Overview Support Letters

(1)

Overview Support Letters 1. SURF 2. Netherlands eScience Centre 3. Kadaster 4. KNMI 5. RWS Data‐ICT‐Dienst 6. AHN Programme 7. Het Waterschapshuis 8. Ministry of Defence, The Hydrographic Office 9. PBL – Netherlands Environmental Assesment Agency 10.Netherlands Space Office 11.Geo Business Nederland 12.Geomatica Business Park 13.Noldus Information Technology 14.KNAW‐NCG 15.Next Generation Infrastructures 16.Stichting Arbeidsmarkt Geo 17.ICT Innovation Platform for Geo‐information 18.OGC Open Geospatial Consortium 19.Geoide Network, Canada 20.CRC‐SI Australia 21.KU Leuven, Instituut voor de overheid, Belgium

(2)

SURF

Professor dr ir P.J.M. van Oosterom

OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment TUDELFT

Postbus 5030 2600 GA DELFT

Stichting SURF

Hojel City Center gebouw D

Graadt van Roggenweg 340 Postbus 2290 3500 GG Utrecht T 030 234 66 00 F 030 233 29 60 [email protected] www.sud.nl Kvk 411 82 408 Datum Onderwerp Prof. dr. W.B.G. General Director 31 augustus 2011 Support to MAPS4SCIENCE

Dear professor Van Oosterom,

It

is with great interest that we learned about your initiative to develop a large scale research facility Maps4Science, From our role as coordinator and innovator of the national e-Infrastructure for research, a facility like this is impoftant to us, because we believe that geo-information is an impoftant base element of the data deluge from existing and new research initiatives.

Developing a'horizontal'set of services around geo-information will enable research projects to provide'open' data, based on common formats and ontologies, and allow these projects to focus their attention on their specific fields rather than on implementing common functionality. This approach fits well with the concept of a common 'e-Infrastructure'which is currently being implemented by SURF and NWO.

We support your consortium and your application because we see significant benefits:

.

For SURF, the opportunity to provide value to the Dutch Research and Education community by complementing our e-Infrastructure services;

.

For the Netherlands science community, better possibilities for research groups to share geo-based data with each other and with international partners through common formats, ontologies and mechanisms;

.

For the Netherlands, better use of the geo-based data both in research and in applications such as water management, spatial planning and epidemiology.

We hereby declare that our organization is open to discuss opportunities to collaborate with Maps4Science, both by providing the basic e-Infrastructure services required by the initiative (including processing, storage, networking, and identity) and by integrating geo-information based services into the set of e-Infrastructure services already coordinated by SURF and NWO.

Maps4Science is an important initiative that will be a crucial enablerfor many scientists to improve and extend their research. Maps4Science will enable the Netherlands science community to reach and keep a top level position in a broad range of science domains.

It

will allow us to play a leading role in the research and innovation into open, shared, and linked location data and how it can be used in many fields of science.

Regards,

ö)

(3)

Letter of Support – MAPS4SCIENCE

To:

Postbus 5030 2600 GA Delft

date: 31 augustus 2011 subject: Support for MAPS4SCIENCE consortium

Dear professor van Oosterom,

With this letter the Netherlands eScience Centre, (NLeSC;

http://www.esciencecenter.nl/) wishes to express her support for the

MAPS4SCIENCE initiative that seeks inclusion in the Dutch National Roadmap

for Large Scale Research Facilities.

With great interest we learned about your initiative to develop a large scale research facility MAPS4SCIENCE. This is an important initiative that will be a crucial enabler for many scientists to improve and extend their research with Geo Information. MAPS4SCIENCE will enable the Netherlands science community to reach and keep a top level position in a broad range of science domains. It will allow projects to play a leading role in the research and innovation into open, shared, and linked location data and how it can be used in many fields of science.

NLeSC bundles the crucial eScience expertise and resources in the Netherlands present in several organisations to support selected scientific domains to implement a sustainable eScience infrastructure. We therefore look forward to collaborate with MAPS4SCIENCE in eScience projects that require Geo

Information.

