Description:
The changing challenges, requirements, and solutions in development and humanitarian work has been an emergent theme for actors in these fields in recent years, and one which
has recurred with increasing frequency. Evidence of this can be found in the titles of conferences held for development and humanitarian organisations, both governmental, nongovernmental, and international. Conducting sustainable development which integrates environmental, societal, and economic development poses new challenges to these actors, as development activities must be conducted with a thought towards the global impact of regional or local projects. The
complexity of engaging in development and humanitarian work is thus increasing both due to the changes in the development landscape and the concomitant growing sophistication of solutions implemented. These solutions will
necessarily involve the utilisation and integration of a number of information sources, to assess, for instance, the environmental impact of a refugee camp on local water supply.
This emergent need for innovative solutions to humanitarian and development challenges which integrate a variety of information sources is one which Space is well equipped to
address. These programmatic boundary conditions suggest that the most effective way to establish a successful interaction and to avoid the associated pitfalls is through the creation of a dedicated platform connecting Space and hightech sectors with users, especially NGOs. It is important that this platform is structured as a forum in which views may be exchanged between multiple parties, rather than bilaterally.