32
Chapter 4
From the total volume of the program, 6 M Euros, about 5 M Euros are
allocated to public sector projects and 1 M Euros to industrial projects. Over
half of the projects are dealing with practical applications.
Today, 8 research centers and universities, and 7 companies are
participating in the program. Co-operation between researchers is intense.
From the 25 projects started so far, 6 projects include co-operation between
research groups and 14 projects co-operation between research centers and
companies.
5.
EXPERIENCE GAINED FROM THE PROGRAM
To fulfil the first objective, to develop new businesses, companies are
actively taking part in the program and are participating in 14 projects. Cooperation between research centers and companies is intense, as can be seen
from the high number of projects started in co-operation with research
centers and companies. From this point of view, the program will fulfil its
expectations.
Although the role of companies is increasing, the work is mainly done by
scientists in research centers. In projects lead by the industry, satellite data
are used together with other observations and satellite technologies,
consequently, don’t play a critical role. This shows that the market for
industrial applications is still small and in some cases it does not encourage
companies to develop commercial applications. Consequently, companies do
not have enough experienced personnel, which further limits their
possibilities to develop new businesses.
Although almost all Finnish research institutes active in EO are
participating in the program, the number of proposals for feasibility studies
and application projects is lower than expected and the role of the basic
research projects is prominent. There are a number of reasons for this
situation; one of them being the fact that end-users will be willing to finance
50% of the development expenses only if they get enough benefit from using
satellite data in their information systems. Therefore, the feasibility of new
applications should be demonstrated before starting the development phase.
In addition, data continuation should be guaranteed more effectively than
today, the price of satellite data should be attractive for users and the needs
of users should be taken into account in the planning of missions.
Chapter 4
From the total volume of the program, 6 M Euros, about 5 M Euros are
allocated to public sector projects and 1 M Euros to industrial projects. Over
half of the projects are dealing with practical applications.
Today, 8 research centers and universities, and 7 companies are
participating in the program. Co-operation between researchers is intense.
From the 25 projects started so far, 6 projects include co-operation between
research groups and 14 projects co-operation between research centers and
companies.
5.
EXPERIENCE GAINED FROM THE PROGRAM
To fulfil the first objective, to develop new businesses, companies are
actively taking part in the program and are participating in 14 projects. Cooperation between research centers and companies is intense, as can be seen
from the high number of projects started in co-operation with research
centers and companies. From this point of view, the program will fulfil its
expectations.
Although the role of companies is increasing, the work is mainly done by
scientists in research centers. In projects lead by the industry, satellite data
are used together with other observations and satellite technologies,
consequently, don’t play a critical role. This shows that the market for
industrial applications is still small and in some cases it does not encourage
companies to develop commercial applications. Consequently, companies do
not have enough experienced personnel, which further limits their
possibilities to develop new businesses.
Although almost all Finnish research institutes active in EO are
participating in the program, the number of proposals for feasibility studies
and application projects is lower than expected and the role of the basic
research projects is prominent. There are a number of reasons for this
situation; one of them being the fact that end-users will be willing to finance
50% of the development expenses only if they get enough benefit from using
satellite data in their information systems. Therefore, the feasibility of new
applications should be demonstrated before starting the development phase.
In addition, data continuation should be guaranteed more effectively than
today, the price of satellite data should be attractive for users and the needs
of users should be taken into account in the planning of missions.