Facilitating African-European R&D Partnership in Earth Observation Through Collaborative Research: EO AFRICA R&D Research Calls Dr. Serkan Girgin*, Prof. Dr. Zoltan Vekerdy+, Dr. Mahdi Farnaghi, Dr. Diana Chavarro Rincon
[email protected] https://linkedin.com/in/serkan-girgin/ Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation University of Twente, The Netherlands ESA Living Planet Symposium 2025 23-27 June 2025, Vienna, Austria
EO AFRICA R&D Facility aims sustainable adoption of Earth Observation related technologies in Africa through an African-European R&D partnership •EO AFRICA R&D Facility is the flagship of the African Union – ESA long-term strategy initiative of African Framework for Research Innovation, Communities and Applications in Earth Observation (EO AFRICA). •The Facility supports capacity development for research by organizing tailor‐made domain-specific open-access massive open online course, webinars, online training courses, and face-to-face courses. •The Facility supports capacity development through research by enabling research projects co‐developed by African and European research tandems. •The Facility operates a cloud-based geospatial computing infrastructure to support capacity development and research activities. https://eoafrica-rd.org
During 2022-2024, the Facility launched two research project calls to support African-European collaboration in developing innovative EO solutions •The focus is the development of open-source EO algorithms and applications adapted to African solutions to African challenges by making full use of the digital transformation in Africa and the observation capabilities of the ESA and 3rd party missions through a modern cloud-based approach. •The basic conditions of the calls to fund 15 research projects* each round are: •Two Co-PIs representing a collaborative partnership of one African and one European research entity. •Co-PIs holding PhD or being PhD candidates. •Use of interactive notebooks or similar tools to develop algorithms and workflows. •Open-access research outputs (e.g. code, data, publications). •At least one peer-reviewed publication. •Project duration of 12 months*. •Balanced budget of max. 25,000 €*, excluding ICT resources. •Use of the Innovation Lab with co-located data infrastructure, which is provided for free. * For 2025-2027, 10 research projects, 15 months, 30,000 €.
The research project calls aimed at addressing emerging research topics in food security and water scarcity in Africa The first call in 2021 focused on mapping and monitoring the environment, whereas the second call in 2022 focused on modelling and monitoring of environmental processes. Coastal survey for food resources Crop development and yield forecast Defining groundwater level in large basins EO support of precision farming Forecasting runoff and river discharge Forecasting regional evapotranspiration Forecasting hydrological stresses Forest and rangeland processes Identifying and mapping crop stress/drought/failure Identifying and mapping crop types Identifying and mapping cropping areas Irrigation demand estimation Mapping deforestation Mapping rainfall distribution Mapping water bodies and floods Ocean survey for food resources Ocean/coastal processes related to food resources Quantifying soil moisture Rangeland mapping (Other topics) * For information on the 2004 and 2025 topics, please visit https://eoafrica-rd.org/research/
Collected proposals* were reviewed and ranked by an expert evaluation committee for the final selection by AUC and ESA •Eligibility check of the submitted research proposals. •Establishment of the Evaluation Committee to review the submitted proposals. •Review of the eligible research proposals by at least two Committee member using 33 criteria in 6 categories. •Shortlisting of the eligible research proposals based on the results of the evaluation. •Pre-selection of the research proposals for funding by the Committee, considering geographic balance. •Final selection of the research proposals for funding by AUC and ESA.
