What is Respond?
Respond is an alliance of European and International organisations working with the humanitarian community to improve access to maps, satellite imagery and geographic information.
How long has Respond be running?
As a community response to the needs of the users for global humanitarian mapping, Respond began during 2004, as one of the 2nd tranche of ESAs GMES Service Element (GSE) projects. Stage 2 began in November 2006 and will run until the end of October 2009.
What are its objectives?
As a part of GMES, Respond aims at creating and testing a coherent service portfolio based on the analysis of user needs in the areas of crisis response, disaster reduction and peacekeeping.
Respond aims to work:
- In all parts of the crisis cycle where geographic information (GI) is useful
- In both slow (e.g. famine) and Fast (e.g. earthquake) onset crises
- Where GI is useful in the better deployment of development aid
- With pure mapping as well as satellite derived information
- To provide support services - training & in field support
- To provide support to forecasting & alerting services
Who are your users?
At the outset Respond counted on 5 Core users who help guide the project in its early stages. These were:
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA)
DRK (German Red Cross)
THW (Technisches Hilfswerk) of Germany
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
In total during Phase 1 Respond provided mapping products to 6 UN agencies and 18 NGO/National/International users. Stage 2 has seen the number of users increase and Respond has now provided services to 19 additional users. A full list of all the Phase 2 users and how many map sheets they received is available on the User Partners page
Respond maps are accessible to a much wider community of users as all maps are available on the online map catalogue.
Who is guiding Respond at an executive level?
The Prime, Infoterra UK, is in charge of leading the Respond project and holds the executive responsibility towards ESA, the funding party.
The User Executive Body (UEB) provides advice and guidance. It is composed of OCHA, UNHCR on the UN side; THW (and DFID tbc) on the national user side; IFRC on the NGO side, RELEX and ECHO (tbc) on the EC side. More details can be found the new UEB page.
I see you have an Independent validation group. What do they do?
Independent validation of GMES services is an essential step in the process to scale up demonstrated capacities to their operational implementation. The work of the ISVG will complement the existing validation activities already occurring within Respond and will be led by the JRC. More details on the ISVG, the members and their terms of reference can be found on the ISVG pages.
What costs are involved?
Respond maps can be downloaded from the web site free of charge using the Map Catalogue. We would however request that you complete the feedback form after utilizing the maps which will assist us in evolving our service offering.
What is the geographical coverage of Respond?
Respond is active in all geographical regions outside Europe. Mapping is primarily concerned on Africa, South East Asia and South America. To view the current coverage you can either view this is in Google Earth, via search world map or via the view GeoRSS option (includes the ability to toggle whole kml catalogue on/off).
How is the Respond team structured?
Respond is led by the Prime,Infoterra Ltd. In addition to the Prime, there are also Task leaders (UNOSAT, DLR, JRC and Infoterra Ltd). For more information about the structure of the team as well as contact details of the partners please visit the
Respond team page.
How many people are involved?
The Respond consortium is a strong team of 20 partners with a proven reputation in delivery of products for humanitarian aid. It is organised by Infoterra UK Ltd - The "Prime Contractor" and consists of In-Sector Providers (already providing services to specific segments), Value-Adding Companies (skilled in supplying products to these services) and Systems Engineers and Consultants.
How do you join the Consortium?
Respond is an established team of European and UN partners. Whilst we currently have a full complement of partners, we welcome enquiries from professional, experienced and qualified organisations with skills in humanitarian mapping. For more details and contact information, please visit the joining the consortium pages.
What is GMES
Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security (GMES) is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the European Space Agency, designed to establish a European capacity for the provision and use of operational information for Global Monitoring of Environment and Security. More details on GMES can be found on the GMES page on the Respond website.
What is ERCS SAFER?
ERCS SAFER is one of three GMES services that have been identified as first candidates for “fast track” treatment, with the objective of being operational by 2008. The Emergency Response Core Service (ERCS) has been selected with the objective to reinforce the European capacity to respond to crises and emergencies associated with natural, technological and humanitarian disasters. ERCS focus will be on the provision of rapid mapping and assessment services. For more information visit the ERCS SAFER pages on the Respond website.
What are the links between Respond and SAFER?
