Results
All deliverables of GNU are disseminated without restrictions and are available through this site.
What is it like to be a GMES user?
During workshops at the first progress meeting, based on sets of seed-questions, GNU participants in depth discussed their experiences related to GMES projects and bodies. The GNU partners represent many different topics and backgrounds. Therefore, the resulting report provides both a broad overview of current day-to-day GMES reality and a wealth of issues to consider to effectively work with users.
This report has now been updated and it also includes feedback gathered from the GNU Extended Consortium
What is GMES?
Owing to the complexity of the process and the amount of documents already published, the amount of time user organisations need to spend for acquiring a basic knowledge on GMES, may be rather intimidating. Based on the complementary knowledge of the GNU partners, and on the available documentation, this document provides a concise, yet accurate, description of GMES, focussing on what is likely of most interest to users.
This document has been revised in December 2009 to reflect both feedback received and to accommodate recent changes in the GMES process.
How can users' views be translated into GMES governance?
The future GMES governance will decisively influence the user uptake of GMES services and products. Together with its Extended Consortium, the GNU Consortium has worked out recommendations for principles of a future GMES governance. The issues considered are a formal user representation in a User Board, GMES service requirements consolidation, financial mechanisms, and the integration of the in situ component.
GNU GMES Governance Principles
Do GMES projects satisfy their users?
Previous GMES projects have brought about a range of data products. The documentation of these, and the respective user's appraisals have been collected and analysed, thereby focussing on the topics land, atmosphere, oceans, geology. This investigation was extended by gathering the opinions of those GNU partners who participated in the respective projects as core users. The result is a summary record of existing GMES data products and a quantitative depiction of their true reception by the user communities.
Annexes to Previous Projects Report
How can GMES stakeholders be investigated?
Under the guidance of its science partners specialised in social sciences (Wuppertal Institute, Germany, and Ecologic, Austria), GNU, partly in conjunction with Boss for GMES, has tested a novel method intended to investigate the resonance of GMES stakeholders in the frame of environmental policy.
GNU Stakeholder Methodology Report
Which kind of exchange does GNU practice?
GNU, as a coordination action, places emphasis on an exchange with other projects and groups concerned with GMES. GNU has applied different approaches of exchange, and, while doing so, made different experiences than expected. Nevertheless, the outcomes include a successful dissemination of project results and few, but effective, lasting communication channels.
GNU Exchange with other Projects and Groups
What makes a great GMES product?
GNU has compiled a set of quality criteria users would appreciate to be considered in GMES product development. This list provides a basic framework for the judgement of GMES product design and, likewise, it will aid service providers during the design of future products or the ongoing refinement of existing ones. Moreover, the document is relevant for GMES programming. For instance, future calls for proposals aiming at the development of GMES services may, in the respective call texts, ask for coverage of aspects documented in this text.
GNU GMES Product Quality Criteria
How can the usefulness of particular services be measured?
Validation is an essential part of GMES service provision because it it a quantitative measure to communicate the significance of the individual services and products. GNU has compared different validation approaches applied to GMES services. The consortium has investigated whether services are easily available, how and how thoroughly they were produced, whether they match the articulated user needs, and also whether (prospective) users can access detailed information about validation procedures and outcomes.
GNU Assessment of Validation Practices
Who are GNU's International Stakeholders, and what is their interest in a discourse with GNU?
GNU practices a dialogue with a high level group of representatives of international organisations or actions. The exchange with this group of influential and knowledgeable individuals is GNU's most important dissemination approach, and it is considered essential for GNU's ideas to be put into action. Likewise, these individuals provide important advice to the project and contribute to the high quality of its work.
GNU International Stakeholders Group
What does the Extended Consortiums say about GNU's outcomes?
GNU is very fortunate to have assembled a large Extended Consortium consisting of various stakeholder representatives operating on national and sub-national, that is subsidiary levels. During two conferences (cf Events), the Extended Consortium members have provided feedback to GNU's results. This feedback was utilised to further improve the project's deliverables.
Reflections of the GNU Extended Consortium
How do GNU members perceive particular data portals?
The GNU consortium members have reviewed a number of data portals, either directly or indirectly related to GMES. A broad range of very different portals was considered to obtain a comprehensive impression of the adantages and disadvantages of various designs. This report should be read together with its sister document listed directly below.
How should GMES data products be distributed?
Data portals and catalogues are essential means to give access to GMES data products and to raise awareness of certain data sets among the user community. Currently, these systems show a broad variety in terms of content, user friendliness, handling, access options etc. In this deliverable, GNU provides the users' perspective on how portals or catalogues can be designed to be most helpful.
GNU Criteria for optimised GMES data portals
What have we learned?
GMES is a dynamic process and during the course of the project it has not stayed the same. GNU wants to influence GMES to maximise its value for the users. Thus, it seems sensible to investigate whether some of GNU's specific recommendations have actually been realised and how the GNU partners' overall perception of GMES has changed during the course of the project.
How can (some) GNU collaboration continue?
No matter what you think a project is – all agree that it is a temporary undertaking. Nevertheless, during the project work, a community is formed which should go into the future in one way or the other. The GNU consortium has investigated options for the social sustainability of the project group.