Introduction of new ITC Research Programme
At a one-day retreat in March 2001,the SMART group met together to present a series of research lines and at the end of the day these presentations were summarized in five spearheads:
1. Geo-information science and earth observation for strengthening civil society
2. Geo-information science and earth observation for improving the multifunctional use of space
3. Geo-information science and earth observation for improving water resources, food security and the environment
4. Geo-information science and earth observation for disaster management
5. Geo-information science and earth observation for the better understanding of global change.
These spearheads address the main issues that will confront the world over the coming decades and they are also firmly rooted in ITC’s expertise. The goal is to eventually have all research activities grouped under these spearheads. Of course, not all currently ongoing research fits within these spearheads,and naturally we will not go back on commitments made to these projects, so we’ll need a few years to successfully refocus our effort.
