RESEARCH TRAINING OBJECTIVES AND TARGET AUDIENCE
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Aims
A main general objective of the ECO-IMAGINE initiative is to discuss
ICM and GIS issues in a Europe-wide perspective and a with
a multilevel approach to investigation, that are fundamental because
of the various dimensions of the problems to be faced and of the various
decisional/ operational levels in which to operate.
In such a context an essential element is the opportunity of sharing experiences,
of getting in touch with the real state of art both in the field of ICM
and in the field of Information Technologies (IT), of activating
collaboration and launching the bases for new projects.
At an overall level, the initiative aims at:
- collecting at the international level the expertise of scientists and addressing it as a support for knowledge and decision, above all, enhancing the cross-sectoral opportunities supplied by GIS
- supporting decision making by authorities in charge for planning and control, offering them highly qualified inter-disciplinary scientific assistance, with a proper consideration of geographical knowledge
- increasing the effective impact for sectoral projects supporting additional investigations tuned to the decided policies
- putting together a 'sound mix' of academics, decision makers and IT experts.
- disseminating the work of the participant structures and researcher by means of lectures, demonstrations and field work
- dealing with trans-boundaries issues, for which a specific community policy is not defined yet. A meaningful example is the planning and management of trans boundaries landscapes, set as a priority in the European Convention for Landscape.
- creating a favourable environment for the establishment of an inter disciplinary forum for enhancing co-operation and helping conflict resolution among different sectors.
- training cross-cutting operational experts, able to include an interdisciplinary, science based approach in local management initiatives, by fostering the collaboration and the co-ordination of sectorial skills.
Key Points
At this purpose, ECO-IMAGINE aims to integrate various thematic
research activities related to ICM, under the paradigms of Geographical
Information and coastal landscape, thus creating a comprehensive training
environment.
In particular, is to be stressed:
- the relevance of the coastal landscape, as unifying element, either as a resource, or as a research field, since the landscape is one of the most sensible evidence of the results of a management intervention
- the fostering of an interdisciplinary approach through the integration of the sectoral achievements and the possibility of sharing them in a comprehensive frame. In particular, this objective will be pursued by giving researchers the opportunity of sharing knowledge and experience.
- the high scientific level ensured by the participation of international reputation scientists
- the transfer of knowledge and principles from intergovernmental organisations and scientific environments to national and local realities
- the transfer of knowledge and experience from expert scientists to early stage researchers to help a mutual collaboration among them in a cross-fertilising action open to the users, such as planners, Administrations, Companies, Non-Governmental Organisations, Associations of citizens
Target Audience
The ECO-IMAGINE events will be addressed to:
- early stage researchers, that will be able to benefit from the knowledge experience of senior scientists, and directly establish contacts, outside the constraints of academic research relationships. Moreover they will be able to calibrate their expectations on the base of the actual opportunities
- experienced researchers and scientists, that will find a good environment for discussing their achievements, also in the perspective of an interdisciplinary approach. As a matter of fact, they will be given the opportunity to discuss together with experts in other different fields about shared themes and address them jointly, that is quite difficult in everyday work conditions
- Local operators and administrators, that will be supplied with an opportunity of education according with the state of art, either in GIS or in ICM, of a series of best practice samples and of the possibility of collaboration with some of the best experts in the European panorama
- Representatives of NGOs and of associations of citizens that will be able on one hand to have a general overview of the main issues about coastal areas, and on the other hand to interact with decision makers and scientists and to give valid input for future interventions
In particular, the events are conceived to offer the participants
good opportunities of getting in touch with group work in an international,
multi-disciplinary, operational-oriented environment. In this way the
benefits and the difficulties of an interdisciplinary approach will be
addressed; among these many important, but generally scarcely considered
issues, such as finding a common language that allows scientists coming
from different sciences to discuss together, interacting with administrators
and stakeholders outside the research environment, elaborating practical
solutions for the interoperability of information, coming to a compromise
between the quality of an ICM programme, the available technologies, the
allocated money and other local constraints. As above said, it is important
to notice that the main objective is not to give researchers an omni-comprehensive
skill, but to enable them to find out the different issues and the fields
to consider for the elaboration of an ICM, the most suitable technologies,
and to interact with the respective experts
Such a training environment will be encouraged also to foster interest
towards issues and related skills complementary to the traditional scientific
and technological disciplines usually found in Academy, with a consequent
enlargement and improving of effectiveness for researchers and research
groups. GI and ICM are very large fields of investigation with problems
and issues common to many branches of science. It is a nonsense for a
single research group to try to get a complete knowledge, but this should
be built by sharing existing knowledge and comparing experiences
and best practices.
Such an approach is consistent as well with the current directions, above
all for as regards the promotion and strengthening of interagency and
inter-sectoral collaboration, the reduction of duplication and overlapping
and the monitoring and evaluation of ICM projects and programmes.
The international environment that characterises the ECO-IMAGINE initiative
is expected to bring various benefits, among them the sharing of experiences
and knowledge, an incentive for further researchers mobility, finally
a tighter international co-operation between neighbouring countries.
Footprints of a New Approach
It is also important to underline the ethical aspects of the approach.
ICM, as a matter of fact, is recognised as an actual tool for achieving
the objective of sustainable development, and people involved can carry
on a task effectively useful for common good. Moreover, the inclusion
of social sciences in a field where natural sciences and economic
objectives are traditionally more relevant, helps to maintain the cultural
features and values of the coastal areas, that are an important heritage
for the future generation. For this reason, the landscape as important
unifying element will be considered either from the natural or from the
cultural point of view.
Also, the involvement of local administrators, citizens and stakeholders
in general, helps to better implement the management intervention on the
territory and to act keeping in consideration the actual needs of the
users. At this purpose, it is important to underline that most people
are aware of the strict duality between the territory where they live
with its landscape, and as a consequence their perception of the landscape,
in the perspective of an ICM intervention, is as essential as the objective
features of the area. Moreover, it can have social consequences that are
not to be neglected when planning.
For these reasons, the training of experts able to elaborate effective
ICM programmes and actions exploiting advanced technologies such as GIS,
and to work in an interdisciplinary environment becomes even more relevant
Moreover, one of the main issues of ICM is the need
to operate locally according with the global principles and directions
expressed by intergovernmental organisations. For this reason, ECO-IMAGINE
aims to foster the training of experts that, exploiting the opportunities
offered by GI, are able to transfer the official directions into practical
actions on the local area.
In this perspective, researchers participating to the ECO-IMAGINE initiative
are expected to receive a "theoretical" training, essentially
by means of lectures given by international renown scientists presenting
the rationales, the general principles, the actual needs, the mutual relationships
and the international state of art of ICM, landscape management and GI,
and to see the practical application of these concepts and statements
through case studies, field trips and simulation exercises. Background
lectures and practical activities are expected to be presented in a complementary
way, in a highly qualified scientific environment, in order to ensure
the integration between the two ambits and to stimulate the discussion
and the transfer of knowledge.