ID Tasks, Progress, and Assessment 5 May 2015 Work Plan Symposium Geneva, Switzerland Kathy Fontaine on behalf of the IDIB.

ID Tasks, Progress, and Assessment

5 May 2015Work Plan SymposiumGeneva, Switzerland

Kathy Fontaine on behalfof the IDIB

• Context• The Tasks• Observations and Lessons• ID Board Comments on the 2016-2025 Strategic Plan• Recommendations

Topics

Board Co-Chair Mark Noort NetherlandsBoard Co-Chair Stuart Marsh United KingdomBoard Co-Chair Gary Foley United StatesBoard Member Tim Haigh EEABoard Member Sergio Albani EU SatCenBoard Member Michel Schouppe European CommissionBoard Member Carsten Dettmann GermanyBoard Member Kathleen Fontaine IEEEBoard Member Hans-Peter Plag IEEEBoard Member Paolo Mazzetti ItalyBoard Member Stefano Nativi ItalyBoard Member Freek Van Der Meer ITCBoard Member Ganiyu Agbaje NigeriaBoard Member Bente Bye NorwayBoard Member Ghulam Rasul PakistanBoard Member Imraan Saloojee South AfricaBoard Member Gregory Giuliani UNEPGEO Sec Rep Andiswa Mlisa GEO Secretariat

ID Board Membership

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ContextEarly governance included Committees

•Science and Technology•Capacity Building•User Interface•Architecture and Data Management

Work Methodology•Committees provided the basis for highlighting and

gathering knowledge and connections by discipline, region, Community of Practice, and so on.

•Tasks reported to the various Committees•Committees encouraged and valued individual participation

as an in-kind contribution

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Science and Technology Committee• Assessed the scientific and technological aspects of the Work Plan through discussions with

SBA leads• Emphasized discussion, analysis, and cross-cutting aspects• Developed a Science and Technology Roadmap to ensure that GEO activities were

complementary to and supportive of the S&T embedded within the tasks.

Capacity Building• Developed a Capacity Building Strategy focussing on three elements Individual, Institutional

and Infrastructure capacity building• Developed the Seville Roadmap for resource mobilisation (now Resource Mobilisation Task)• Held regional workshops to gather needs, share potential solutions, and involve the regional

expertise

User Interface• Served as the point of contact for the Communities of Practice and met with their

representatives regularly• Provided a more structured approach to Community of Practice development• Held regional User Engagement Sessions to gather needs of the various communities,

develop networks, and share information on regional applications

Overall emphasis was on providing the cross-cutting look for the Work Plan as a whole

Provided an opportunity for more involvement in GEO as a whole through individual expertise

Examples

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Post-reorg•Committees dissolved and the Boards were

convened•Function of the Boards changed from holistic Work

Plan view to Target assessment•Work done within the Committees became individual

Tasks•The IDIB combined three Committees and its

work into 5 tasks, with not necessarily a clearly defined fit.

•Contributions to both Tasks and Targets come in directly and indirectly.

Why This Matters

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▪ 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

Institutions and Development Tasks

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▪ ID-01: Advancing GEOSS Data Sharing Principles

Implementing the next steps from the results of the Data SharingTask Force

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Aim of the Task - to support and advance the Ministerial Declaration of the GEO Summit in Beijing in 2010 which committed to:1. Maximize the number of documented datasets made available on the basis of full and open access;2. Create the GEOSS Data Collection of Open Resources for Everyone (GEOSS Data CORE);3. Develop flexible national and international policy frameworks to ensure that a more open data environment is implemented.

Accomplishments Include• Drafting of the GEOSS Data Sharing Principles Post-2015 (To reflect the rising open data trend

Free, full and open data sharing as default standard, better recognition of the GEOSS Data-CORE• GEOSS data sharing has been presented as “the foundation for GEOSS and the backbone of

GEO’s work” in the “Report on Progress 2011-2013” prepared for the Geneva Ministerial Summit in January 2014.

