Copernicus Connection
This project aims at sharing knowledge and experience among European regions and at promoting the operational uses of Copernicus data and services by local and regional authorities, with a geographic focus on France, Germany and Switzerland.
While Copernicus data and services are already available for exploitation, and many examples exist proving their added value for public and private organisations, their uptake is still limited. This is due to a lack of awareness of the existence of these services and to a misperception of the technical skills required to use such services.
Local and regional authorities and non-space SMEs and service providers are the main target of this project. The activities will put forward the experience, needs and feedback of users, potential users, and service providers, who are the best ambassadors to promote Copernicus uses.
In particular, the activities will include workshops to expose LRAs and SMEs to concrete examples of uses of Copernicus satellite data and to existing tools and training to access them. During the workshops, we will also collect feedback from local managers and non-space SMEs on their needs. Furthermore, the action will include the development of a concept for a “Copernicus City Award” to be awarded to towns, cities and villages using Copernicus data and services to the benefit of their inhabitants.
At cross-border level, in the tri-national Basel Eurodistrict (between France, Germany and Switzerland) we will target the actors involved in territorial planning and in cross-border urban planning policies, who are looking for relevant indicators of space consumption and land availability to preserve the environment and agricultural activities. This action will allow for the development of a harmonised and co-designed Copernicus-derived geospatial indicator for the monitoring of cross-border urban planning.
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This action is supported by the European Union’s Caroline Herschel Framework Partnership Agreement on Copernicus User Uptake (FPCUP) under grant agreement No FPA 275/G/GRO/COPE/17/10042, 2021-2-13, Fostering the uptake of Copernicus by Local and Regional Authorities through user engagement and sharing of transnational experiences, SGA#20. The action is overseen by CNES in the frame of the “Connect-by-CNES” programme.
