEO web portal and initiatives in the framework of AfriGEOSS will give a further boost to capacity building.

ID-02 (current) activities GEOCAB portal: the GEO Capacity Building Portal Side events: (re)building a GEO CB community Onoing initiatives with strong CB component: 23 (GEONETCast toolbox, AfriGEOSS, ARCSSTE-E, GEOapps+, RECTAS, INPE, Performance Indicators, POGO, SERVIR, GEONETCast-Americas, ARSET, DEVELOP, FEWS Net, GFOI, SilvaCarbon, CODATA, EnerGEO,BGSP, EOPOWER, IASON, CEOS WGCapD, GEOGLAM) Tools and open source software New web page on the GEO website

GEOCAB main objectives • GEOCAB = GEO CApacityBuilding resource facility Portal • Provide information that helps decision makers, policy makers, EO professionals and scientists become more familiar with EO applications and opportunities • Make freely accessible through the resource facility

GEOCAB rationale Several past and on-going projects throughout the GEO Work Plan have collected or are collecting information about Capacity Building resources (i.e. stakeholders' contacts, description of initiatives and activities, training material etc.) on different geographical areas and about different topics. The GEOCAB Portal aims to capture capacity development material and make them easily accessible.

GEOCAB base concepts Defintion: By Capacity Building resource, we mean any element of interest that can help the development of knowledge (capacity building) in the field of Earth Observation. This element can be human, organizational, IT-related, methodological, technical. Examples: a service for downloading images, an institution or technical experts whom activities are focused on Earth Observation domains, software dedicated to process geospatial data, methodological guides or technical user guidelines, projects or initiatives in Earth observation domains or promotion of use of Earth Observation data

Contributions Based on open source tool MDweb (IRD, Geomatys) and joint efforts by GEO, CEOS WGCapD (Working Group on Capacity Building and Data Democracy) and the EU/FP7 GeoNetCab, EOPOWER, and IASON projects have started to identify capacity development opportunities and material on Earth observation outside the GEO community.

Future interface (will be launched at GEOXI) http://www.geocab.org

How to participate • Ask an account to the GEO secretariat (amlisa@geosec.org) or the administrator of the portal (Jean-Christophe.Desconnets@ird.fr) • Add a new resource using the user guideline Useful links: GEOCAB FAQ: http://eocab.alwaysdata.net/eocab/faq.php?lng=en GEOCAB User Guide & presentations: http://eocab.alwaysdata.net/eocab/download.php?lng=en&tconfig=0

Incentives • Make your resources visible and useful to others. • Be aware of what other organizations are doing in terms of Capacity Building. • Coordination of existing initiatives and future planning.

Views on the evolution of the Task in the current decade of GEO Started to capture lessons learnt. Sent a questionnaire to ID-02 PoC, leaders, and contributors. So far 12 respondents Available online on the GEOSS Best Practices Wiki: http://wiki.ieee-earth.org/Documents/GEOSS_Capacity_Building%3a_Lessons_learnt Continuous activity

Views on the evolution of the Task in the current decade of GEO

Views on the evolution of the Task in the current decade of GEO • 1. What are (or were) your expectations of CB in GEO? • Open/Improve access to data (high resolution images, monitoring systems), models, products, tools more possibilities for education and training opportunities • Strengthen institutional capacity • Low expectation given the technological gaps that exist • Awareness raising on the importance of geoinformation for decision-making • Provide guidelines on CB • Establishment of communities engaged in capacity building for earth observation • Establishment of a resource facility on capacity building • Development of promotion /capacity building material for decision makers • Development of business/marketing support capacity building material for entrepreneurs (start-ups, developing countries) • Implementation of and reporting on capacity building activities in all GEO tasks • Certification or at least categorizing the many, often ad-hoc, capacity building activities in the framework of GEO • Cross-domains trainings • Better coordination with other oingoing efforts (especially UN) • Broaden the capacity of user community to make use, in an efficient and creative way, of RS products. • Make data useable and useful

Views on the evolution of the Task in the current decade of GEO • 2. Do you agree with the currently developed CB strategy, do you think its principles are still valid? • YES but… • still valid, because its principles are quite general. May be these principles could be more precise • better linkage and mutual understanding with other major players are needed about sharing ownership of initiatives. • does not take in account pre-existing programmes and initiatives related to the promotion, development and sustainability of geospatial data infrastructures and that GEO should act more in synergy with its participating organizations. • still is a demand for funding that could allow the implementation of specific projects which have across-agency input and coordination and would pull in existing organizations as well as have an outreach aspect to universities and student groups. The problem continues to remain that GEO is not a funding source that simply hands out money for projects but the countries each on their own need to see a need for these projects and information, develop their own funded projects, and work back up into GEO for added data, methodology, and resource items to help within the country’s own conceived programs and improvements when using satellite imagery. • means of implementation and stated approach should be more closely followed. • some of the points require sustained funding too, and that aspect is not addressed as a lot of the GEO efforts are still voluntary in nature. Here, encouraging GEO member states to provide dedicated funding to EO awareness raising and CB, as well as subsidising data costs for developing nations could be emphasised. • It is important to keep developing synergies and encouraging cross-fertilization and addressing common challenges across capacity building initiatives (AfriGEOSS is a good opportunity).

