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Just as the extraordinary biodiversity found on the Galapagos Islands helped shape our understanding of natural selection, the unique ecosystems of the area have more recently been helping European researchers map the delicate relationship between ocean temperatures and species survival.

The European Space Agency’s Medspiration project is using satellite imagery to provide reliable temperature analysis of biodiversity hotspots around the world in support of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD). The maps are being made available online in near real-time, providing researchers with a unique resource in their efforts to significantly reduce biodiversity loss by 2010.
Medspiration is a European initiative to synthesise data measured from several different satellite systems into a single data set detailing sea surface temperature (SST). Starting from the beginning of the year, it has been integrated into a broader effort by ESA to support UNCBD in Central America. Specifically, researchers are drawing on this one-of-a-kind tool to better understand migration patterns from the Galapagos and Cocos Islands. The technology being used by Medspiration to map the islands located in the Pacific Ocean is able to produce high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface measuring a mere two metres square.
The SST maps are a single component of a series of Earth observation products ESA provides signatories to the UN convention. Other services include Mesoamerican biological corridor change detection maps, coral reef maps, ocean water quality monitoring services, mangrove maps as well as a map of dry lands.
Medspiration has a proven track record of expertise through its association with the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) High-Resolution Sea Surface Temperature Pilot Project (GHRSST-PP), a global initiative to address long-term challenges faced by our oceans. European-funded research and satellite technology have factored prominently in the development of the SST maps thanks to information gathered by the Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) aboard ESA‘s Envisat satellite.
Medspiration has leveraged on the expertise of the different satellite programmes located throughout Europe, including the Italian National Research Council (CNR), France’s Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), the Southampton Oceanography Centre, the UK-based VEGA company, Meteo-France‘s Centre for Space Meteorology, the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER), the France-based Actimar firm and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
(Source EC-Europa)

The world‘s top climate scientists gathered to present a massive report predicting dire consequences of global warming, in particular for poor nations and species diversity.

It warns that the brunt of the problems will fall squarely on to the world‘s poorest inhabitants, who are least to blame for the fossil-fuel pollution that drives global warming.
In February, the IPCC issued a first volume of its latest review with an assessment of the scientific evidence for global warming. It predicted temperatures would probably rise between 1.8 to 4.0 C (3.2-7.2 F) by century‘s end. It is to become one of the main contributions of future GMES services to monitor and help predict and fight the consequences on the global climate system, such as floods and fires caused by raised temperatures.
(Source Terradaily and GMES-Info)

FINANCE Space (Finance Innovation Network Addressing New Commercial Enterprise using Space) is a project executed in cooperation with the European Commission.

The goal of the FINANCE Space project is to increase investment activity in innovative space companies and projects across Europe that aim to commercialise space technology to non-space applications and services across Europe so that more space innovations will receive funding through an increasing number of active and potential investments in the space sector.
This will be done by encouraging and facilitating linkages between European space sector funding sources and innovative enterprises through an extensive research, data collection and dissemination project.
FINANCE Space is part of Europe INNOVA, which is an initiative for innovation professionals supported by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Programme. In acting as the focal point for innovation networking in Europe, Europe INNOVA aspires to inform, assist, mobilise and network the key stakeholders in the field of entrepreneurial innovation, including firm managers, policy makers, cluster managers, investors and relevant associations.
(Source ESA)

More than 100 professionals from European small- and medium-sized enterprises, research institutes and space industry organisations met in Italy last week at the 4th SineQuaNet Workshop to discuss how the SineQuaNet project can increase the participation of SMEs in the European space business.

