Direct consultation with stakeholders in a key element of the EuroGO-SHIP quest to provide effective new services. On the 24th of June, we held a hands-on workshop in Venice, Italy with members of the Black Sea Observation Community to discuss their needs and gain an understanding of the current state of play for ship-based hydrography in the Black Sea—the type of data collection, what the specific challenges are and what parameters must be considered to shape the most effective solutions. During the activities, we learned that while there are fragmented systems in place around the region, individual nations have mature processes and there is willingness to collaborate with pan-European initiatives to ensure consistency and quality of data. Stakeholders present were receptive to the EuroGO-SHIP proposition to provide new services in support of access to shared facilities and training on best practices.
This workshop was a follow up of an initial meeting that took place last year in Constanța, Romania as part of EuroGO-SHIP’s first annual meeting, and was held as a prologue to the week-long EuroGO-SHIP second annual event which brought consortium partners from around Europe to Venice.