1. European Space Weather Business Group M. Wik, NeuroSpace (magnus@neurospace.se) D. Heynderickx, DH Consultancy (DHConsultancy@skynet.be) 8 Nov 2012ESWW9, 5-9 Nov 2012, Brussels

2. Background Several small business initiatives have been set up to provide space weather services and application development and operations. We want to explore the feasibility of setting up a framework (business group/alliance) through which small companies (<10 employees) can: – present themselves in a more uniform manner – share and exchange information, knowledge and resources – provide a new business model for interaction with larger companies, research institutes and entities such as ESA and EU 8 Nov 20122ESWW9, 5-9 Nov 2012, Brussels

3. First iteration The meeting was attended by 11 participants from industry, small businesses and research institutes. Several other people expressed interest before and after the meeting. The initiative to set up an alliance (informal at first) was endorsed by the participants. The organisers will set up a mailing list, wiki page and web page. The alliance will request a splinter session at ESWW10, and a stand at the fair. Presentation material can be prepared to disseminate the initiative at other venues. Preliminary name and acronym: European Space Business Alliance (ESBA), but this acronym is already reserved by European Small Business Alliance (which would be a good liaison!). Suggestions are welcome! 8 Nov 20123ESWW9, 5-9 Nov 2012, Brussels