GEO Task ST-09-02: Promoting Awareness and Benefits of GEO

Extended Task Sheet:
Planned Activities

Planned Activities

1. In order to foster links with major scientific research enterprises in each SBA, the following steps are planned:

   1. establish or identify a high-level list of major scientific research enterprises necessary for GEOSS; to be available by early in 2010; (use input from Task leads to identify major scientific enterprises involved and/or missing from the tasks in coordination with Task ST-09-01; ICSU to take the lead);

   2. identify the key organizations currently not linked to GEO and find mechanisms for effective and efficient linkage to these organizations, for example, through POs, the GEOSEC, or targeted workshops; with the goal to have these organizations linked by end of 2010;

   3. organize, support, launch, or initiate, where necessary, workshops to network the new organizations with relevant Task Team and CoPs in the different SBA (2011-2012).

2. Encourage relevant scientists and technical experts to contribute to GEOSS in a truly participatory way. That will result in two levels of activities, i.e. by creating an environment that is generally attractive for scientists and technical experts, and by specifically targeting relevant groups:

   1. (Roadmap 2a) Getting GEOSS acknowledged: In the scientific community in particular, recognition and renown are important currencies. In order to increase the attractiveness of GEO and GEOSS for scientists, their contributions must be acknowledged visibly when others use it to their benefit. A GEOSS citation standard will be proposed by the end of 2009 and its use will be promoted thereafter.

   2. (Roadmap 2b) Establishing a “GEO label”. Develop a concept for a “GEO label” related to the scientific relevance, quality, acceptance and societal needs for activities in support of GEOSS as an attractive incentive for involvement of the S&T communities. A draft concept will be proposed in early 2010 liaising with existing major Earth observation data providers.

   3. (Roadmap 2e) Enhancing registration of relevant scientific data sets. Increase relevance and benefits of GEOSS registries for scientific communities as a means for dissemination and a source of core data sets, which are often produced by science organizations and needed for both research and GEOSS services. Accomplishing this through targeted contacts with relevant groups will dramatically increase the acceptance of GEOSS in the S&T communities as a resource for accessing scientific data and further motivate registration.

3. Outreach to diverse scientific and technological communities in order to make GEOSS more visible in and attractive to these communities will entail a number of steps:

   1. Propose, stimulate, foster and monitor the production of promotion material, including but not limited to scientific publications on GEOSS products and services, leaflets catered for S&T communities, and web pages with specific information for S&T users and/or contributors to GEOSS; by end of 2010.

   2. Support outreach of GEO Principals, Committee members and other delegates to S&T communities by the provision of a slide library (ppt) that can be used to compile with small effort customized presentation on GEOSS aspects; mid 2009.

   3. (Roadmap 2d) Showing GEOSS at work. Support broader involvement of S&T communities by a set of compelling examples showing how GEOSS serves S&T communities in their work. Suitable examples will be identified in cooperation with GEO Tasks and the provision of the examples through the tasks will be promoted. The examples will be accessible through the GEO web page and/or the GEO portals and publicized in reports and at conferences. This activity will strongly feed into the preparations for the Ministerial in 2010.

   4. This has been moved to the CBC.

4. Specific efforts will be made to contact universities and research laboratories with the goal to involve them in GEOSS activities. Steps towards this goal include:

   1. Disseminate information about GEOSS towards major university cooperation programs and research network identified under (1).

   2. Establish proactive collaboration between S&T activities at universities and labs identified under (1) and relevant GEO tasks. Examples of such activities are the Earth System Atlas, ...(2010 onwards)

   3. If activities are found to be of appropriate scope and level, promote a transition from research to operational (2010 onwards).

5. A key element in the outreach to and engagement of the S&T community is the presence of GEO at major symposia and other meetings on different levels. The steps planned include:

   1. Identify major scientific conference and facilitate plenary presentations on GEO and GEOSS in relevant sessions (on-going); IEEE to lead this.

   2. Work with the scientific organizations convening major scientific meetings to include specific session on GEOSS-related topics, including high-level union sessions, and work on this, if appropriate, with GEO CoPs. Near-term goals are sessions at the International Geoscience & Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARS), July 2009, Fall AGU 2009, the EGU 2010, COSPAR Scientific Assembly, July 2010, and the AOGS 2010.

   3. Organize or promote organization of side events at major scientific meetings, including GEO town hall meetings, exhibition booth, and open GEO Committee meetings (or parts of these meetings) with reports on GEO activities catered for a broader scientific audience. With respect to the four GEO Committees, it will be promoted that at meetings co-located with major science conferences, open sessions are included with a few presentations on science-related activities (task reports); on-going.

   4. Develop a plan and high-level draft prospectus for a series of SBA-specific major conferences to be convened before 2015 either for all or most of the SBAs; before GEO-VII in 2010.