Speakers Bio & Abstract

 
GER NIEUWPOORT Director
Netherlands Space Office
The Netherlands

BiographyGer Nieuwpoort is, since July 1, 2009, director of the Netherlands Space Office (NSO). The NSO is part of the Dutch Government and is responsible for developing and managing the Space program of The Netherlands. The NSO represents the Netherlands in international contacts and fora. After writing his thesis in Chemistry he started working for the national government. During his career he worked as a policy maker and as head of division for the ministry of Education and Sciences in the areas of research infrastructure and science and technology policy. After changing position towards the ministry of Transport, Public Works and Watermanagement he was, as head of division, responsible for the development of economic and safety policy for maritime transport and subsequently the transport of dangerous goods. Since June 1, 2006, he became director of the Netherlands Agency of Aerospaceprogrammes, which due to restructuring within government became the NSO.Abstract Government and Industry: public and private partners in developing the market for applications of satellite dataSatellite data are an important new tool for geospatial enabled information services. However, there is no real link yet between the space sector and the end users in areas like agriculture, water, etc.. In The Netherlands several measures have been taken in close cooperation between government and industry with the aim to make the last step towards the end user. This is a critical step for developing the market for applications of satellite data and to become part of geospatial information services. This will only happen with users in the driver’s seat.