“SMEs are very valuable contributors to the supply chain in the space environment,” said Eric Morel de Westgaver, head of ESA’s Procurement Department, in his opening speech to more than 100 workshop participants, which also included representatives from some of Europe’s other space actors such as prime contractors, larger industries and one national embassy.
The workshop was held at ESRIN, ESA’s European Centre for Earth Observation in Frascati, Italy. It is the last of four workshops organised by ESA’s SME unit to define how the SineQuaNet can help SMEs overcome entry barriers to doing business with ESA and participating in Europe’s space programmes.
SMEs are innovative, dynamic and flexible
“Why is the contribution of SMEs so valuable to the work of the Agency?” Morel continued, “SMEs tend to be flexible and dynamic and in addition they have a great capacity for innovation.”
“On several occasions in recent years we have seen SMEs come up with really innovative ideas; ideas that were not coming from large businesses, which in general build more on their experience. Sometimes SMEs have provided breakthrough solutions which have played a very important role in the life of the Agency.”
“SME participation in very large European projects has not yet reached its full potential due to a number of entry barriers; this is one of the key reasons for the SineQuaNet initiative.”
ESA encourage more SME participation to its programmes
An estimated 700,000 SMEs are developing technology in Europe and 2,300,000 use technologies, yet only 1530 SMEs are registered with ESA as potential suppliers. Although the share of SME participation has grown during the past years, up from 2.5% in the period 1993-97, only 6.5% of the Agency’s 2005 budget went to SMEs.
ESA has a variety of initiatives to encourage SMEs to participate in its programmes, support their sustainability and help them to improve their skills and competences. These include the SME Initiative, the Innovation Triangle Initiative, the Technology Transfer Programme, the Incubator, the Earth Observation Market Development Programme and the Satcom Initiative of ESA Telecom.
SineQuaNet helps SMEs to enter the space market
SineQuaNet’s objective is to help SMEs overcome some of the entry barriers mainly through three different actions: improving their skills and competences, improving their competitiveness both within and outside the space market and facilitating the merging of ‘innovative clusters’ of specialised SMEs. To emphasise this third point Morel said, “you are stronger when you are together, SMEs cannot live alone”.
Nora Bougharouat, head of ESA’s SME-unit and instigator of the SineQuaNet project, added: “ESA’s SME Initiative consists of a variety of measures ranging from funding of technology actions to delivery of training. SineQuaNet complements the range of actions already covered under the SME Initiative and is tailored to improve the participation of SMEs in ESA programmes. It is not meant to solve all the problems SMEs may have, but to target some of the important major hurdles.”
“Its main purpose is to improve SMEs’ skills and competences and thus their participation to the space sector, and also to improve their competitiveness in the non-space market to help sustain their business and limit over-dependency on space.”
Bougharouat presented the 2006 SineQuaNet survey which sets out SMEs’ needs and also what is available in terms of expertise and major facilities within the framework of the project. Replies were received from 279 SMEs and based upon the results, SineQuaNet is now in the process of establishing a pool of experts and facilities for the use of SMEs.
Companies and organisations interested in proposing the use of their experts and measurement, test, and calibration facilities to the SineQuaNet network can do so by communicating this on the survey website (Questionnaire B).
Experts and engineers will be hired from the SMEs themselves, from larger groups, research organisations and other networks, as well as from within ESA. SineQuaNet will propose experienced engineers, and when needed adequate facilities, for the limited time needed by SMEs on a reasonable cost basis. SMEs receiving expert help will only have to pay for the support received without investing in or taking on any other responsibilities as would be the case if they had to employ staff.
Trials demonstrate SineQuaNet’s potential
During SineQuaNet’s first year two trials were executed to evaluate how to arrange support and identify the operational problems to be overcome. ESA engineers provided expertise to two companies: HOS-Technik GmbH in Austria and LEIRIOS Technologies in France. Neither company is yet involved in the space business but they do operate in technological fields that are of interest to ESA and relevant to space systems.
HOS-Technik develops speciality polymers for high-temperature composites and additives for the plastic and rubber industry. The space sector would be a very attractive area for expansion and ESA is always looking for new materials which appear promising for space applications. LEIRIOS develops automated software test tools, which could provide interesting solutions for the many software systems in space.
“We did an evaluation of LEIRIOS’ tool for use in space and as they are looking into this market it was very useful for them,” said Lars Wedin from ESA’s Software Engineering and Standardisation Section. Basically their automated test tools were set up and tried out on one of the most important on-board software systems, an attitude and orbit control system software, and the results were then evaluated.
“They basically knew nothing about space before, so it was a hurdle they couldn’t have overcome without our help.” He added that becoming familiar with the requirements of space systems and the inside of the space market were real benefits for the company, confirming the value of the support provided by SineQuaNet.
During the debates and discussion sessions, workshop participants addressed a number of key issues. Of major interest was how to start working with ESA and how to obtain a contract if a company has not previously worked with the Agency.
SMEs can benefit from partnerships
Morel also emphasised the importance of having a strategy when targeting an area and an Invitation to Tender (ITT) because, “by the time an ITT is published on EMITS it is often too late, don’t try to reply as many of your competitors will have been working on it for months.”
Instead, he stressed the importance of following the Intended ITTs (IITTs) presented on EMITS, often published months ahead of ITTs to keep industry posted on ESA’s future intentions for procurement. The IITT system also provides a facility to locate partners. “It is far easier to enter as a partner or in a consortium than as a prime contractor,” Morel stressed.
The different schemes to finance the SineQuaNet support were also addressed, and SME business people expressed what they would see as possible solutions.
The SineQuaNet expert support will be managed through a database of experts and facilities, to be available within this year.
The presentations from this workshop as well as from the previous three are available for download as pdf documents at ESA
Note to editors:
SineQuaNet, Space Intelligence, Engineering and Quality Network, is an expert network providing technical and engineering support to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in ESA Member States and European Cooperating States, who already are operating in or wanting to enter the space sector. It was initiated at the end of 2005 by ESA’s SME Unit and is co-financed by the EC Directorate-General, Research and Technology. The network is expected to be fully operational from the beginning of 2008. SineQuaNet is under the direct coordination of ESA’s SME Unit.
(Source ESA)

