Image: Esa/EARSC
Making data from the EU’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme free of charge to all users will be the best way to create economic benefits from the programme, according to a report.
The study, which examines the effects of classifying data from the project as public-sector information, says the additional business opportunities from allowing the free reuse of information will outweigh any economic benefits from selling the data.
The report, co-authored by researchers from the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies and Citadel Consulting, was commissioned by the European Space Agency as part of its efforts to finalise the data and information policy for GMES. It was published by ESA on 8 May, as evidence to support its plan to make GMES data freely available.
The EU programme is expected to generate a significant amount of information on the Earth’s environment via its Sentinel satellites, the first of which is intended to be operational by the end of this year.
Entitled About GMES and data: geese and golden eggs, the report states: “GMES may well be Europe’s goose capable of laying golden eggs. But how can we ensure a steady sustainable business model: do we take one egg (direct returns from sales of data) or do we allow the egg to hatch, hoping more golden-egg-laying geese will follow?”.
Under the first option, the data delivered from GMES would be free to public policymakers but not for other users. However, the authors say there is increasing recognition that charging for the re-use of public sector information does not lead to the best economic returns.
Instead, the report states that making such information available at zero or marginal costs “can generate significant benefits, enabling innovation and job creation in the private sector, and increasing efficiency in the public sector”.
According to the authors, their evidence that free re-use of environmental data will offer better exploitation potential also supports the view of downstream users of GMES. “A free and open data policy may finally be seen as "the goose that lays golden eggs”, they state.