Yours sincerely,

Netherlands eScience Center Prof. dr. Jacob de Vlieg CEO NLeSC

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

2 a Data-ICT-Dienst Derde Werelddreef 1 2622 HA Delft Postbus 5023 2600 GA Delft T 015 275 75 75 [email protected] www.rijkswaterstaat.nl Contactpersoon - T - Ons kenmerk - Uw kenmerk - Bijlage(n) geen

3

> Retouradres Postbus 5023 2600 GA Delft Professor dr ir P.J.M. van Oosterom

Datum 31 augustus 2011

Onderwerp Adhesiebetuiging MAPS4SCIENCE

Geachte Professor Van Oosterom, beste Peter,

Het initiatief van de TU Delft om, samen met andere kennispartners, een

grootschalige onderzoeksfaciliteit “Maps4Science” te ontwikkelen spreekt ons zeer aan. Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) is de uitvoeringsorganisatie van het Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu en ontwikkelt en beheert de nationale netwerken op duurzame wijze. Wij werken voor de maatschappij aan:

• Droge voeten

• Voldoende en schoon water

• Vlot en veilig verkeer over weg en water

• Betrouwbare en bruikbare informatie

Door dit omvangrijk takenpakket is RWS een grote speler op het gebied van data acquisitie, verwerking en gebruik van data.

Met deze brief steunt RWS uw initiatief voor de ontwikkeling van de

onderzoeksfaciliteit Maps4Science. Deze onderzoeksfaciliteit stelt de Nederlandse geo-wetenschap in staat om op hun terrein tot de top van de wereld te blijven behoren. Het verder uitbouwen van deze kennisinfrastructuur is voor organisaties als RWS van groot belang. RWS kan daarbij zowel de rol van leverancier van data als de rol van opdrachtgever van onderzoek aannemen. In het tweede geval vormt de data-infrastructuur de grondstof voor geavanceerde onderzoeksvragen. In het Ondernemingsplan 2015 heeft samenwerking met kennisinstituten dan ook een prominente plaats gekregen.

We spannen ons graag in om samen met u van Maps4Science een succes te maken.

Met vriendelijke groet, Arie Versluis

Directeur Data Rijkswaterstaat

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

(14)

(15)

(16)

Professor dr. ir P.J.M. van Oosterom

Ref. : GBP 011-024/vdB Datum: August 29, 2011

Subject: LETTER OF SUPPORT MAPS4SCIENCE

It is with great interest that we learned about your initiative to develop a large scale research facility Maps4Science. From our role as manager of an innovative business and science park for companies and knowledge institutions producing geo-information for our living environment, a facility like this is important to us and our partners.

On a global level the need for environmental information is increasing rapidly. In seeking solutions for global issues, such as global warming, food security, safety against floods, sustainable land use etc., access to actual data and information in a rapid and secure way is indispensable. Geomatics (techniques, methods and tools to collect and edit spatial and geo-information (from e.g.

topographic and cadastral surveys, satellite imagery and aerial photographs) and make it suitable for specific applications in the right context) answers the growing need for information at both a governmental, public and corporate level.

So the facility Maps4Science is important to us not only because the need for developing new science methods and advanced tools for practical applications in this field, but also to provoke international cooperation, attracting international scientists, education of new professionals and also to interest launching customers.

Our organization, Geomatics Business Park Foundation, initiates shared innovation projects and programmes for established science organizations companies and offers in this way a great springboard to an international market. In the running GeoValley Programme leading geomatics companies and knowledge institutes are working together to develop new technical possibilities and innovative applicability in the realm of geomatics. GeoValley provides numerous product and service innovations in the field of water management, land use, air quality etc. and aims to improve the availability and accessibility of geo-information by developing internet based facilities.

We support your consortium and your application because we see - among others - the following benefits for our organization and the Netherlands science community like

strengthening the geo-information sector through collaboration and coordination of various (national) activities, sharing data and forming an infrastructure that facilitates both research activities and end users by enabling access, retrieval and dissemination of geospatial data and information in a rapid and secure way.

(17)

2 We hereby declare that our organization is open to discuss opportunities of this facility for further using and exploring our datasets, in particular data from earth observation.

Furthermore we would like to bring forward a recent development that may be important for the facility Maps4Science: the (Dutch) Water and Climate Information Services Declaration, of which the Geomatics Business Park Foundation is one of the prime initiators.

This declaration aims to contribute to the Global Climate Services Programme of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) by closing the gap between information chains on integrated Water and Climate Information Services using geo-information. Already more than 30 organizations specialized in earth observation, hydrology, climate, food security and geomatics signed the

Declaration.

