Project Description - GeoZone

The GeoZone Project’s objectives are defined according to the chapter 4.4 “Zoning and compartmentalisation” of the WOAH Terrestrial Code.
The project is organised in two steps:

• Definition of the zone geospatial data model;
• Implementation of the pilot to test the applicability of the developed geospatial model.

General objectives

The project objectives are defined as follows:

1. Verify the content of GeoZone and determine if any adjustments of the data product are necessary;
2. Define procedures for the collection and processing of geospatial data and establish how these data can be transmitted to WOAH;
3. Identify the minimum technological and staff training needs;
4. Detect unforeseen challenges that might arise during full-scale implementation of GeoZone;
5. Assess the resources and effort involved in capturing, transforming, sharing ad maintaining zone geospatial data compliant with the GeoZone standard;
6. Use the experience gained in the pilot to inform Member Countries on the applicability of GeoZone.

Project Length

The sub-agreement between The World Organization for Animal Health and the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie started the 9th October 2020 and was initially scheduled to end in two years, but WOAH accepted an extension.

Project activities

The leading institute, the Istituto Zooprofillatico Sperimentale delle Venezie, organized missions or online meetings with the collaborating centers’ countries each year to discuss and implement various projects outpouts, creating new versions of the documents.

In the first year, the main tasks focuses on setting up, configurating and administrating the GeoZone moodle platform, along with defining the project objectives and procols. Activities during this period were dedicated to developing the use case scenarios and conductiong an as-is analysis.

In the second year, efforts were directed towards defining the first-cut version of the Data Product Specification document and organizing meetings with collaborating centers.

The third-year activities primarily focused on analyzing and enhancing the zone data model and defining the pilot test protocol. During this year, numerous study visits to the collaborating centers countries took pace to discuss aspects such as appropiateness, approrpriateness and the applicability of the proposed data model as well as the best approach for implementing the pilot test phase.

Tasks

Task 1 - Set up administration of the Moodle platform

The GeoZone Moodle platform serve as an entry point for GeoZone implementers and users, providing support for the implementation of the GeoZone data specification. It facilitates the sharing of experiences, best practices, raises questions and resolves issues. Specifically, the platform functions as the content management system for project documents. It also includes a facilitator, who can be etiher the project manager or one of the collaborators. The facilitator’s role is to actively participate in the working groups discussion, identify and facilitate the sharing of the best practice and key issues, and identify relevant tecnological and organisational solutions.

Task 2 - Extend gap analysis of GeoZone

This task involves the revision of the GeoZone data content and structure; encompassing the analysis of the contents of data model items and the assessment and applicability and validity of the model. The objective is to identify potential gaps of the Data Product Specification in its application concerning its real-world conditions.

Task 3 - Pilot test exercise

This task is dedicated to the implementation of the pilot test project. The revised data product specification will be tested with real or simulated data by the CCs. It will comprise:

• Providing zone geospatial data according to the GeoZone Specification by the CCs;
• Implementing a process for the collection and transmission of the centralized repository of the zone geospatial data;
• Establishing a set of procedures to collect the data required for evaluating the needs and impact of the GeoZone standard during full-scale implementation.

Task 4 - Analysis of pilot results

This task will analyze the project outcomes in terms of technological applicability and validity, as well as organisational commitment to implementing the standard. The result will be a report that should be used to discuss findings.