The use of geospatial information and technologies is growing at a rapid pace both in the traditional, as well as, increasingly new application areas, particularly with the 4IR technologies of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), sensor webs, internet-of-things (IoT), etc. The volumes of geospatial and related data becoming available are having significant impacts on both public and private sector organisations and the way they operate. The geospatial ecosystem is expanding both vertically and horizontally intersecting numerous other ecosystems. Geospatial policies that are enabling must provide the guiding framework for the rapidly expanding and evolving geospatial ecosystem. These policies must be well researched, with clear objectives, and be agile for the ever-changing arena. But to reap the full benefit of geospatial information and knowledge creation will require new ways of operating. Increasingly, there is the need to work in collaboration with others, each contributing synergistically to the greater good. This can be achieved through a new look at various forms of public-private-partnerships (PPPs).

Report on PPP’s
The use of PPPs are under consideration by a number of governments around the world, and to assist in this area the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC) has recently completed the report: “Public-Private Geospatial Collaborations: Exploring Potential Partnership Models”. This webinar will be hosted by The UN-GGIM: Private Sector Network (PSN), the UN-GGIM: Academic Network, and the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC). Its objectives are to explore the need for collaboration in the rapidly expanding geospatial ecosystem; discuss the requirements for enabling geospatial policies for collaborative approaches; describe Academia’s contribution to informed policy formulation for innovation in the geospatial ecosystem; discuss the rationale for public-private-partnerships in the geospatial ecosystem; describe different forms of public-private-partnerships in the geospatial ecosystem.

Draft Agenda (TIME, TOPIC, SPEAKER)
08:00 – 08:05 Welcome by Derek Clarke, Advisor WGIC
08:05 – 08:15 Requirements for enabling policies for effective collaborative approaches, Jim van Rens, WGIC Executive Board
08:15 – 08:25 Education and research for informed policy formulation for innovation in the geospatial ecosystem, Prof Maria Brovelli, Chair: UN-GGIM: Academic Network
08:25 – 08:35 Extending Geospatial Information Management and Services through PPP Collaboration
Sanjay Kumar, Chair: UN-GGIM: Private Sector Network
08:35 – 08:45 Q&A Participants
08:45 – 09:25 Panel Discussion: The influence of policy and PPP collaboration on the geospatial ecosystem, Moderator: Cheryl Desha, UN-GGIM: Academic Network. Panellists: Dr Zaffar Mohamed-Ghouse, Spatial Vision, GGIM: PSN, WGIC: Industry/ Academia Chair. Prashant Shukle, WGIC. Willy Govender, Terra-analytics, GGIM: PSN, WGIC: PPP Chair. Thalia Baldwin, Geospatial Commission, UK
09:25 – 09:30 Closing remarks, Cheryl Desha and Jim van Rens

Registration Procedure and Connection Details
This webinar is open to all participants and no formal registration is required. To participate please connect 5 minutes before the scheduled start time on Microsoft Teams at this URL:

Webinar. Effective Geospatial Information Management and Services through Public-Private-Partnerships
WGIC report. Public-Private Geospatial Collaborations: Exploring Potential Partnership Models