Bridging the gap between INnovative enterprises and financial inVEstors in the emerging ICT markets of SaTellite applications (INVESaT)

The goal of the INVESaT project is to consolidate and disseminate in a coordinated way, the knowledge components required to stimulate and support more efficient investment in innovative services exploiting satellite capabilities in Earth observation, navigation, timing, geo-positioning and telecommunications.
INVESaT is part of Europe INNOVA, an initiative for innovation professionals supported by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Programme. In acting as the focal point for innovation networking in Europe, Europe INNOVA aspires to inform, assist, mobilise and network the key stakeholders in the field of entrepreneurial innovation, including firm managers, policy makers, cluster managers, investors and relevant associations.
(Source ESA)

Improving knowledge transfer between research institutions and industry across Europe: embracing open innovation – Implementing the Lisbon agenda
* Commission Communication adopted on 4 April 2007 : “Improving knowledge transfer between research institutions and industry across Europe: embracing open innovation – Implementing the Lisbon agenda” – COM449 – (English[English – 192Kb] -
Accompanying Commission staff working document : “Voluntary guidelines for universities and other research institutions to improve their links with industry across Europe” – SEC449 - (English[English – 194Kb])
(Source EC Europa)

Launching New Economic Activities from Satellite Communications, Earth Observation or Geo-localisation Services.

The NAVOBS project aims to improve the participation of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in research and technology development (RTD) activities related to the development of innovative services based on space infrastructures.
NAVOBS is focused in particular on supporting SME participation in RTD activities related to GALILEO, GMES and Space telecom-based services which is one of the priority research areas of the sixth framework programme of the European Commission.
(Source ESA)

The Framework Programmes (FP) are the European Union’s main instrument for funding research.

The current Framework Programme, FP6, runs until the end of 2006 with a budget of € 20 billion for the years 2003-2006.
The Commission has made proposals for the next Framework Programme, FP7, which is proposed to run for seven years and so will be synchronized with the EU’s Financial Perspectives for 2007-2013.
The Financial Perspectives foresee that EU funding for research will increase by 75% in 2013 compared to the level of 2006.
For FP7, the Commission proposes to keep as a main instrument the transnational collaborative projects and networks, which typically involve public research and industry. The Commission also proposes to support excellence in basic research through a new support scheme to individual teams, which will be managed by a European Research Council.
In addition the Commission proposes other new approaches, some of which will further increase the relevance of FP7 for industry. In particular the Commission proposes to set up long-term public-private partnerships, called “Joint Technology Initiatives” in areas where existing schemes are inadequate in view of the scope of research and the scale of material and human resources required.
The Joint Technology Initiatives will implement parts of the Strategic Research Agendas defined by the European Technology Platforms in co-ordination with national programmes and projects in the same field. They will aim to combine financing from Community and national public sources and from the private sector. EIB loans may contribute where appropriate.
Another new instrument proposed under FP7 is the “Risk-Sharing Finance Facility” which will improve access to EIB debt finance for participants in large European research actions.
The Commission proposals for FP7 also aim to strengthen the research and innovation capacity of SMEs.
The Commission has proposed increased funding available for specific actions to support outsourcing of research by SMEs or SME associations.
(Source EC Europa)

A high-level conference on Global Monitoring for Environment and Security took place on 17th April 2007

Within the framework of the German EU Presidency, a high-level conference on Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) “The Way to the European Earth Observation System GMES – Munich Roadmap” took place on 17th April 2007.
Commission Vice-President Verheugen underlined the strategic role of GMES as the first and most important application in the context of the European Space Policy, which will be disclosed in the next days. In particular he, together with the Federal Minister of Transport Wolfgang Tiefensee, presented GMES as strategic for Europe, as it will ensure independent access to information relating to the environment, climate change and security and deliver efficient and reliable services so that Europe can be treated on equal foot as other world actors when global issues are concerned.
The Munich roadmap, presented at that occasion by the German presidency, sets political milestones for GMES long-term sustainability:
1- By 2008, the first GMES services should be available and the Commission should present proposals for a sustainable programmatic, financial and management framework.
2- By 2012, the Council should adopt the necessary acts based on the Commission’s proposal and ESA should implement the first generation of GMES-dedicated satellites (Sentinels)
For more information at EU
Download the Munich Roadmap:
(Source GMES.Info)

BOSS4GMES (Building Operational and Sustainable Services for GMES) project started on December 1, 2006.

Co-funded by the European Commission and BOSS4GMES consortium (composed of 37 members), BOSS4GMES project will address for the first time the long-term sustainability of GMES and the preparation of the transition from Research and Development to operational exploitation. BOSS4GMES consortium will deploy its efforts to provide European bodies and agencies, Member States, regional and local authorities as well as public and private users with decision support tools and processes in the environment and security areas.
(Source Boss4gmes)