The ambition of the partners of the Declaration fits very well into the ambition of the Dutch government concerning her policy to invest in 9 top sectors, under which the sector Water. Therefore we suggest that the facility Maps4Science will develop a good cooperation with the partners of the Water and Climate Information Services Declaration and the Top sector Water. We also suggest to develop a good link with the initiatives of the United Nations Spatial Data Infrastructure (UNSDI) as an important initiative for a comprehensive, decentralized geospatial information framework.

Maps4Science is an important initiative that will be a crucial enabler for many scientists to improve and extend their research. Maps4Science will enable the Netherlands science community to reach and keep a top level position in a broad range of science domains. It will allow us to play a leading role in the research and innovation into open, shared, and linked location data and how it can be used in many fields of science and can provide a useful source for end-users.

Kind regards,

Prof.ir. J. Stuip

Chairman Geomatics Business Park Foundation

Stichting Geomatics Business Park

Bezoekadres Voorsterweg 28, Marknesse

Correspondentie Postbus 49, 8316 ZG Marknesse

Telefoon 0527 243906

(18)

Prof. dr. ir. P.J.M. van Oosterom

OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment Delft University of Technology

P.O. Box 5030 2600 GA Delft

Subject Letter of support for NWO grant proposal

Date 31 August 2011 Dear Prof. van Oosterom,

With considerable interest I have read your proposal to develop a large scale research facility “Maps4Science”. From our perspective as a tools developer for geo-research, a facility like this is important because it will allow our customers to make much more efficient use of our track analysis software.

Noldus Information Technology develops software tools and integrated solutions for tracking and analysis of human and animal movement and behavior. Since the early 90s we have developed and marketed tools for experimental research in laboratory

environments. Recently, we have started applying our extensive knowledge of track analysis and automated behavior recognition to geo-data, i.e. tracks acquired with GPS loggers and other positioning systems. Interpretation of GPS tracks in the geo-context and real-time or offline detection of location-based events requires accurate maps, with regions of interest for the researcher (habitats, vegetation types, waterways, roads and other man-made structures) designated and available in a format suitable for automatic retrieval by our analysis software.

We support your initiative because we see the following benefits for our company and the Netherlands science community: the availability of accurate maps will allow scientists to use our software in a much more efficient way, and your facility may serve as a repository and exchange platform for tracks collected with our software by

scientists.

We look forward to discussing how Noldus Information Technology can contribute to your proposed facility, and how we can create added value for the scientific

community. Yours sincerely,

Dr. L.P.J.J. Noldus Managing Director

Innovative solutions

for behavioral research

Noldus Information Technology bv Nieuwe Kanaal 5 P.O. Box 268 6700 AG Wageningen The Netherlands Phone +31-317-473300 Fax +31-317-424496 E-mail [email protected] Web www.noldus.com

Trade Reg. Arnhem no. 09094422 VAT no. NL 805669759B01 ABN Amro Bank Wageningen Account no. 40.17.25.456 Postbank no. 1382003

(19)

Professor Dr. Ir. P.J.M. van Oosterom

OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment TU DELFT

Postbus 5030 2600 GA DELFT Delft, 30 August 2011 Nr. NC 11.083

Subject: NCG and the MAPS4SCIENCE consortium Dear Professor Van Oosterom,

With this letter the Netherlands Geodetic Commission expresses her support to your initiative for a large scale research facility Maps4Science. This facility will provide a new impulse for those sectors of the Netherlands scientific community in which geographical location and space play an important role. Maps4Science will enable the Netherlands science community to maintain a top level position in a broad range of science domains.

Maps4Science will also serve as an important vehicle for the disciplines that concentrate on the further development of Geo-information Sciences as such. This latter includes disciplines such as Geodesy, Surveying and Earth Observation and Remote Sensing. It will allow us to play a leading role in research and innovation in open, shared, and linked location data and how it can be used in many fields of science.

The Netherlands Geodetic Commission (NCG) is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). It is the platform for representatives of academic disciplines such as Geodesy, Geo-information Sciences, Mapping and Remote Sensing and representatives of important public organizations and industry. The Commission co-ordinates and initiates fundamental and strategic research in geodesy and geo-information in the Netherlands and it advises on related policy issues; it stimulates the spread of knowledge in these fields and co-ordinates the geodetic infrastructure of the Netherlands.

