FAQ Call for projects SCO International

Here are the main answers to the questions you might have about responding to the SCO's call for projects.

What is the SCO annual calls objective?

The SCO’s yearly call for projects is intended to spawn operational tools matching a certain number of mandatory criteria - they must meet the local needs of identified end-users by leveraging available satellite, environmental and socio-economic data and existing infrastructures - that must be easily transposable to other regions. Such projects are led by public-private consortia that guarantee the quality of data provided and plan to sustain commercial or scientific services in the long term. Through these projects, evaluated by experts, the SCO is the first initiative of its kind to offer tangible assistance to territories by leveraging satellite data to tackle climate change.

What are the funding mechanisms of the SCO annual calls?

The SCO is an international non-binding initiative and is not an international funding agency. Therefore, only securely funded projects are eligible for accreditation.

Who can apply to the SCO ?

Teams with the support of a SCO Focal Point.

What is the SCO full set of criteria?

SCO Projects are encouraged to fulfil the following criteria:

1. 1. Be fully funded : Applicants must demonstrate that sufficient funding has been secured to carry out the project.

2. 2. Be supported by the relevant SCO Focal Point : Each proposal must receive the support of the relevant SCO Focal Point before being submitted for accreditation. To find out the name and contact details of your SCO Focal Point, please contact us at SCO_Secretariat@cnes.fr
3. 3. Address climate change : The project's core challenge must be directly related to climate change.
4. 4. Respond to a concrete need : It is essential to demonstrate a clear understanding of the requirements and challenges faced by communities and local decision-makers, and to provide adapted solutions.
5. 5. Use satellite data : Proposals should leverage the specific characteristics of Earth Observation data, both public (e.g., Copernicus) and private, to provide indicators that contribute to monitoring, mitigation, and adaptation efforts.
6. 6. Be led by a consortium : Collaboration among various actors such as the space sector, research, civil society, the private sector, and relevant stakeholders - especially end-users - is strongly encouraged. This approach ensures the production of useful results.
7. 7. Deliver an operational solution : By the end of the project, the proposed tool must be operational, accessible, and designed to meet a clearly identified user need, whether through open or restricted access.
8. 8. Provide community contributions : Projects must include outputs for the SCO community (e.g. open-source software, freely accessible technological building blocks, publicly available methodologies, maps made available to the community, etc.).
9. 9. Be scalable : Proposals must present tools and models that can be extended at local and national levels.

How does the SCO accreditation process work?

The SCO accreditation is granted by the Programme Committee, composed of members designated by the SCO Steering Committee.

The evaluation of SCO projects is steered by the SCO international panel of reviewers, composed of experts nominated by all SCO members.

Applicants should preferably go through the national SCO call for projects if exists. Otherwise, applicants can go through the international call. 

1. Applicants answer on the submit platform. Applications are treated with confidentiality.
2. Applications are reviewed by the international panel of reviewers following the evaluation criteria listed above.
3. The pre-selected projects have then two weeks to finalize their proposal, respond to any comments from the reviewers and ensure compliance with accreditation requirements.
4. If all requirements have been fulfilled, the project will be granted the SCO accreditation. The laureates will be announced to the SCO network and more broadly within international events. 

What are the benefits resulting from the SCO accreditation?

Obtaining the SCO accreditation for a project means adhering to SCO values and benefiting from international recognition and visibility. SCO projects are promoted within national and international events aiming to reach the space community but also the civil society. These projects are especially benefiting from the SCO global awareness strategy steered by UNOOSA since 2023 within a dedicated working group.

Accredited projects will join the SCO community and aim to be developed to the benefit of all. This community feedback should consist, wherever possible, of a set of data, algorithms or technological blocks ready to be reused in another context. Exceptions to this principle of openness must be limited, substantiated and seek other forms of community return, e.g. international cooperation and capacity building, providing expertise or technology intelligence. Consortia may discuss with the SCO international panel of reviewers to help them define what form such feedback might take.

Project undertake to respond positively to requests from the SCO to help promote and showcase SCO projects, contribute to lessons learned and provide testimonials and success stories.