IIASA RepositoryIdentifying benefits and challenges arising from the voluntary provision of GEOSSC.HeumesserauthorS.FritzauthorM.ObersteinerauthorEven though the efforts to contribute to and sustain the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) are voluntary, the derived benefits will be enjoyed by contributors and non-contributors alike. Thus, GEOSS can be classified as a public good, whose provision is prone to "free- riding". We analyze the benefits of participating in GEO (Group on Earth Observation) and GEOSS as well as the potential problems arising from voluntary contribution to GEOSS. We survey economic and game theoretic literature to see what type of problems, related to the provision of public goods, are described. Secondly, we conduct a survey among individuals involved in various GEOSS tasks, to find out about their perception, benefits and problems regarding GEO and GEOSS. First results show that benefits from participating in GEO include improved networking opportunities and visibility for work. Overall, contribution to GEOSS was perceived as rather low and lacking financial support was regarded as impediment.2011-04Conference or Workshop Item

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