FAQ

How is the EO Science Strategy Workshop structured? 

There is no need for participants to prepare or propose a presentation at this workshop. The Workshop programme is built around three interactive elements:  

  • A plenary session from 13h30 to 18h30 on June 19th which focuses on ESA EO programmes and presentation of preliminary results from the EO Science Strategy Foundation study 
  • Parallel interactive splinter sessions on June 20th from 9h00 to 12h30 which build on the June 19th plenary session.  
  • A concluding plenary session on June 20th from 13h30 - 15h30 with the focus on presenting the outcome of the splinter discussions and next steps. 

Illustrative material prepared by participants ahead of time to support discussions during the splinters is, however, welcome.  

How can I prepare to contribute to the workshop? 

The workshop splinter sessions provide the main occasion for the EO community to table their views in two different areas: 

  1. The 3 EO Candidate Science Questions (CSQs) Review Splinter sessions focus on the review and discussion of the Candidate Science Questions or CSQs. The CSQs summarise potential science questions and knowledge advancement priorities for consideration in ESA’s future EO science strategy, in a similar fashion to the Living Planet Challenges formulated in the 2006 and 2015 EO science strategies, and represent the preliminary output of the on-going ESA EO Science Strategy Foundation Study (see other FAQ below for details). 

  2. The 3 other splinters (Open Science and Digital Innovation, Use of Commercial Space for EO Science, Earth systems science and applied research for societal benefits) focus on implementation aspects of the future EO Science Strategy. 

Participants are invited to help prepare for the workshop in two ways: 

  1. Review of the Candidate Science Questions which will be published and accessible to all participants on Monday June 12th on the workshop website. You are also invited to select up to 5 preferred Candidate Science Questions which you wish to have tabled and discussed during your EO Candidate Science Questions Review Splinter. We expect to cover up to maximum of 10 science questions per splinter within the allocated time - hence the need for an indication of priority topics for discussion from workshop participants.  

You can do this via a dedicated form on the workshop website which allows you to: 

    • You may propose up to 5 priority CSQs to be tabled for discussion during your splinter.
    • Summarise your views using the Comments text field for each selected CSQ using the seed questions for the  EO Candidate Science Questions Review Splinters as guidance.
    • You may important additional CSQs you think are missing and that you think can be documented and justified at the same level of detail as the initial CSQs from the study.

To be considered in the workshop splinters, please fill out the form by Sunday June 18th @16h00 CET. Your inputs will be reviewed by the workshop organising committee and used to finalise the agenda of the EO Candidate Science Questions Review Splinters. The final agenda will be communicated to participants during the plenary session on June 19th.  

     2. Review the topics and seed questions from the additional 1 hour splinters focused on potential future EO               strategy building blocks. These include the following splinters:
    • Open Science and Digital Innovation
    • Use of Commercial Space for EO Science
    • Earth systems science and applied research for societal benefits

For the first two splinters seed questions will published on the workshop website and programme found. The seed questions will provide the basis for the discussion during these splinters. The final splinter (Earth systems science and applied research for societal benefits) will take the form of an Agora with panel members leading the discussion. 

Will the workshop also be virtual as well as in-person? 

All plenary workshop sessions will be live-streamed and can be followed online. The link to the streaming site will be posted on the workshop website before the start of the workshop. 

However, please note that 

  • The interactive splinter sessions and discussions taking place between 9h00 to 12h30 on June 20th will not be live-streamed, as these as based on in-person participation at the workshop; 

  • While the workshop plenary sessions will be live-streamed, opportunities to ask questions online or to interact with the presenter are not foreseen. 

When will the Candidate Science Questions be available for review ahead of the workshop? 

Yes - the Candidate Science Questions will be published on June 12th on the workshop website. 

How many Candidate Science Questions can I expect? 

Currently there are 59 Candidate Science Questions or CSQs. 

When will the details of the splinter sessions be published including seed questions? 

The title and seed questions for each splinter are expected to be published on the workshop website on June 12th. 

What is the current ESA EO Science Strategy and where can I find it? 

The current EO science strategy entitled “EARTH OBSERVATION SCIENCE STRATEGY FOR ESA: A New Era for Scientific Advances and Societal Benefits” was published in 2015 and is available on the workshop website under the “Documents” tab. 

What is the EO Science Strategy Foundation Study and what is its role? 

The EO Science Strategy Foundation study was implemented following an open Invitation to Tender by ESA to the EO science community with the goal to: 

  • Expand community involved in contributing to Future EO Strategy 

  • Research and propose updated candidate science questions 

  • Document and present the study results and make these available to ESA, the Advisory Committee on Earth Observation (ACEO), to Member States and the EO Science Community. 

The main study objective is to identify, justify, document and rank a limited number of Candidate Science Questions or CSQs as the potential drivers and basis for the future EO Science Strategy over the nominal six year interval 2025-2030. The candidate science questions should express priority scientific needs and objectives, and their role in addressing important gaps in our knowledge of the Earth system. 

This study objective is complemented by work to perform a systematic, rigorous and well documented traceability exercise to identify  

  • geophysical information gaps associated with the candidate EO Science Questions, which need to be addressed either through the development and launch of new and innovative EO missions or through focused EO science research and development 

  • how addressing the candidate EO Science Question within ESA EO programmes is linked to societal benefits and contributes to international policies and agendas. This includes visualising, quantifying and documenting the strength and nature of these links. 

Following the ITT and evaluation of the proposals, a consortium consisting of 17 international scientists drawn from different EO science disciplines was selected and the study started in December 2022 and is expected to last until February 2024. 

The study methodology and initial results will be presented by the full study team during the Workshop plenary session on Day 1. 




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