Open Geospatial Consortium Invites Organizations to Join the 2021 Disaster Pilot Program
A Collaborative Initiative to Strengthen Disaster Preparedness
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has announced a call for participation in the Disaster Pilot 2021, an international collaborative initiative designed to enhance how geospatial information supports disaster preparedness, risk assessment, and emergency response. Building on the success of the earlier Disaster Resilience Pilot, the program brings together government agencies, technology providers, and research organizations to address persistent challenges in sharing and integrating location-based information across systems. Submission of participation proposals is open through May 21, 2021.
The pilot is supported by a range of sponsoring organizations, including USGS, Natural Resources Canada, NASA, AWS, Maxar, CONIDA, and several partner initiatives such as AmeriGEO, ESIP, and CEOS. Together, these stakeholders aim to create interoperable solutions that allow decision-makers and first responders to access and apply geospatial intelligence more effectively during emergency situations.
Closing the Data Integration Gap in Disaster Management
Despite rapid advances in Earth observation technologies, analytics platforms, and artificial intelligence, many disaster-response efforts still suffer from fragmented data environments where systems cannot communicate efficiently. This lack of interoperability limits the ability of responders to obtain timely, integrated insights. The Disaster Pilot 2021 seeks to connect these fragmented components—linking data providers, analytical platforms, operational agencies, and field responders into unified decision-support workflows.
The solutions developed through the initiative are intended to serve as adaptable frameworks that can be applied across different hazard types, geographic regions, and combinations of data sources.
Key Technology Focus Areas
The technical scope of the pilot emphasizes several emerging technology directions and open standards designed to improve the delivery of actionable geospatial information:
- Cloud-based Earth observation platforms that allow analysis-ready imagery and other data streams to be processed directly within scalable computing environments
- On-demand delivery of decision-ready information to analysts and responders using modern APIs and mobile-capable GeoPackage tools that function both online and offline
- Publication of structured web-based data that links geographic features with current observations, environmental conditions, and predictive analytics
Together, these capabilities aim to streamline the transition from raw observational data to operational intelligence.
Pilot Scenarios and Geographic Focus
Initial pilot activities will concentrate on two real-world hazard scenarios designed to demonstrate integrated workflows for monitoring, detection, and response:
- Landslide and flood risk analysis in the Rímac and Piura river basins of Peru
- Flood hazard monitoring in the Red River basin of Manitoba, Canada
Both scenarios will also incorporate assessments of COVID-19 impacts on affected communities, enabling planners to factor public health considerations into disaster response strategies.
Innovation Through Collaborative Prototyping
The Disaster Pilot operates under the OGC Innovation Program, a collaborative research and development framework that brings together sponsors and participating organizations to prototype new technologies, test interoperability approaches, and validate international open standards. Through this hands-on environment, contributors work jointly to develop practical solutions addressing real operational challenges.
Organizations interested in shaping next-generation geospatial disaster management capabilities are encouraged to review the official Call for Participation available through the OGC website and submit their responses before the May 21 deadline.
About the Open Geospatial Consortium
The Open Geospatial Consortium is an international association of more than 500 government agencies, research institutions, universities, and private-sector organizations dedicated to advancing the use of location-based information and services. Through a member-driven consensus process, the consortium develops publicly available, royalty-free standards that ensure geospatial data and services remain findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR).
By fostering global collaboration and supporting innovation initiatives, OGC works to connect geospatial technologies with real-world decision-making needs, contributing to more resilient societies and improved responses to environmental and societal challenges worldwide.