Views on the evolution of the Task in the current decade of GEO • 3. What is your assessment of the practical actions carried forward by GEO/within the GEO coordination framework? • Mostly no opinion, not enough experience, hard to assess • Great progress has been made, both in terms of activities and analysis, as in terms of information gathering • benefited from the services of the International Charter "Space and Major Disasters” • People change so frequently within the GEO working groups a lack of continuity is difficult to grasp. • Projects and data needs have to be home-grown in each country and bloom up allowing the right resources across countries to then be assessable, able to be retrofitted, and usable in a wider, global context. • Just collecting data at the GEO level has limited new project thinking and ownership and pride and capacity building at the individual country level. This global collection is the ultimate endpoint to have free and accessible information, but missing or guess work data at the base, country level is still the problem and this capacity base has to be build up and gain ownership at the country level. • GEONETCast is a major success story • AfriGEOSS has a good example of regional empowerment • GEO in its coordination efforts should more actively engage through inter-agency coordination bodies • more regular consultation between all involved parties and major actors • GEO has been providing the necessary cooperation framework, strengthening the linkages among all the key actors for a better exploitation of synergies and a broader access to best practices, both constituting key elements for the consolidation of an effective framework for coordinated capacity building actions. This work seems endless since new initiatives and needs keep showing up, especially in different regions, countries and continents… For the next decade we need to keep up the good work!

Views on the evolution of the Task in the current decade of GEO • 4. What have been the major successes in your view? • sharing of knowledge and big data scientists between producing international institutions and developing countries at low cost • GFOI and SilvaCarbon CB • Establishment of informal / formal communities that work together on promotion of capacity building activities • Level of capacity building activities has increased • Promoting CB initiatives relating to GEO goals and SBAs had a clear impact on CB worldwide. GEONETCast is an excellent examples. • Format and data input resources determined by the initiatives within GEO. • Improved cross-country work, although still at the fledgling stages. • It has sourced available satellite data across countries, allowing even some of the poorest countries to have some access to the data and a footprint in developing their own satellite data use offices. It has allowed others more access to improved data-use processes. • It has brought together scientists, researchers, and analysts to discover improved measurement and forecast • positive transformations in data access policy (data sharing principles). • Importance of EU research: EnviroGRIDS, GEONETCAB and OBSERVE.

Views on the evolution of the Task in the current decade of GEO • 5. What have been the major gaps in your view ? • Non-participation in many of the developing countries especially in Africa • Funding • More capacity building material/activities is needed for interested professionals that are not at home in earth observation, but interested in using its applications • The resource facility should be expanded • Tasks should give more attention on capacity building and improve reporting • slow adoption of the idea of developing projects from the country-level up into GEO • Many important projects and initiatives should be extended and expanded onto other areas (ICOS, COCOS, EDGAR) • sharing ownership of very relevant CB initiatives implemented by GEO Members • The GEO CB activities is perceived as unfocused • Lack of interaction between individual tasks • More awareness raising • Voluntary nature is often not enough to make progress, and resources/funding for GEO actions are still lacking • GEO could make efforts to rally commercial vendors as well as major purchasers (UN, EU, WB, bilateral donors) to pool resources and efforts for easing licensing and data sharing conditions. • Overall coordination of CB materials and activities which will be hopefully reached through the launch GEOCAB Portal.

Views on the evolution of the Task in the current decade of GEO • 6. General comments? • Development AfriGEOSS will make better address the problems affecting Earth Observation • the aims of capacity building must be realistic • Data provision should be seen as an enabling CB accomplishment • Working toward better stability of the GEO framework, data, resources, training, cross-education while slowly implementing the idea of ground up transitions of projects would improve the success of GEO • There seems to be a gap between goals, principles and practical actions. In my view this is due to a somewhat ambiguous relation between GEO, GEOSS and CB "field-actors" (the ones really making things happen).

Views on the evolution of the Task in the current decade of GEO • 7. What measures do you think will be necessary to improve the relevance of GEO as a global player in the CB domain? • A necessary building material and personal capacity of institutions in developing countries • Funding • The model for capacity building via GEO cannot be to ‘make developing countries like us’. Rather, the model will need to be one of sustained enablement , in which internationally accessible infrastructures are used to provide enabling services that can be used to inform decisions and actions. • Overall coordination of CB materials and activities. • Increasing visibility • Individualized projects with countries that allow visiting scientists, researchers and analysts to help build home-grown ideas for projects within countries • Bringing in more of the universities and private sector groups is also necessary as both of these see more in the long-range view of improvements in information for a country. • More active involvement of students and young scientists, as well as development of communication tools inside an expert community can advantage to increase a role of GEO as a global player in the CB domain. • Promote the preparation of training kits (teaching materials for short courses) mirroring the high level structure of GEO (SBA-s or else). • Promote a system of MSc fellowships to create a generation of GEO - knowledgeable specialists, EU programs could be used for this. • GEO should be able to provide “background information / lesson learnt / best practices / success stories”that could be used by each GEO individual member and participating organising to approach donors • Create GEO CB approaches that answer to higher level objectives (e.g. RIO+2015, or any other global initiative). • coordination with other entities, working together more as One, as a "team", not favouring individual approaches. • keep looking for resources. The private sector involvement in GEO can help on this.

(Partial) conclusions A lot of good work has been done. We are on the right track but a lot of efforts remain in order to consolidate coordination and networking between major actors in CB. Give a clear message and clarify relations between different actors Education and private sectors are important Funding is a major issue Better communication GEOCAB portal will be very helpful (lots of expectation, will answer a need)

Thank you!earthobservations.orggregory.giuliani@unige.chgregory.giuliani@unep.org

Enhancing Earth Observation: Capacity Building Strategies