fifth framework programme 1998 - 2002 energy, environment and sustainable development wp1: awareness...

Fifth Framework Programme

1998 - 2002ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT

AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

WP1: Awareness creation Task 1.1 Information activities Duration: month 0 – 36 Some information activities have been taken, including meetings with potential end users in the different pilot sites, elaboration of newsletters and leaflets in English and local languages that were distributed to interested parties.

This task will last until the end of the project so further activities aiming the involvement of interested parties will continue to be carried out.




Duration: month 0-3

Steering Committee (SC) for each side of the border has been established in most pilot site areas or advanced contacts leading to the formation of the SC have been made. A cross border SC have although still to be established. This will be accomplished during next months.

The major problem in this task relates to the establishment of the SC for the Pasvik river (Norway/Russia) pilot site. It has been proven to be next to impossible to establish a Steering Committee that would be capable of functioning as an administrative body, meeting regularly and providing the Transcat Project with inputs. Instead, individual cooperation with key end users and stakeholders is taking place (Office of the County Governor, Municipality of Sor-Varanger) and their inputs are obtained through personal meetings.

Task 1.2 Set up of cross border Steering Committees




Duration: months 4-6

This task has only partially been accomplished since only meetings involving stakeholders from one side of the border have taken place.

LSC meetings with representatives of both parts of the border are planned for this fall, after the workshop in Warsaw.

Task 1.4 - Organise Local Steering Committee meetings




Duration: month 0-30

European Platform - a discussion forum foreseen for the month 6 has been postponed to the month 8 (September), in order to promote an active discussion after the holiday period.

The TRANSCAT E-News was launched during this first semester. The aim of this electronic newsletter is to support the synergy between the TRANSCAT project and other previous and ongoing international projects: it collects the main results and news from the TRANSCAT project together with the WFD projects.

A dissemination mailing list counting 689 recipients has been provided by the TRANSCAT partners. The recipients have been selected on the basis of the interest in receiving TRANSCAT E-News.

WP2 Establishing of an European platform

Task 2.1 – Creation of an European-wide forum




Task 2.2 – Connection of TRANSCAT with EU institutions

Duration: month 0-30

FEEM is organising, with the collaboration of the other partners, a conference on "Integrated Water Management Of Transboundary Catchments: A Contribution From TransCat", that will take place on 24-26 March 2004 in Venice, Italy. A call for papers has been published.

The one major change to the work plan, decided at the kick-off meeting, was to hold the conference in March 2004 instead of January 2004. The reason for this rescheduling was to allow more time to develop working relations among the partners and to collect the most significant case studies on the subject.

Task 2.2 – Connection of TRANSCAT with EU institutions




WP3 Requirement specifications

Task 3.1 - Analysis of end-user requirements for functions of the target system (DSS)

Duration: month 4-6

The questionnaire for identification and description of end-users (identification of stakeholders, problems, regional validity, data availability) was prepared by Geo Group and completed by VSB-TUO mainly from the point of view of conditions for implementation of a target system, which includes indication of a type of data sets, reasons for the creation of data sets, information about IT implementation support, computer skill of potential end users, language skill of potential end users and type of current connection to the Internet.

The questionnaire was distributed to TRANSCAT partners who translated it to their local languages and distributed it to end-users.

Answering of questionnaire was planned till beginning of September. This task will be completed in October. The change will have no serious impact to WP3 and other workpackages.




The WP leader, VSB-TUO is not relying only on processing returned questionnaire. They prepared a specification of stakeholders (mainly end-user and benefiters) for proposed DSS (ENDUSER.DOC).

Specification includes description of type of subject, activity and motivation. It was distributed to TRANSCAT partners on June, with the request to complete the list with other type of stakeholders and their activities, indicate their role (user/benefiter), and describe activities and motivation, fill also expected number of subjects in pilot area in every country, specify organizations (names) which should include in the relevant category of stakeholders.

There is a delay in getting the contribution from other partners.






The end-user requirements will be discussed and will become more concrete and clear during the meetings with stakeholders in each pilot site.

