Space for Development

A practical knowledge hub at the nexus of the space, humanitarian and development sectors

A practical knowledge hub at the nexus of the space, humanitarian and development sectors

Space for Development

The Space for Development knowledge hub offers a wide range of practical resources for a humanitarian audience interested in using satellite technologies and applications.

Sectors covered include: agriculture and food security; climate change; communications and connectivity; conflict and security; disasters; education; energy; extractives and industry; finance; forestry; health; oceans (blue economy); population displacement; tourism; transport; urban; waste; and water and sanitation.

A curated resource library collates information and research on space technology’s role, use and impact in sustainable development.

Users can search for resources by sector, space technology, country, document type and alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The site also includes a catalogue of satellite applications from around the world that address sustainable development and humanitarian challenges.

The catalogue shows use cases where space technology can be applied, with examples of applications that have been developed and deployed.

Background

This workstream aimed to open up access to information on the more than 500 satellite applications identified and analysed by the Beyond Borders team during the research phase of the project.

The team carried out early design work on the features and functionality that might be of value to humanitarian professionals in any future knowledge hub.

This analysis included drafting user profiles – including various ‘personas’ representing from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, international NGO staff, local humanitarian workers and satellite applications developers – and identifying possible requirements and interests that these personas would have.

The team also conducted a landscaping analysis to identify other existing knowledge hub resources and functions available through other sources.

The purpose of this analysis was to shortlist areas the new knowledge hub should focus on and possible partnerships that could strengthen future work.

The UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub is an independent entity hosted within Elrha and fully funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office