ID-01 Task Progress and Assessment

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▪ ID-02: Developing Institutional and Individual Capacity

Institutions and Development Tasks

Incorporated most of the work from the Capacity Building Committee

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Aim of the Task – Enhance coordination of national and international capacity-building efforts to produce and use Earth

observation and information;Increase the demand for day-to-day Earth observation and information across Societal Benefit Areas; Build national capacity in developing countries by enabling human, technical and institutional

capacity for coordinating, accessing, using and sharing environmental data, information and services;

Develop synergies, encourage cross-fertilization and address common challenges across capacity building initiatives.

Accomplishments Include – Development of open-source software and open systems; training and dissemination

workshops and materials; success stories; marketing toolkits; impact assessment studies; coordination and networking events; capacity building portal developed (www.geocab.org)

Access to required tools, training and material, software and systems, data.Enhanced regional capacity-building networks in the scope of existing projects and initiatives

(DevCoCast, GEONETCast, GEONETCab, EO2HEAVEN, SEOCA, CEOP–AEGIS, AgriCab, AMESD, SERVIR, TIGER, EnerGEO, GMFS, OBSERVE, BalkanGEOnet, EnviroGRIDS, SA-GEO, NCRS-Madagascar, EcoArm2ERA, AFRIMET, CIMHET, EO2Heaven, SERVIR, INPE-FAO Work Programme, VLab, GFOI & SILVACARBON, GEOGLAM, EOPOWER and AfriGEOSS)

ID-02 Task Progress and Assessment

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▪ ID-03: Science and Technology in GEOSS

Institutions and Development Tasks

Incorporated most of the work from the Science and Technology Committee

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Aim of the Task – Advance GEOSS through integration of innovations in Earth observation science and technology,

also enabling the research community to fully benefit from GEOSS accomplishments. Promote research and development (R&D) in key areas of Earth sciences to facilitate improvements

to Earth observation and information systems, and support the transition of systems and techniques from research to operations.

Engage with a wide range of science and technology communities including individual scientists and their institutions, both public and private.

Accomplishments Include – GEOSS Stakeholder Workshops, most recently in Norfolk, VA.The User Requirements Registry, now the SEE IN Knowledge BaseA set of compelling examples that highlight the link between GEOSS and information needs for

sustainable developmentSpecial sessions on GEOSS and side events on GEO at major meetings (for example AGU and

EGU)

ID-03 Task Progress and Assessment

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▪ ID-04: Building a User-Driven GEOSS

Institutions and Development Tasks

Incorporated most of the work from the User Interface Committee

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Aim of the Task – Incorporate all of the activities performed by the User Interface Committee, including supporting user

communities through GEO Communities of Practice, identifying user needs and requirements; fostering GEOSS applications and societal benefits; and developing GEOSS Professorships

Show the benefits of Earth observation and information (including socio-economic benefits) through the identification and dissemination of success stories in language that can be understood by all, specifically decision- and policy-makers

Maintain a GEOSS-focused web-based magazine for the general public, non-technical managers and decision-makers. Expand on existing web-pages to incorporate more material from developing countries

Accomplishments Include – Development and publication of User Engagement StrategiesSurvey to assess Task user baseDevelopment of a user typologyDeveloped a draft of the Professorships concept, to prototype via Mines ParisTechGEOSS user-oriented workshopsRegular contributions to EarthZine 

ID-04 Task Progress and Assessment

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▪ ID-05: Catalyzing Resources for GEOSS Implementation

▪ This has connections to all targets and all tasks, and so has no separate triangle.

▪ The task is rated as Green

Institutions and Development Tasks

Incorporated some of the work from the Science and Technology Committee

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Aim of the Task – Communicate the GEOSS agenda to Funding agencies and resource providers are aware of

the GEOSS agenda and interaction between groups of donors and GEOSS members or participants is firmly established.

“Earth Observations in Decision Support Projects” is a regular feature of development projects and target groups are trained in the various phases of project development: Proposal Solicitation, Project Brokering, Donor Coordination, Applications, Showcases, Tracking, and Outreach.

Develop a portfolio of specific examples of resources leveraged across a range of user types and Societal Benefit Areas is available.

