The aim of the Egida project was to promote the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) by encouraging more stakeholders and user groups to become involved. Activities focused primarily on countries that had recently joined the EU, as well as on less affluent countries in other parts of the world.

In addition to organising networking and dissemination activities, the partners produced a methodology enabling new data contributors to re-engineer their data infrastructures for smooth integration. The project ended in December 2012, having established a network of science and technology stakeholders that continues to support the development of GEOSS, along with a legacy of dialogue and guidance that is helping to extend the reach of the global system of systems.

Technology, and more

GEOSS makes Earth observation data from sources around the world available to user communities everywhere. However, truly global coverage can only be reached if a maximum of data providers around the world are involved.

Launched in 2010, Egida set itself the task to engage with stakeholders, potential contributors and prospective users in new EU Member States and developing countries. “Technology is important, but it is only half of the solution. You also have to manage the governance and the social aspects,” says project coordinator Stefano Nativi of Italy’s National Research Council (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche).

All together now

GEOSS enables countries that may not have advanced Earth observation infrastructure in place to benefit from information for their territory, Nativi explains. “You can’t take sound decisions, for example in the face of global change, if you don’t have data or measurements. So one of the goals was to provide everybody, including countries that aren’t rich, with data that can help them take more informed decisions,” he notes. 

“Our other main goal was to produce and disseminate methodology supporting the development of infrastructure that will underpin the sharing of data and services,” says Nativi. “GEOSS has been doing this at the global level. Egida developed methodology to replicate the approach at national and regional level.”

Such guidance is needed, notably, to ensure that the various contributors and stakeholders in a given area are all on the same page. “A country may have a variety of data systems, run and managed by different agencies or universities, for instance, dealing with many types of data. A way to establish a common cyber-infrastructure that integrates all these systems and data streams was needed.”

Egida produced guidance explaining how to develop such a common cyber-infrastructure in line with the GEOSS principles. The partners then implemented a number of use cases to test and refine this methodology. A pilot application in Slovenia, for instance, involved the development of a so-called Special Data Infrastructure — a system of systems, built from scratch — for monitoring data on chemical pollution.

Another use case reached across the entire territory of the EU, for the development of a pan-European system monitoring air quality for health. Two further trials focused on the Mediterranean region, with one aiming to boost the involvement of countries along the southern coast, and another integrating data streams from networks tracking chemical pollution. In addition, the Spanish project partners applied the methodology to set up a coordinating body for their country’s involvement in GEOSS, Nativi adds.

The methodology is a guideline, but is not intended as a one-size-fits-all solution, Nativi notes. Every capacity-building programme faces challenges of its own, he concludes, and every one must start by adapting it to the local context. Destination GEOSS can be reached via a number of routes.