More than 100 project proposals were received from African and European co‐investigators affiliated with public and private research institutions 80 unique African institutions in 28 African countries, in collaboration with 17 European countries. Addis Ababa University African Union Development Agency AGRHYMET Agricultural Research Corporation Agriculture Research Council Alternatives Plus Arba Minch University Association Les Amis de Géospatialisation et de la Nature Bahir Dar University Bolgatanga Technical University Cadi Ayyad University Center for Earth Observation and Environmental Research Centre de Suivi Ecologique Centre Royal de Télédétection Spatiale Centre Universitaire de Recherche de d'ápplication en Teledetection Chouaib Doukkali University Dedan Kimathi University of Technology Egyptian Meteorological Authority Engeo Consulting Services Ethiopian Space Science and Geospatial Institute Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute Faculté des Sciences de Rabat Hassan First University Ibn Tofail University Institut de l'Olivier Institute of Space Research and Aerospace Jimma University Institute of Technology Kenya Forestry Research Institute Kenya Water Institute Kenyatta University Koforidua Technical University Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Lagos State University Makerere University Malawi University of Science and Technology Mohammed VI Polytechnic University Moi University National Institute for Agricultural Research National Institute of Agricultural Research & Rural Development National School of Forest Engineers National Space Research and Development Agency National University of Lesotho Nile Basin Initiative Secretariat RCMRD Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies Sol Plaatje University Tanta University Technical University of Kenya The Federal University of Technology Univerity of Zambia Universite Cheikh Anta Diop University Ibn Khaldoun of Tiaret University of Cape Town University of Dschang University of Environment and Sustainable Development University of Free State University of Ibadan University of Namibia University of Oran 1 Ahmed Ben Bella University of Parakou University of Pretoria University of Rwanda University of The Witwatersrand University of Western Cape University of Witwatersrand University of Zimbabwe University Omar Bongo Université Assane SECK de Ziguinchor Université Cheikh Anta Diop Université de Maroua Université de Ngaoundéré Université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya Université des Sciences Sociales et de Gestion de Bamako Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny Université Marien Ngouabi Université Thomas Sankara Université Virtuelle de Côte d’Ivoire Universtié d’Abomey Calavi Wikite University * The 2025 call recently closed, receiving over 140 proposals!
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 15-25 25-35 35-45 45-55 55-65 65-75 75-90 Overview of the proposals Number of pages
Distribution by African countries 0246810 12 Algeria Benin Burkina Faso Cabo Verde Cameroon Congo Egypt Ethiopia Gabon Ghana Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Malawi Mali Mauritania Morocco Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Senegal South Africa Sudan Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Number of proposals
Distribution by European countries 0 5 10 15 20 25 Austria Belgium Czechia Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Poland Spain Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom Number of proposals
How are the research projects helping to build partnerships between Africa and Europe in EO research and innovation? … or you can simply ask them during the coffee breaks! Listen to awarded researchers, they will give you good reasons!
Many open-access research deliverables were published by the project teams https://eoafrica-rd.org/research/research-project-outputs/
International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation published a special issue for the projects https://sciencedirect.com/special-issue/10FFWFN47HR
Each research project helped to grow the EO AFRICA R&D Community focusing on collaboration for innovation in EO science and research •The calls enabled new scientific connections to be formed between African and European research groups that had not previously worked together, and helped to strengthen the existing connections. •The call enabled African researchers to learn how to use cloud-computing infrastructure for EO purposes. •Although provided funding was limited, a wide range of activities were performed in Africa and Europe. •A significant number of African project team members participated capacity development activities. •Published open-source research code and open-access research data facilitated Open Science practices.
As a community, we gained valuable insights through the implementation of the project calls and the execution of the research projects •Accurately estimating the computing resources required to carry out the proposed research activities proved to be a complex task, often due to limited prior experience with large-scale infrastructure. •The transfer of funds to African partners presented logistical and administrative challenges, highlighting the need for more streamlined and transparent financial processes. •There is a clear need for expanded training initiatives to support skill development, particularly in areas such as cloud computing, data analysis, and EO techniques. •The practice of publishing open-source research code and open-access datasets is still in its early stages, indicating the need for greater awareness, incentives, and support. •Even modest funding can catalyze impactful collaborations between African and European research teams. These partnerships can extend beyond traditional research efforts to include essential training, knowledge exchange, and broader capacity development activities.
Dr. Serkan Girgin Head, Center of Expertise in Big Geodata Science Associate Professor, Department of Geoinformation Processing Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation University of Twente [email protected] https://linkedin.com/in/serkan-girgin/ Questions and feedback are most welcome! Dr. Roelof Rietbroek Assistant Professor, Department of Water Resources Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation University of Twente
[email protected] https://linkedin.com/in/roelof-rietbroek/ https://eoafrica-rd.org