VSB-TUO have started to transform individual activities to work processes with identification of data needed to provide the process and related function.

The preparation of the TRANSCAT DSS prototype was started, which would be utilised to better identification of end-user requirements. The description will continue in the frame of Task 3.4.




Task 3.2 - Analysis of selected, existing DSS for the water management domain for TRANSCAT design

Duration: month 4-6

The analysis of selected systems from projects EUWARENESS, SLIM and MERIT and other relevant projects is underway.

Co-ordinators of selected projects were contacted with request for further information and collaboration.

On 28.5.2003 VSB distributed to contact persons of similar, relevant EU projects a request for collaboration (with basic information about TRANSCAT) with indicated Structure of desired information. We asked them for Project deliverables, Stakeholders, Data collecting, data processing and data presentation, Availability of data for end-users, Technology environment and Possibility of obtaining demonstration system.





VSB obtained replies from 8 projects (till 10.6.03), but only from few of them we obtained the requested information (HarmonIT, HarmoniQuA, Mulino, Merit).

VSB is now analysing available documentation for every system, providing a retrieval study and ask authors and contact persons of each project to provide additional information.

Unfortunately, most of the relevant projects are not providing any output similar to DSS. (SMART project with WaterWare DSS).

There are lot of useful reports, methodologies mentioned on websites of projects, but almost none of them is already finished nor published.




A status report of the analysis of existing systems was prepared and sent in June to all partners which declared the willingness to contribute to task 3.2 and to FEEM, leader of WP2.

The report summarizes obtained information about projects from the point of view:

•Main deliverables

•Development of DSS

•Timeline of project

•Project methodology

•Stakeholder motivation

•Definition of end-user

•Conditions





The information would be utilised in specification of system requirements according the main target of WP3.

On August 1st the latest version of status report was distributed to TRANSCAT partners (within WP3) with a new request for contribution.

The task is provided according the planned time schedule. We anticipated obtaining more information about the relevant projects and systems.

We will continue finishing of the study in the frame of Task 3.4. The study will continue to Month 11 (delivery No. 3.1, report).





Task 3.3. Review of data sources

Duration: month 4-9

Introductory description of data sources is implemented in the questionnaire, distributed to TRANSCAT partners by Geo Group. Filled questionnaires should be returned at the beginning of the September.

VSB-TUO prepared a structure of metadata used to prepare a review of data sources in pilot areas (METADATA.DOC), which was distributed to TRANSCAT partners on June, 10th. The structure is based on ISO 19115:2003.





Due to delaying of developing English/multilingual version of web metainformation system MIDAS based on ISO norms (which is not included in the TRANSCAT project and which is dependent on the realization of a project for state administration) VSB-TUO began collecting of data description through text documents. The initial metainformation system will be updated and powered to a web based metainformation system during 2004.

VSB-TUO also prepared the proposal of data groups suitable for target system (DATAGROUPS.DOC). It was distributed to TRANSCAT partners on June, 10th. The purpose is to specify data groups which should be documented in the 1st phase of the project and which are most relevant and important for prepared DSS. It can be used for orientation in which data sources and datasets can be documented by metadata. It is anticipated to continue with documentation of data sources in other WPs.




On August 1st VSB-TUO distributed the final version of METADATA.doc with examples of filling to TRANSCAT partners (within WP3) with a request for preparation of basic data description in pilot areas. VSB-TUO distributed a new version of DATAGROUPS_PILOT.DOC with examples of datasets from Bela and Pasvik pilot areas.

The task is running according the planned time schedule. The description should be prepared until the end of September. The finalisation of metainformation system providing information about data sources in every pilot area will continue to 2004.

Description of data sources is implemented in the questionnaire, which was distributed to TRANSCAT partners on April, 30th. Filled questionnaires should be returned at the beginning of September to GEO for the evaluation.





Main part of a high quality decision support system is a standardised database, where reference areas can be used to estimate processes, chemical reactions or future developments.

