International development

Consultancy for the Development of NSDI Policy Documents in Georgia

Year: 2024-2025

Client/funding: World Bank and the National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) of Georgia

Role in the project: SDI Policy Expert

Description: Georgia has been progressively working towards establishing a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) to strengthen geospatial data management and increase the use of geospatial information for evidence-based decision-making. In the recent NSDI law, the National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) was designated as the Coordinator for the NSDI of Georgia. The main objective of the assignment is to support the National Agency of Public Registry in the preparation of three key policy documents related to the NSDI. The Terms and Conditions of Access, Use and Sharing of the Spatial Data Resources Published on the National Geoportal, The National Profile of the Data Exchange and Joint Use Model and the NSDI Strategy.

Activities performed:

• Guidance and capacity building on SDI licensing and SDI business models
• Collection and analysis of international good practices in SDI licensing and SDI business models
• Design of the licensing model and business model for the NSDI
• Review and revision of the NSDI Strategy

Supporting Services to the National Spatial Data Infrastructure of Moldova

Year: 2022-2024

Client/funding: World Bank and National Mapping and Cadastre Agency of Moldova (ALRC)

Role in the project: Senior Expert

Description: With this project the National Mapping and Cadastre Agency of Moldova (ALRC) aimed to get support for the development of the NSDI of Moldova. The focus was on two specific objectives: 1) Support to the implementation of the NSDI Action Plan, Business Model and Business Plan and 2) Support to the NSDI use-case development. The work on the Action and Business Plan, and Business Model entails many aspects, including the monitoring and evaluating the status and impact of the SDI. The use case component of the project deals with developing and implementing specific use cases to demonstrate the practical use of the available data sets to meet the government priority needs.

Activities performed:

• Elaboration of the Business Model of the NSDI Centre of Innovation in Moldova, including an analysis of international best practices in NSDI Business Models
• Development of Roadmap and Implementation Plan for the Centre, including a detailed cost-benefit analysis
• Design of Monitoring & Evaluation approach for the NSDI
• Identification of NSDI use cases
• Preparation of future project proposals

International Lessons Learned and Recommendations on Business and Funding Models for Mekong Delta Center

Year: 2021-2022

Client/funding: World Bank

Role in the project: Senior Expert

Description: The major objective of this project was to support the establishment and operation of the Mekong Delta Center by presenting international good practices of funding Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) and providing detailed recommendations for the funding of the Center. The project consisted a four main activities: 1) a literature review on international experiences in sustainable funding of SDIs and similar initiatives; 2) a series of case studies of SDIs with operational and funding modalities other than central government budget funds; 3) an assessment of the regulations on Vietnamese public service organizations’ funding and governance; and 4) the development of recommendations for the long-term funding of the Mekong Delta Center. Responsible for the literature review on SDI business models and funding models, the design and implementation of six cases studies on international SDI initiatives and the development of recommendations covering the different phases of establishing and operating an SDI, based on the results and findings of the literature review, case studies and assessment of the local context.

Activities performed:

• Literature review on SDI business models and funding models
• In-depth analysis of the business and funding model of six international SDI initiatives
• Drafting of recommendations on the business and funding model of the Mekong Data Center

SEED4NA - Spatial Data Infrastructures and Earth Observation Education and Training for North-Africa

Year: 2020-2024

Client/funding: European Commission – Erasmus+ Capacity Building for Higher Education

Role in the project: Project Coordinator and Senior Expert

Description: The main objective of SEED4NA was to improve the quality of higher education in the fields of SDI and EO, and to enhance its relevance for the labour market and society through the development of new and innovative SDI/EO curricula and the improvement of existing curricula. SEED4NA focused on SDI and EO education and training in four North-African countries: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. Specific objectives of SEED4NA were: to investigate, determine and analyze the needs and requirements for SDI/EO education in North Africa; to develop, test and adapt new curricula, courses, learning material and tools within the field of SDI and EO; to improve the education and teaching skills and competences of the teachers involved in SDI/EO education at partner HEIs; and to increase the impact of the partner HEIs on SDI/EO developments in society.

Activities performed:

• Definition of project scope, methodology, stakeholder engagement strategy, risk assessment and detailed work plan
• Engagement of NSDI stakeholders in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia
• Developing and implementing curriculum on SDI and EO
• Provision of training on topics such as SDI implementation, SDI Assessment and SDI business and funding models
• Monitoring and evaluation of the project and its impact

Feasibility studies on the added value of remote sensing technologies in EU development cooperation projects

Year: 2019-2020

Client/funding: European Commission - DG DEVCO

Role in the project: Senior Expert

Description: The general purpose of the project was to demonstrate the added-value of remote sensing in three specific international development cooperation projects in order to develop a long-term, robust and sustainable framework for using Copernicus observation data in development cooperation. In particular, the study team supported DG DEVCO with the preparation of three feasibility studies covering a thorough situation analysis (including assessment of the relevant legal frameworks), a technical/operational analysis and economic analysis for three candidate pilot projects. The three projects were identified as (a) an emergency service data centre in Panama, (b) reuse of water management remote sensing globally, and (c) reuse of land use remote sensing globally.

Activities performed:

• Definition of project scope, methodology, stakeholder engagement strategy, risk assessment and detailed work plan in the project proposal and inception report
• Feasibility assessments covering also the legal, governance and economic aspects and financial risks of various projects
• Interviews with experts and key stakeholders

Elaboration of standards, norms and procedures in the acquisition and dissemination of geospatial information in Mozambique

Year: 2019-2020

Client/funding: World Bank and Government of Mozambique – Ministry of Transport and Communications

Role in the project: Public Administration Expert

Description: The aim of the assignment was to support the Government of Mozambique in its understanding and the implementation of international and other standards as part of NSDI developments, and to set-up and improve procedures for the production of geographic information. The aim was to help reducing the costs of implementing and maintaining the national Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) of Mozambique and to facilitate policy and decision making. Other aspects addressed in the project included the establishment of a national SDI governance structure and the design of an approach for measuring and monitoring the benefits of the SDI.

Activities performed:

• Detailed assessment of the use and exchange of geospatial data in Mozambique
• Training on SDI and (open) data policies, covering aspects such as open data, licensing models, data sharing arrangements and legal frameworks
• Collection of best practices in cost-benefit analyses of Spatial Data Infrastructures
• Guidance on quality management systems and standards related to geospatial data
• Interviews and workshops with local stakeholders

Towards an Open Spatial Data Infrastructure in Peru

Year: 2019-2020

Client/funding: KU Leuven - Multi-stakeholder Grant

Role in the project: Senior Researcher

Description: The aim of this project was to evaluate the openness of the Peruvian Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), which consists of a set of policies, standards, organizations, human and technological resources to facilitate the access to and sharing of spatial data in Peru. In an open SDI, also citizens can participate in and benefit from the development of the infrastructure. With this new approach to the study and assessment of SDIs we aimed to contribute to the realization of a more open SDI in Peru as a key enabler for improved public services, transparency, accountability, and citizen participation. In this project, an assessment framework was developed to assess the openness of SDIs, with particular attention to the participation of citizens and the delivery of spatially enabled e-services to citizens as key dimension of Open SDI. This framework was applied to the SDI in order to gain insight in the openness of the Peruvian SDI and contribute to the development of an action plan towards a more Open SDI in Peru. The project was executed in collaboration with local researchers and NGOs.

Activities performed:

• Collection of best practices in the assessment of (open) SDIs
• Review & revision of the Open SDI Assessment Framework
• Assessment of access and use restrictions to geospatial data
• Teaching on SDI & Digital Transformation
• Workshops with local stakeholders in different sectors