Down to earth: Popularisation of geo-information services in the Netherlands

Abstract

The popularisation of geo-information services contributes to achieving Europe's 2020 goals to become a “smart, sustainable and inclusive growth economy” [1]. From a utilitarian perspective, this implies making the benefits of geo-information available to the largest number of users possible. To this end earth observation data has been made publicly available by various European earth observation initiatives for the use by industrial actors. However, the potential end-users frequently cannot readily utilize raw earth observation data in their business processes. Hence, to further stimulate the popularisation of geo-information services, a healthy value adding industry – that transforms raw earth observation data to geo-information services – is necessary. This involves the important, yet challenging, alignment between industry activities and government incentives. This paper discusses how a private cooperation of value adding companies in the Netherlands was established to contribute to the popularisation of geo-information services. Our case study shows how structural challenges can be overcome by forming a cooperation among value adding companies to gain the necessary capabilities to link downstream needs (market pull) with upstream availability (technology push). The results elaborate on policy actions for market stimulation, as well as developments within the value adding industry to strengthen and mature their market scope. As such, this study provides insight in how to strengthen the European value adding industry and promote the popularisation of geo-information services.