COLLABORATION IN THE CEOS WORKING GROUP ON CAPACITY BUILDING AND DATA DEMOCRACY: A CASE STUDY OF DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL WORKSHOPS

摘要

This past year at the IAC in Naples, Italy, a paper was presented that examined how an intergovernmental entity like the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) could cooperate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to build a more effective approach to capacity building in the area of space-borne Earth observations. That paper particularly explored the case study of collaboration between an NGO, Secure World Foundation (SWF), and the CEOS Working Group on Capacity Building and Data Democracy (WGCapD) on the WGCapD Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) Project. The WGCapD was just beginning its work last year, but it has now had an opportunity to begin the implementation of some of its activities, including the DEMs Project. This paper will update on this case study and extrapolate wider lessons on the collaborative opportunities and advantages of NGO cooperation with intergovernmental bodies. As part of its DEMs Project, the WGCapD is hosting a series of workshops that focus on newly released 30 meter Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data applications for flash flood forecasting and urban planning. The first of these workshops was scheduled for May 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya. The WGCapD partnered with the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), a Ministerial level organization of 18 member states in East and Southern Africa to host and run the workshop. SWF has been involved in this project from the outset through the WGCapD. This paper will provide a summary of the workshop itself and the lessons learned from that experience, specifically how collaboration improves efficiency and reduces redundancy in capacity building activities.