RUB’s first aim is to get an overview of available and still used methods:

•sampling,

•field measurements,

•investigation strategies,

•analytical procedures and

•data handling especially data near analytical detection limit.

WP4 Data acquisition

Tasks 4.1 to 4.3




A circular email was to TRANSCAT partners asking about their knowledge concerning:

a) quality standards and methods used in their campaigns,

b) available data of the area (density of information) and

c) some information of the test site (size for scaling effects), environmental features and anthropogenic impacts.

All information will be evaluated and summarised in a pre-version of a deliverable, which will be send to all partners for final comments and adjustments.

As a result the deliverable will contain a review of strategies to define and determine main indicating parameters.

WP4 Data acquisition

Tasks 4.1 to 4.3




Tasks 6.1 to 6.5 have started and information regarding the five pilot sites is being collected. The availability and access to information varies in the different pilot sites. In some cases they are freely available, even on the Internet, and in other cases the access to them is difficult due to bureaucracies. Nevertheless, we do not foresee major problems in accessing the data and information.

Deliverables 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 will be ready in month 9 of the project. No delays are foreseen on these tasks.

Task 6.6. Pollution monitoring has not started yet. The starting of this task depends largely on the assessment of available data and the needs of further data. It can only start after this assessment is made, which is expected to happen in the next few months.

WP6 Pilot sites characterisation




A Consortium Agreement was prepared and signed by all partners of the project.

In order to prepare the first management report, all partners sent their contribution consisting of a description of work performed and use of resources.

1st management report was sent to the EC

WP9 Project management

Task 9.1 Project coordination




The project website (http://transcat.isq.pt) was designed and developed

Six linguistic versions, English, Portuguese, Czech, Norwegian, Italian and German. A Bulgarian version is expected soon.

The development of the website still continues in order to make it more content rich and a powerful tool for dissemination of project results and contact point with the research community.

Task 9.3 –.Design and development of the project website




Milestones foreseen for this period:

M1.1 – Establishment of Local Steering Committees (month 3): this milestone is yet to be accomplished. There is the need to establish the cross border SC.

M1.2 – Awareness creation concept/strategy and project information/promotion material (month 3): Leaflets and newsletters were produced and distributed to interested parties. The strategy for awareness creation was developed.

M2.1 – Electronic forum set up (month 6): will be accomplished on month 8 of the project

M4.1 – Parameter list (month 6): Will be accomplished in month 9

1.3. Milestones and deliverables obtained




Deliverables foreseen for this period:

DL1.1 - Awareness Creation Report: its delivery is foreseen for the end of August

DL2.1 – Establishment of an Electronic Forum: as agreed during the kick-off meeting this deliverable was postponed to moth 8 of the project in order to avoid the summer holidays period.

DL9.1 – Project website: the site went online in due time.

DL9.2 – Six-monthly progress report: consists of this document

1.3. Milestones and deliverables obtained




Some adjustments had to be made in the time schedule:

Task 1.1 – the deadline to complete this task was moved to month 9 of the project (October 2003). This change will not cause much impact to the project. It may be even beneficial concerning stakeholders involvement since by then more information will be available for them as well as a more clear definition of the DSS to be developed.

Task 1.4 – organization of second round SC meetings was anticipated to month 9 from month 11.

1.4. Deviations from the work plan or/and time schedule and their impact

to the project




Tasks 3.1 and 3.2 deadlines were postponed from month 6 to month 9.

Task 4.1 deadline was postponed to month 9 and task 4.2 deadline was postponed to month 11. These changes are mainly due to the change of partnership.

Task 6.3 deadline was postponed to month 9, tasks 6.4 and 6.5 deadlines were postponed to month 10 and task 6.5 start was postponed to month 6 and deadline moved to month 15.

1.4. Deviations from the work plan or/and time schedule and their impact

to the project

fifth framework programme 1998 - 2002 energy, environment and sustainable development wp1: awareness...

Documents

sustainable development

transcat project

framework programme

transcat partners

connection of transcat

european platform task

transcat enews

sustainable development