The GEO Blue Planet working group on capacity development works to link and build on existing capacity development efforts related to sustained ocean and coastal observations, products and services. 

A core group of working group members identify and guide priority activities. Task Teams with additional members from the GEO Blue Planet Steering Committee and other interested parties are formed to implement short-term activities (6 - 18 months).

 

 

Name Affiliation
Sophie Seeyave (lead) Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO), UK
Zaidy Afrin United Nations Nippon Fellow, Grenada
Anthony Akpan Pan African Vision for the Environment (PAVE), Nigeria
Elham Ali Suez University, Egypt
Isa Elegbede Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU), Germany
Juliet Hermes South African Earth Observing Network (SAON), South Africa
Vivian Lutz INIDEP, Argentina
Frank Muller-Karger University of South Florida, USA, & MBON
Shubha Sathyendranath Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK

Best Practices in Capacity Development

GEO Blue Planet currently has a Task Team on best practices in capacity development that is working in collaboration with the GEO Task Team on capacity development, the CEOS working group on capacity development and data democracy, and other groups as relevant, to share information with the GEO community at large and leverage existing efforts. 

Best Practices in Evaluating the Impact of Capacity Development Programmes

The Task Team is working to discuss best practices in evaluating the impact of capacity building programmes. POGO and SCOR, who have worked together on this in the last 2 years, will provide their insights and invite other organisations to contribute theirs, with a view to compiling best practices in both:

  • How to conduct such an evaluation (surveys, testimonials, metrics…),
  • How to analyse and interpret the results (e.g. what recommendations can be drawn on how to improve programmes or how to select the best type of programme to meet a particular need or requirement).

 

 

It is envisioned that this Task Team will grow to include representatives from international, regional (intergovernmental or non-governmental) and national organisations, programmes and projects involved in capacity development (both at the provider and receiver ends). A call will be issued to the Steering Committee and targeted participants initially, then to the community at large, for volunteers willing to participate in the Task Team.

A list of contributors to the manuscript on capacity development submitted to the journal of operational oceanography’s Blue Planet supplemental issue is given below:

Name Organisation
Patricia Miloslavich GOOS; University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia; Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela
Sophie Seeyave Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO)
Elham Ali Suez University, Suez, Egypt
Nicholas Bax University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Hobart,

Australia
Claudia Delgado International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO
Hayley Evers-King EUMETSAT; Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UK
Ben Loveday EUMETSAT; Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UK
Vivian Lutz Instituto Nacional de Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP), Mar del Plata, Argentina
Frank Muller-Karger MBON; University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, USA
Jan Newton University of Washington, Seattle, USA
Ana C. Peralta Brichtova Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela
Ed Urban Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR)

Future Activities

Future activities under consideration by the working group include an assessment of capacity development needs of developing countries and the submission of best practices on capacity development to the IODE Best Practices repository.  The US-AID/NASA project SERVIR, which has been running for the last 10 years, has developed some guidelines on the full planning cycle, from scoping user requirements to engagement and evaluation.