The ERCS SAFER project, currently under negotiation with the European Commission, is being coordinated by Infoterra SAS, with Infoterra Ltd managing the offline mapping, in which it is planned to produce over 500 background maps. In addition, DLR will lead the rapid mapping element of the project. Many other Respond partners will also be involved as production partners.
I have heard of Reuters AlertNet. Are Respond maps available on this website?
AlertNet is the award winning website from Reuters foundation that provides alert services to humanitarians on emergencies. A part of this is map catalogue that provides up to date mapping products from, UNOSAT, IFRC, Tropical Storm Risk and other mapping providers also featured in Reliefweb. Respond maps are now included on the AlertNet site the moment they are uploaded to the Respond map catalogue. For further details visit AlertNet.
I want to receive alerts when new maps are uploaded to the map catalogue.
Respond has a GeoRSS feed. When you subscribe to this feed, it is added to your Common Feed List. Updated information from the feed is automatically downloaded to your computer and can be viewed in Internet Explorer and other programs. For more information, please visit our GeoRSS pages.
Where can I find more information about the project?
Respond uploads the majority of its project dossiers to the website. These can be viewed on the following project dossier pages.
I have some feedback for the Respond Team, how can I send it to you?
Respond is always keen to hear feedback so that we can improve our services. We have a feedback form on our website for you to save, fill in and email to Respond. Alternatively, if you would like simply email us, we would also be grateful.
Respond seems to offer several ways to obtain maps? Where can I find a summary?
Respond has produced an overview page outlining the different methods for obtaining its products and services. This contains hyperlinks to the various different ways of accessing these services. This is located under the ‘obtaining products and services’ page.
I would like to find out more about the Respond product types.
Respond has 7 primary product types (thematic has 3 sub categories) as well as global alerting services. These are outlined on the ‘what products are available’ page. Brief 1-2 page overview flyers explaining the product type and providing an example map are available. During Phase 2 these flyers will be developed further.
I don’t have Google Earth but I still want to see what maps are available.
This is still possible via two methods. Search World Map provides a searchable world map interface allowing the user to select all products in their region of interest. Alternatively, if you would prefer a Google interface, the whole Respond kml map catalogue can be viewed via the ‘View GeoRSS link’. The user then has the option of turning (toggle) the Respond kml catalogue on or off. The latest 20 mapping products added to the map catalogue can also be viewed in this way.
I want to see what existing users think of the service.
Respond seeks to obtain feedback about its services from all its users. Given the nature of the work involved, users are often very busy saving lives, so this can prove difficult. However, feedback during Stages 1 and 2 has been summarized and an overview is provided on the ‘user feedback pages’.
Do you have any GIS vector layers available that I can view in my GIS package or Google Earth.
Respond does not yet provide GIS layers as a general policy. We have primarily provided the end user with jpeg mapsheets in low, medium and high resolution. With users becoming more adept at using GIS tools, Respond is starting to provide GIS layers. The first example available on the catalogue is the complete mapping of Sumatra carried out during Phase 1. Over the course of Phase 2, more mapping products will be delivered as GIS vector layers.
I have seen a map that I think looks interesting. How can I find our more?
Each map entry has a hyperlink to the Respond feedback email address, which when clicked opens an email message with the map entry details in the subject title and the email address pre populated. The Respond team will endeavour to provide answers to any questions you might have.
I am not sure how to use the map catalogue. Do you have a manual?
A user manual is available via the following link.
Where can I find an overview of what Respond will be doing in Phase 2?
At this stage Respond has identified the majority users for Phase 2, although the specific requirements are still being scoped out. The specific mapping proposals against the majority of these volumes are still being formulated. These sections will be expanded once specific mapping requirements are identified. As mapsheets are produced during Phase 2, the website will be updated with this information.
I am a journalist and want to write an article on Respond.
Respond is always happy to explain its objectives and illustrate its products and services, so would be pleased to discuss the project with you. In the first instance, please visit the ‘media resources’ page where contact details as well as a short 5minute Respond video is available.
Where can I find updates on Respond?
Respond provides up to date news of its activities and achievements on its ‘Latest News’ page.
What events will Respond be attending during 2008 (and which ones will they be presenting at?)
A full list of all 2008 events is available on the ‘Upcoming Events’ page.
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