The Commission gave material support to the preparation of this proposal and several members of the Commission have been involved in this initiative because we consider Maps4Science as very important for the scientific disciplines represented in the NCG. We therefore foresee that the activities of the NCG will be extended to also contain the role and developments of the Maps4Science facilities and its impact on these disciplines and their research programs.

The NCG is prepared to act as a scientific advisory body of the Maps4Science consortium and it is therefore with great pleasure that we support this application at NWO.

With best regards,

Prof. Dr. Ir. M. Molenaar

Chairman of the Netherlands Geodetic Commission

NCG

Nederlandse Commissie voor Geodesie Netherlands Geodetic Commission

Postbus 5030 2600 GA Delft Jaffalaan 9 2628 BX Delft T: 015 278 28 19 F: 015 278 17 75 E: [email protected] W: www.ncg.knaw.nl

The NCG is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

(20)

Date August 31st, 2011 Contact person J. Meerkerk

Telephone + 3 1 (0)15 278 3716

E.m a ii Jacqueline.meerkerk@nextgenerationinfrastructures.

subject Support to MAPS4SCIENCE Our referencek NGIf/11.0101

N E X T

G E N E R A T I O N I N F R A S T R U C T U R E

TUDelft

OTB research Institute for Built Environment Attn.. Prof.dr.ir. PJ.M. van Oosterom P.O.Box 5030

2600 GA DELFT

LETTER OF SUPPORT - MAPS4SCIENCE

With great interest t h a t we learned about your initiative t o develop a large scale research facility Maps4Science. From our role as research program and institute on next generation infrastructures, a facility like this is important to us, because it enables us developing new science methods and playing a prominent role in Europe. Next Generation Infrastructures is a platform within knowledge institutions, market players and government organizations working together on multi disciplinair socio-technical issues. Last year, Next Generation Infrastructures had a top-level score in the scientific review. We will continue as a TUDelft Institute from September 1, 2 0 1 1 . In the new Strategic Research Agenda we are preparing, we are discussing the geo-information infrastructure as a new theme.

We support your consortium and your application because we see the following benefits for our organization and the Netherlands science community like: the use o f geo-information infrastructures in our projects (for example serious gaming projects and public-private interaction with open data) and developing new science methods. Maps4Science is an important initiative that will be a crucial enabler for many scientists t o improve and extend their research. Maps4Science will enable the

Netherlands science community to reach and keep a top level position in a broad range of science domains. I t will allow us to play a leading role in the research and

innovation into o p e n , shared, and linked location data and how it can be used in many fields q f science.

Prof.dy.ir^MTP.C. Weijnen ScienJ^ffc

(21)

STEUNVERKLARING MAP4 SCIENCE Apeldoorn, 30 augustus 2011 Professor dr ir P.J.M. van Oosterom OTB TU Delft Postbus 5030 2600 GA Delft Geachte heer Van Oosterom, De Stichting Arbeidsmarkt Geo (SAGEO) is opgericht en wordt gefinancierd door werkgevers uit overheid en bedrijfsleven, de beroepsvereniging GIN en het onderwijs (mbo/hbo/wo). Zie www.sageo.nl. De partners in SAGEO voorzien dat geo informatie in belangrijke mate kan bijdragen aan verbetering van de sociale en economische omstandigheden in Nederland en Europa. Het aanpakken van de huidige mismatch tussen vraag en aanbod op de geo‐ arbeidsmarkt is de centrale doelstelling van de stichting. De aanpak is gebaseerd op drie pijlers: • Promotie: Dat de geosector een spannende en stimulerende werkomgeving is, is een te goed bewaard geheim. De GoGeo‐campagne is erop gericht meer jongeren te interesseren voor een geostudie. Zie www.gogeo.nl • Onderwijsvernieuwing: SAGEO fungeert als katalysator van onderwijsvernieuwing. SAGEO brengt de belanghebbende partijen bij elkaar aan tafel om te komen tot relevant onderwijs, dat aansluit op de vraag uit de arbeidsmarkt. • Samenwerking en verbinding: Vernieuwing van het onderwijs en promotie slagen alleen als alle betrokkenen de handen ineen slaan. De stichting ijvert dan ook voor samenwerking: tussen de geo‐opleidingen op mbo‐, hbo‐ en wo‐niveau onderling, en tussen opleidingen, kennisinstellingen en werkgevers. Om de goede aansluiting te organiseren tussen onderwijs en arbeidsmarkt in Nederland en in Europa. Hiervoor zijn de initiatieven www.geoplaza.nl en www.geoplaza.eu in ontwikkeling Naast de aandacht voor de specialistische Geodesie en Geo‐informatie opleidingen spant SAGEO zich met haar partners in voor het opnemen van het vak Geo/GIS in vele andere opleidingen, van planologie tot economie, wij noemen dat “Geo‐Inside”. En op alle onderwijs niveaus van VWO (samenwerking met EduGIS) tot universiteit. Dit in de vorm van onderwijsmodules, cursussen (life‐long learning programs) en minoren.

