Strategic Priorities of the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC)
Channel: World Data System of the ISC
Date: 2020-10-16

WDS Member Organization: Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC)

Abstract:
SEDAC is one of 12 Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) in NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Working with SEDAC's advisory group, the User Working Group, SEDAC has identified four strategic priorities for the 5-year period, 2018-2023:  1) improving the interoperability and usability of human settlement, infrastructure, and population data; 2) Supporting the development, implementation, and use of policy-relevant sustainable development indicators; 3) Expanding the operational use of SEDAC data and services through a range of public and private user interfaces; and 4) Demonstrating and documenting the value of integrating remote sensing and socioeconomic data in both research and applications. SEDAC has made significant progress in working with the international community of both developers and users of global-scale georeferenced population and settlement data, through the POPGRID Data Collaborative and the Human Planet Initiative of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). These and other fundamental geospatial data types are critical to many of the indicators developed to track progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to the broader needs of the sustainable development community for reliable data and indicators to support both public and private decision making. Clear evidence of the value of data in both research and operational applications is vital to continued support for investment in data and data infrastructure.