1. IDIB Strategic Target Assessment Capacity Building User Engagement Science & Technology

2. Capacity Building
Enhance the coordination of efforts to strengthen individual, institutional and infrastructure capacities, particularly in developing countries, to produce and use Earth observations and derived information products.
This will be demonstrated by:
Networking activities that specifically build individual, institutional and infrastructure capacity.
Leveraging resources for Earth observation capacity building efforts.
Increased use of Earth observation in policy and decision making.
Enhanced participation of developing countries in GEO and GEOSS.
Rationale for Target Rating:
Capacity building activities are increasing in number and forces are joined to enhance capacity building initiatives. Twenty-one of the WP tasks have elements of capacity building activity, responding in some way to the one or more of the demonstrated by actions of the target. The activity level between these varies from small to robust. The spread of capacity building activities in the WP further highlights the cross–cutting nature of capacity building and the need for more robust coordination. The integration of the capacity development resource facility and the GEO web portal and initiatives in the framework of AfriGEOSS will give a further boost to capacity building.

3. Recommended Actions for GEO Members and Participating Organizations
CB1: Participate and contribute regional, national and institutional capacity building activities to GEO.
CB2: Actively support capacity building efforts directed at the introduction of the GEOSS Discovery and Access Broker (DAB) approach – to increase the number of datasets available through GEOSS and facilitate access to research funding
CB3: Provide capacity building resources, material and information to populate the GEOCAB Portal and CEOS Inventory (that will be incorporated into GEOCAB)
CB5: Raise awareness of the GEOSS Data-CORE nationally/regionally.
CB4: Stimulate the uptake of the GEO Data Sharing Principles at national, regional and international levels

4. Science & Technology
Ensure full interaction and engagement of relevant science and technology communities such that GEOSS advances through integration of innovations in Earth observation science and technology, enabling the research community to fully benefit from GEOSS accomplishments.
This will be demonstrated by:
Improved and new instrumentation and observation system design for in-situ, airborne, and space-based observation, benefiting from advances in science and technology.
Increased accessibility of global sets of scientific data necessary for improved Earth System modelling in the different GEO Societal Benefit Areas.
Increased accessibility of data and improved coordination and maintenance of observational systems through GEOSS are realized by the research community.
Rationale for Target Rating:
Most Tasks, twenty-two, in the GEO Work Plan contribute to the Science and Technology Target. Taken together, Task-related activities indicate an increased use of GEOSS data by the research community. However, more support is needed for the adoption of a transverse approach to Science and Technology in GEOSS and the implementation of the GEO Roadmap.

5. Recommended Actions for GEO Members and Participating Organizations
ST1. Support the implementation of the GEO Science & Technology Roadmap and encourage new contributions to Work Plan activities from Asia and Africa;
ST2. Establish links with national and regional activities on Future Earth and the broader Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda.

6. User Engagement
Ensure critical user information needs for decision making are recognized and met through Earth observations.
This will be demonstrated by:
Establishment of an agreed core set of essential environmental, geophysical, geological, and socio-economic variables needed to provide data, metadata and products in support of all GEOSS Societal Benefit Areas.
Involvement of users in: reviewing and assessing requirements for Earth observation data products and services; creating appropriate mechanisms for coordinating user requirements; utilizing data/information delivery systems; and capturing user feedback on an ongoing basis across Societal Benefit Areas.
Increased use of geo-spatial data in all Societal Benefit Areas and in particular in developing countries.
Rationale for Target Rating:
User engagement is increasing. Twenty-two of the Work Plan tasks have some kind of user engagement activity, from small to robust. Those listed in the triangle have more robust activities listed and serve as examples for how to denote many different kinds of engagement. The Increased use of geo-spatial data in all Societal Benefit Areas and in particular in developing Countries (UE-c) is expected to be achieved through the anticipated success of the five SB Tacks.

7. Recommended Actions for GEO Members and Participating Organizations
UE1. Provide national and organizational user perspectives to illustrate the richness of the cross-cutting user engagement;
UE2. Support at least one User Engagement Session per year (linked to one or more Work Plan Tasks) – to capture the work and needs of the users in a specific region;
UE3. Encourage national or regional user engagement sessions collocated with relevant conferences to capture contributions from developing countries and feedbacks on user needs;
UE4. Results from those meetings should be included into the larger user engagement information and disseminated as appropriate.