(22)

Met deze brief steunt de Stichting Arbeidsmarkt Geo het initiatief van uw consortium voor de ontwikkeling van de onderzoeksfaciliteit Maps4Science. Deze onderzoeksfacilitieit stelt de Nederlandse geo‐wetenschap in staat om op hun terrein tot de top van de wereld te blijven behoren. In onze ogen zal deze onderzoeksfacilitieit tevens een belangrijke spin off opleveren voor het geo onderwijs in de volle breedte, impulsen geven aan de Nederlandse overheid voor ontwikkeling van de geo‐informatie infrastructuur en kansen bieden aan het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven om op de “first wave” van de ontwikkelingen van de geo‐ wetenschap en geo‐technologie concurrerende producten en diensten te ontwikkelen en aan te bieden. We spannen ons graag in om samen met u van Maps4Science een succes te maken. Hoogachtend, H. Westerbeek MSc Directeur Stichting Arbeidsmarkt Geo

(23)

To:

Professor Dr. Ir. P.J.M. van Oosterom

PO Box 5030 2600 GA DELFT

date: 29 August 2011 subject: Support to MAPS4SCIENCE

With great interest and much satisfaction the ICT Innovation Platform for Geo-information (IIPGeo) in the Netherlands has initiated the NWO call: “National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Facilities” through establishing a consortium of leading Dutch Universities. We are pleased that the TU Delft has taken the lead of this consortium. We compliment you with your efforts and the final application for funding to develop a large scale research facility: called Maps4Science.

IIPGeo operates in the Netherlands in the triangle formed by the Government sector, the Business sector and the Research and Education sector. It is our aim to combine these sectors in their effort to further enhance and develop the geo-information sector in the Netherlands. IIPGeo has not only assisted the consortium to prepare the application, but also used its well established network in the Netherlands geo-information sector to mobilize support amongst not only research organizations and universities, but also amongst government organizations and private business.

Maps4Science is an important initiative for IIPGeo because it is a crucial enabler for many scientists to improve and extend their research. Maps4Science will enable the Netherlands science community to reach and keep a top level position in a broad range of science domains. It will allow us to play a leading role in the research and innovation into open, shared, and linked location data and how it can be used in many fields of science.

Maps4Science will ultimately be very beneficial for IIPGeo and the entire Netherlands science community and geo-information sector, including Universities, Research and Government organizations and private companies.

On behalf of IIPGeo, with best regards,

Ir. Th. Thewessen Chairman

(24)

OGC

Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc.

35 Main Street, Suite 5 Wayland, MA 01778-5037, USA tel: +1 508-655-5858 fax: +1 508-655-2237 www.opengeospatial.org

®

29 August 2011

Recently, we learned about your initiative to develop a large scale research facility via a project entitled Maps4Science. The goal of this effort is significant -- to provide scientists with the required geo-information and associated tools and services for discovery and analysis, with an emphasis on unrestricted experimentation, discovery and access to information from across the science community. This goal is consistent with the Open Geospatial Consortium’s mission to advance open standards that geo-enable and improve decision making for government, industry, academia, research and citizens worldwide. As you know, the OGC is a not-for-profit international industry consortium of more than 425 companies, government agencies, research organizations and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface standards. OGC standards support interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and location-based services and mainstream IT. OGC standards empower technology developers and users to make complex spatial information and services accessible and useful for all kinds of applications.

