Panel Discussion at a Socioeconomic Benefit Workshop in Washington, D.C., in 2014. Image Credit: Jay Pearlman

GEO Value seeks to build a case-based framework for transforming data to action at its March 2016 workshop.

Since 2010, the GEO Value (formerly Socioeconomic Benefit) community has been working to help share data with users. Finding applications of data that benefit society through pathways such as decision-making, planning, or conservation efforts is a key concern of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and GEO Value is the community of practice that draws together the threads within this topic. The volume of Earth observation data being collected has multiplied over the last several decades. GEO Value sees in that growing body of knowledge an opportunity to improve economic development, equity, and quality of life.

In March 2016, GEO Value will hold a workshop in Paris, France, on ‰ÛÏData to Decisions: Valuing the Societal Benefit of Geospatial Information.‰Û The workshop takes place from March 10-11, with a particular focus on application of data from two key areas: natural disasters and ecosystem-based management. The desired outcome of the workshop is to create a framework for best practices that traces the flow of data from its acquisition to its implementation by a variety of users. The framework GEO Value hopes to develop at this meeting will be defined by real-world examples. Ideas for data-flow will be considered in the context of specific use-case scenarios presented by workshop participants.

Panel Discussion at a Socioeconomic Benefit Workshop in Washington, D.C., in 2014. Image Credit: Jay Pearlman

The framework developed will consider a range of users, from academic researchers to city managers and private businesses. Consequently, how data is shared will be an important consideration at the GEO Value meeting, alongside discussion on which data should be shared. As a result, the workshop hopes to welcome participants from the private sector, public sector, and academia.

Expanding the type of experts solicited has been a growing process for GEO Value. Over the last several years, there has been an effort to better integrate economists into discussion of socioeconomic benefits. A pre-workshop tutorial on one economic facet, cost-benefit analysis, is planned to precede the workshop on March 10.

GEO Value is not just working to integrate economists, however. The hope for the workshop moving forward is to include more social scientists. The expansion of GEO Value discussions to include both these groups is critical in improving the efficacy of outreach and data tool applicability for public, policy, or business data users.

Further information on the GEO Value Paris workshop and pre-events can be found on the GEO Value website.