WP6 – Geoscientific Information Management
Overview
Effective management of geoscientific information is essential for sustainable resource governance and informed decision-making. WP6 focuses on strengthening digital capacities in Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) within African Geological Surveys. These include (i) collect, (ii) store and manage, (iii) valorise, and (iv) ensure the availability of reliable georeferenced data to several target groups i.e. other government organisations, national and regional communities, planners, private sector, education and citizens.
Scope and Activities
Training covers geoscientific data management, database development, spatial data infrastructures, interoperability standards, digital workflows, modelling and visualisation. To address predictive mapping of underground natural resources as well as related environmental impacts, a training session will introduce innovative data science methods with the new generation of scientific workflows, first steps in using Machine Learning (ML) models applied to geoscience. Open-source tools and best practices are emphasised. Participants develop Return-to-Work Plans focused on implementing data management solutions within their institutions.
Capacity Building Approach
WP6 is highly practice-oriented and supports immediate application of skills, including the use of modern digital tools and workflows. Most of the WP6 capacity building sessions will be organised in the form of 2-3-day workshops for breakout groups on 3 4 thematic real use cases. These will be (i) based on local data sets prepared jointly by the European and African trainers, and (2) complemented with open-source data, remote sensing images and public scientific research publications, etc.
What the Work Package Delivers
The work package strengthens institutional data management capacities, improves accessibility and quality of geoscientific data, and enhances data sharing at national and regional levels.