In October 2005 a Memorandum of Agreement between LSE CATS and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO was signed to establish the LSE/IOC Business Programme for Observing Systems.
Mission of the LSE/IOC Business Programme for Observing Systems
The purpose of the Programme is to develop and disseminate methods, tools, decision aids and training for the business and policy community of all Nations for optimal uptake and use of new environmental information and modeled output from earth and ocean observing systems for economic and social development. In addition, the mission is to promote and coordinate the use of these tools through web-based platforms and discussion boards, seminars, industry-specific consultation and education.
It is envisioned that this Programme will provide the IOC's Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), the Ocean component of Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS) with a mechanism to help to organize and activate the demand of GOOS products by the business and policy community of all nations. The Programme will aid the GOOS Regional Alliances with the development of observing system derived decision tools tailored to their regional needs to ensure that the requirements of the business and policy community are ascertained, and that information-based products for economic development and policy formulation are developed and demonstrated. It will seek knowledge transfer and promote "market penetration" of these products, conduct economic and policy analysis, and design blueprints for actions and solutions to real social and economic issues in all regions of the world.
The first Director of the Programme was Dr Mary AItalo, an existing LSE Visiting Fellow and an elected Vice-Chair of the Board of the Intergovernmental Panel of the Global Ocean Observing System.
Programme deliverables and activities 2006
◾ Preparation of a work book, based on sectoral case studies on ocean observing system product use, for distribution at the OWR workshops for industry.
◾ Preparation of a short course certified by the IOC open to Ocean engineers and Industry participants.
◾ Participation in a "training session" on product uptake at the GOOS Regional Forum in November 2006 including the preparation of workbook materials with regional case studies. Workbook publication will be through the IOC.
◾ Development of the Programme web page to be hosted on the existing LSE website, including the active discussion forum.
◾ Preparation of a development plan for the sustained funding of the Programme.
Related links:
◾ The IOC/UNESCO Business Partnerships for Global Observing Systems (BPOS)