Increasingly, OGC programs are addressing the standards needs of the research and science communities as they work to discover, access, process, and analyze a massively diverse collection of information – much of it geospatial – for improved decision making. OGC is advancing geospatial, sensor, processing and other open standards and associated best practices to support research / science issues in areas such as climate, meteorology, ocean monitoring, hydrology, and geology. A key goal for OGC is to improve “cross boundary” sharing and application through open standards. I envision several key areas of synergy between OGC and the Maps4Science program:

• Leveraging location enabled information as a catalyst for broader scientific

collaboration and exploration

• Use of open standards, including those of the OGC, in scientific research to enable

improved access, fusion and application of scientific information across disciplines.

• Maintaining an operational linkage between OGC programs and the Maps4Science

facility as part of a persistent testbed environment to understand and address the interoperability needs of the scientific community in the OGC process

I am delighted that several of the Maps4Science consortium members are also active OGC member organizations. TU DELFT as well as Geonovum, ITC / University of Twente, and the Centre for Geo-Information / Wageningen University have been OGC members for a number of years, and I invite the opportunity to help create and sustain an open line of communication and collaboration between the Map4Science project consortium and the OGC international standards process. The incorporation of OGC standards in the work of this

(25)

Re: Maps4Science Letter Of Support, 29 August 2011 Page 2

Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. • 35 Main Street, Suite 5, Wayland, MA 01778 • Tel: 508 655 5858 • Fax: 508 655 2237

project will help improve interoperability necessary to enable fluid information sharing and application for a range of scientific research topics.

I support the goals of this proposal, and look forward to working with the Consortium team in the near future.

Sincerely,

Mark E. Reichardt

(26)

29 August 2011

To:

subject: Support to MAPS4SCIENCE

Dear Peter,

With great interest that we learned about your initiative to develop a large scale research facility Maps4Science. From our role as an international partner, this facility brings the Netherlands back into action with our international network of networks.

The GEOIDE Network has fourteen years of experience in networking across universities in Canada. We have 34 member institutions, linked to over 100 partners in industry and government. We have invested over 80,000,000$CAD in research ties to local needs. We have joined with four other networks in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Mexico and Sweden to make a Global Network for Networks. We hope your new entity, Maps4Science, can join us in our collaboration.

We support your consortium and your application because we see benefits to the science community in Netherlands and around the world. Access to current data sources is extremely important to take a role in the international research community.

Maps4Science is an important initiative that will allow the Netherlands research community to play a key role globally. It will allow us to play a leading role in the research and

innovation into open, shared, and linked location data and how it can be used in many fields of science.

Cordially,

Nicholas Chrisman, President GEOIDE Network, Canada

(27)

29 August 2011

OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment TU DELFT

Dear Professor van Oosterom,

LETTER OF SUPPORT – MAPS4SCIENCE

I am very pleased to learn about your initiative to develop the large scale research facility

Maps4Science. We are Australia’s largest spatial research organisation and we can see considerable benefits to the Netherlands and Europe in this great initiative.

The Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) is Australia’s largest spatial

research organisation. We have AUD$160 million of funding to invest in spatial science research over the eight years to 2018. We have over 100 partners including 70 companies, 20 government agencies and 20 universities and research agencies. One our initiatives are to support the creation of an

Australia and New Zealand Marketplace (ANZSM). The ANZSM has very similar objectives to

Maps4Science and our economic modeling suggests that it may be able to add up to AUD$5 billion to Australia’s GDP (see ACIL Tasman, 2008,

http://www.crcsi.com.au/Industry-Devel/Industry-Reports/Value-of-spatial-industry, page 13). The spatial industry in Australia and New Zealand

consider that the creation of the ANZSM is one of its highest priorities. I have attached a summary statement of some of our achievements.

We support your consortium and your application because it is only with the combined efforts of all of the relevant organisations that you can truly hope to achieve the benefits of MAPS4Science. The benefits will be considerable and include; unlocking innovation, facilitating much more effective research, attracting high caliber research scientists to the Netherlands, growing the economy and improving social outcomes.

The CRCSI and its partners in Australia and New Zealand will be very happy to explore opportunities for collaboration with Maps4Science.

Maps4Science is an important initiative that will be a crucial enabler for many scientists to improve and extend their research. There is no doubt Maps4Science will enable the Netherlands science

community to reach and keep a top level position in a broad range of science domains. It will allow us to play a leading role in the research and innovation into open, shared, and linked location data and how it can be used in many fields of science.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Peter Woodgate Chief Executive Officer

(28)