Accomplishments Include Development of – Marketing toolkitsSuccess storiesImpact assessment methodologyCourses and workshops on ‘Bringing GEOSS services into practice’, impact assessment and

short courses for professionalsReports on marketing of earth observationReports on promotion and dissemination activities.

ID-05 Task Progress and Assessment

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• The Boards as structured can provide a cross-cutting look only at Target progress, not at the Work Plan holistically. GEO needs a holistic look at its activities. This is important for the Plenary to have the best possible advice upon which to act.

Who fills this role? Could almost be an internal evaluation; whatever it is, it should be a dedicated function.• It is not possible to truly assess progress toward a cross-cutting effort without looking in-depth at each

task in the Work Plan, and each Component.

Asking each work element (task, component, etc) to self report only gets you so far

What is being requested is a more analytical look at the Work Plan; what is being gathered is status. What is needed is a more evaluative approach from the start.• The role of community building played by the Committees does not transfer to the Tasks at ALL well.

Community building is a broad activity that includes both proactively going out to groups, in addition to having a structured role for all volunteers.

This is different from Capacity Building, and that goes beyond the current workshops, articles, and tasks.

It needs to be a dedicated function, planned into the year via special sessions at every single GEO meeting, a dedicated community-building organization, or some other focused solution. [note – doesn't need to be a Secretariat function]• The Communities of Practice lost a clear home in the reorg

The have a clear home with the SB Board, but the User task is in the ID Board

Who has the role of attracting new ones is not obvious

Observations and Lessons Learned

• Elevates the role of GEO as a 'convener' and as a partner to external organizations

• Illustrates governance that includes the POs having an observer seat at EXCOM

• Crisply denotes GEO's 'job' - Advocate-Engage-Deliver• Uses the term "Flagships" (the term has a strong positive

connotation among Member States, e.g. GFOI, and the idea that they might get more of those is appealing to Members)

• Shows GEO has increased flexibility• Shows an increased recognition of and responsibilities for the

Secretariat

IDIB Comments on the Next Strategic Plan - Keep

• The Implementation Mechanisms are all in support of GEO's aim to Advocate, Engage, and Deliver, and so in addition to/within the Programme Board, why not simply establish three groups to coordinate/track/evaluate/whatever those three aims: 1) Advocate 2) Engage and 3) Deliver.

• The Programme Board alone does not address the need for continuous engagement with the community. We must acknowledge that to effectively coordinate and foster use of Earth observations (advocate), we must engage the community. This means establishing forums / groups responsible for organizing events and developing supporting documents to effectively engage with the community.

Clarify what it means for the GEO Community Activities to be APPROVED by the Secretariat Director.

Make sure the mapping of continuing efforts is clear from the current to the future Implementation Plan and Work Program. It is unclear where some activities funded by Members, such as SERVIR, fit in the new configuration. These funded activities aren't Flagships, Initiatives or Foundational activities, and the definition of community activities doesn't seem to include them either.

The diagram of Implementation Mechanisms implies a hierarchy or directional path that may be construed as some efforts being more important than others. The Board takes special note of this in the term "Foundational Tasks" – the term "Task" is perceived to be of low importance, it is therefore suggested to find a term that does not need to be followed by ‘task’ or ‘activity’ such as it has been done for Flagships (perhaps refer to them as 'GEO Cornerstones').

IDIB Comments – Consider Modifications

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▪ GEO needs to organize so that what it values is clear, and has the appropriate organizational visibility. Parts that are well-defined and clearly look like a project are great 'tasks;' parts that are more strategic, analytical, or holistic are not such great 'tasks.'

▪ Take a hard look at where and both why and how cross-cutting data gathering is performed, how the data are analyzed.

▪ If we value the user, capacity building, science and technology, and R&D funding/resource perspectives, they need to be embedded in all activities from the start, and be a condition of success (target achievement).

▪ Take more and better advantage of Regional Caucus connections to expand opportunities for user engagement and community building efforts.

Recommendations for Post 2015

Thank you!