Working group coordination

Each data hub has its own science strategy matching its field of investigation—atmosphere, oceans, land surfaces or solid Earth—and is backed by a scientific council that defines product and service development strategies.

However, many scientific issues call for access to data and services across different fields.

Data Terra helps to coordinate and lead scientific communities. The research infrastructure is actively involved in scientific foresight regarding data and their applications. It also interfaces with and works to integrate national, European and international scientific communities.

It thus coordinates four working groups that cut across its data hubs: the Science WG, TECH WG, Europe & International WG and COM WG.

1. SCIENCE WG

The role of the Science WG is to help the Data Terra management team shape and execute the research infrastructure’s science strategy in coordination with the strategies of each data hub.

Science WG missions

On the basis of the scientific foresight of research organizations (INSU, CNES, IRD), the Science WG analyses the specific features of each data hub and what they have in common, and identifies cross-cutting challenges.

Since 2020, this group has been drafting a document setting out several priority challenges that cut across the data hubs, such as achieving an integrated approach to the land-sea continuum and the critical zone, urban dynamics, the climate and water cycle, food security, environmental hazards and impacts on society, biodiversity dynamics, agro-ecology, energy and so on. To meet these science challenges, it is vital to be able to extract and combine data from multiple sources. The new integrated services offered by Data Terra will have to be scaled to overcome the scientific and technological obstacles and develop high-quality synoptic data products.

WG members

2. TECH WG

The Data Terra technical management team consists of a CTO (Richard Moreno, CNES), a Deputy CTO (Karim Ramage, CNRS) and five people chosen for their expertise in fields crucial to the research infrastructure (systems, in-situ data and catalogues).

This team is supported by the TECH WG to define Data Terra’s development plan and its overarching technical principles. The TECH WG is made up of certain members of the Data Terra technical management team, two representatives from each data hub (chief technical officer and an expert) and a representative from DINAMIS. To factor in the organization of the GAIA Data project, a representative of CLIMERI-France and a representative of the National Biodiversity Data Centre (PNDB) joined this team mid-2020.

This working group meets every four weeks and breaks out into sub-groups—which may call on experts from outside the WG—to investigate technical topics in more depth or to lead identified activities. These sub-groups are:

• Architecture WG (focused on infrastructure, computing, networking and data grids)
• Catalogue WG
• System WG (SSO authentication)
• Data Management WG (DMP and DOI)
• Data Terra Repository WG, with support from BRGM
• Training activity

WG members

3. EUROPE & INTERNATIONAL WG

One of Data Terra’s main aims is to implement integrated approaches at national, European and international levels for using Earth-observation data and information derived from them. In pursuit of this ambition, the Europe & International WG’s missions are to:

• Establish priorities for Data Terra and its data hubs in Europe and internationally, working from the research infrastructure roadmap of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI), national institutes’ foresight plans, strategies already in place at the data hubs and work underway within the other WGs (TECH and Science)
• Draft a Europe & International strategic roadmap for Data Terra and its data hubs
• Develop and coordinate the future involvement and positioning of Data Terra and its data hubs in European/international projects, programmes, initiatives and networks

The Europe & International WG meets every three weeks.

WG members

4. COMMUNICATION WG

The communication departments at Data Terra and its data hubs support their own activities as well as those of the research infrastructure.

The communication officers at the Theia, ODATIS, ForM@Ter and AERIS data hubs, the DINAMIS structure and Data Terra apply both common and differentiated communication strategies and actions.

Their remit covers a range of internal and external communication actions, including advising on and executing communication strategies, producing and posting news on the websites and social media accounts, developing and leading the organization’s relations with its various audiences, managing and optimizing Web content, circulating newsletters, creating corporate communications materials (digital and print), conducting strategic intelligence and organizing events.

The role of Data Terra’s communication department is to align graphic charters, editorial policy and messages conveyed by the research infrastructure and its data hubs, as well as to coordinate new websites, logos and communication materials.

To ensure effective circulation of information, the working group meets every two to three weeks. This WG addresses ongoing topics, future projects, actions to be planned and forthcoming events.

WG members