Reports

Potential and confirmed users of satellite applications (search and rescue organisations, national parks, geological offices and so on), as well as experts and policy makers, discussed the potential of satellite applications in the Alps, and what these could do for users in the environment, risk, and transport sectors. (Access the presentations here).

This document reflects some of the lessons learnt from the Eurisy conference held in Berchtesgaden on 27 October 2016. These conclusions are drawn from the discussions that took place during the event.

The new Eurisy publication “Satellites for Society: Reporting on operational uses of satellite-based services in the public sector” analyses more than 100 replies submitted to the Eurisy survey for public authorities in 2015.

Public managers were asked why they started using satellite-based services, how much the services cost and how the uptake was financed, which challenges they face, and how the satellite solutions help them saving time and resources while improving the quality of public services.

This publication is disseminated by Eurisy with the aim of contributing to building a knowledge base on the uses of satellite-based services in the public sector. By taking into account the direct feedback of public managers, the report offers a distinctive insight into the work of European public administrations, which will be useful to policy and decision-makers to increase the potential benefits of satellites for society.

The Eurisy survey for public authorities remains open and accessible in nine languages at this LINK.

Have a look at the key findings of the survey by downloading our infographic:

This document analyses the 49 replies submitted to the Eurisy survey for public authorities by 49 Polish public administrations.

The report was presented within the framework of a User Forum organised in Warsaw on the 19th of April 2016 by Eurisy, the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP), with the support of the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The goal of the User Forum was to gather a qualitative feedback on survey replies that would help organisers in building a series of country-targeted recommendations, which are presented at the beginning of this report. 

This document is the result of a consultation of stakeholders from the sports and leisure areas within the French county of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. This consultation took place as preliminary work for the “Outdoor Sports Surfing Avant-garde satellite solutions” conference co-organised by Eurisy, the local council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Capital High Tech. The discussions and conclusions of the conference also fed this document.

The conference was to identify the innovation potential space can generate in the outdoor sports one of the main economic sectors in the county, especially through satellite applications targeted for this market. The conference also served as a catalyst for cooperation between the two, and between public and private actors from the area, from other countries, and from the European level (Access the presentations here). 

Islands can prove to be real labs for ICT-driven innovation. They are small and flexible. This means they can test ideas fast and implement only the best of them. Islands are confronted with specific needs – whether due to their remoteness, their vulnerability to climate change, or the scarcity of their resources. Such challenges call for creative solutions. The conference brought together 90 participants from Maltese and European public authorities, SMEs, universities and policy-makers.

The event brought together SMEs, administrations and policy-makers from the Baltic States to discuss ways to increase the use of satellite resources in the region, in particular Copernicus and Galileo/EGNOS, the two satellite infrastructure programmes funded by the EU.

Before launching its survey for public authorities, Eurisy submitted its questionnaire to ten public administrations using satellite applications operationally.

The results of this work are presented in the analytical report “Operational uses of satellite-based applications in the public sector”, including a detailed description of the case studies reviewed.

The 2014 edition of Eurisy’s “Satellites going local” publication collects operational examples in which satellite information and services have been used to provide new products and applications in the fields of media, education, arts and culture, leisure, tourism, marketing and sustainable urban development.

Its main objective is to raise awareness of how public authorities and SMEs can use satellite applications to improve their services and engage people. Moreover, the publication is also intended to promote the “Digital Agenda for Europe”, the first of the seven Europe 2020 flagship initiatives, which aims to support citizens and businesses in getting the most out of digital technologies.

The 3rd issue of “Satellites Going Local” presents operational examples of local and regional administrations and companies who use geospatial information, satellite navigation and satellite communications to improve water management locally, regionally and cross-border. It touches on sectors as diverse as water supply and management, agriculture, risk management, environmental protection and energy.

Local and regional administrators and private companies who use or manage water sources can draw ideas and inspiration from these good practices so as to improve water management, and thus contribute to the sustainability of this vital resource on the long run.

Geological and landscape diversity is an essential part of the European culture. It characterises our rural and urban environments and offers the resources needed to sustain human communities. To monitor and protect geological heritage, back in 2003 the European Parliament stressed the importance of harmonising analytical methods to obtain comparable soil data and of increasing the exchange of information among Member States on soil, topography, structure and natural form of the land in Europe (European Parliament, 2003).
Today, satellites offer the opportunity to collect and access geological and biological information covering large areas, including urban, rural and natural environments at the micro and macro regional levels. On their own initiative, or within European and national schemes, local and regional managers are already using satellite services to monitor, protect and promote geological, landscape and biological diversity. To disseminate the results of these initiatives is fundamental to capitalise on experience to develop new services adapted to local needs, and to set the basis for the establishment of an integrated coherent system to manage geodiversity in Europe. Eurisy, a non-profit association of space agencies, works to foster awareness of operational uses of satellite applications in this and other sectors. Paper presented at the 12th European Geoparks Conference, Cilento and Vallo di Diano Geopark, Italy, 4-6 September 2013.