DE Africa is funded by US-based The Leona M. Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and the Australian Government. The Funding is over three years where the establishment team will develop and implement the strategies required to set up the program for ongoing sustainability in Africa
Three-year plan 2019-2022
Year 1: Setting the foundation
- Develop the governance framework, mission and vision
- Implement the governance framework
- Establish institutional hosting arrangements and DE Africa Office
- Recruitment of DE Africa Office staff
- Deliver DE Africa Day, web-site & key events
- Deliver continental-wide beta water observations from space product
- Develop key strategies: Communications and stakeholder engagement, partnerships, and capacity building
- Establish key partnerships with in-country enablers and others
- Ensure alignment with relevant initiatives, programs and institutions
- Undertake Australian Government Investment Design process
- Develop technical roadmap
- Build the DE Africa data and ODC infrastructure
Year 2: Building capacity and uptake
- First DE Africa Annual Users Meeting
- Implement technical roadmap
- Deliver 3 continental-wide products
- DE Africa Office operating and fully staffed
- Regular training and capacity building program in place
- Engage at the country level on uptake of DE Africa products
- Increase the ability for African countries to exploit DE Africa products and services
- Produce a study on the economic value of EO data for Africa
- Increase comprehensive stakeholder engagement
- Secure co-investment from additional philanthropic/aid agencies
Year 3: A developing ecosystem
- Deliver 5 continental-wide products
- Deliver case studies on the impact of EO data on decision making in Africa
- Demonstrate a developing business case for direct country-level investment based on delivered value
- Demonstrate cases of products and services from DE Africa being independently ingested into new, innovative applications
- Develop a sustainability plan for the continued operations of DE Africa