User Board

GMFS is guided by a group of experts in the field of Food Security and Early Warning Systems. The User Board, together with the GMFS partners, convenes twice a year to review and discuss the GMFS activities and to:

• Represent User interests in GMFS
• Participate in annual Service Reviews
• Provide a summary of User needs and priorities for service improvements and evolution
  

During the User Board meetings the members are required to:

• evaluate and revise the activities as presented by the consortium
• provide advise on planning and ‘next steps’ for the planned activities
• ttechnically review the presented methods and techniques and provide advice for improvements
• communicate the requirements for remote sensing based products as representative for the respective user group, and provide advice on product characteristics and services

In addition to this the User Board members are required to:

• review and endorse the Validation protocol (deliverable C5)
• review and endorse the annual network plan (deliverable D1)

The User Board members represent key institutes in Food Security monitoring and Early Warning:

• EC Joint Research Centre (EC JRC AGRIFISH)
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Global Information and Early Warning System (FAO-GIEWS)
• World Food Programme - Vulnerability and Assessment Mapping (WFP/VAM)
• Southern African Development Community, Regional Remote Sensing Unit, Gabarone, Botswana (SADC-RRSU)
• Regional Centre for Mapping Resources for Development, Nairobi, Kenya (RCMRD)
• Centre Régional AGRHYMET, Niamey, niger (AGRHYMET)