GRAAL turned up in GMES

Can GMES downstream services help regional and local authorities in decision making?

GRAAL (GMES for Regions: Awareness and Access Link) project is funded under 7th FWP (Seventh Framework Programme). The overall objective of GRAAL is to foster the development of GMES Downstream Services and develop the link of GMES with Regions (and other local authorities of comparable importance).

The essence of GRAAL lies in the balance between these two sub-objectives. The members of the GRAAL consortium believe that there is as much a need to develop the awareness of the potential of GMES downstream services among Local and Regional Authorities (LRA) as it is necessary to ensure that there are Service Providers in a position to serve this market and to accomplish the Lisbon strategy-related objectives of GMES.

It is proposed to achieve this overall ambition through the following objectives:

• To characterise the offer in terms of GMES services for LRAs;
• To establish an observatory of the GMES Downstream Service sector;
• To develop a user oriented tool implemented on a Website where demand and offer will meet and where exchanges can take place by using the most advanced web-based technologies;
• To increase awareness of GMES among LRAs and potential Service Providers.

The GRAAL consortium is led by SpaceTech Partners and the team consists of 10 partners from 8 countries covering 4 of the GMES priority areas (Land, Atmosphere, Ocean and Emergencies). Gisat brings to the project the views and experiences of the respected GMES service provider as well as the knowledge of the needs of new Member States.