AGILE Membership Information

Mission

The Association of Geographic Information Laboratories for Europe (AGILE) was established in early 1998 to promote academic teaching and research on geo-information at the European level and to ensure the continuation of the networking activities that have emerged as a result of the EGIS Conferences and the European Science Foundation GISDATA Scientific Programmes.

AGILE seeks to ensure that the views of the geographic information teaching and research community are fully represented in the discussions that take place on future European research agendas and it also provides a permanent scientific forum where geographic information researchers can meet and exchange ideas and experiences at the European level.

AGILE members

AGILE encourages a wide membership from throughout the European scientific geographic information community. Members (groups of researchers rather than individuals) may be involved in matters relating to cartography, computing, geographic analysis, socio-economic and environmental modelling, and surveying as well as application areas such as agriculture, forestry, geology, hydrology, market research, urban planning, transport and research on the legal and institutional issues associated with the use of geographic information technologies. They can be based in academic institutions as well in other centres where geographic information research is carried out as for example EU-funded, government funded and National Science Council funded centres. At the moment (March 2015) there are 80members from 28 different EU countries.

In the context of the AGILE participation in European projects, several options are possible. One model can lead to members of AGILE acting as sub-contractors. In this case, one council member will act as project leader on behalf of the AGILE Council, and will be responsible for the adequate allocation of tasks among its members, based on proven expertise, and will also be responsible for the continuation and the quality of its deliverables. Following this model, AGILE was involved in the GI-INDEED and eSDI-Net+ projects. Another model is based on members being direct partners in the project themselves and where necessary working together, with the possibility that some specific tasks will be taken care of by AGILE as a whole. In this case, AGILE was involved in the EduGI Project, and is now participating in the GI-N2K and GEOTHNK EU Projects.

As a member you can also propose AGILE initiatives, i.e. smaller projects with at least two members to work on a particular topic. In the past initiatives saw light, for example the “Research Map” which aimed at mapping the research activities performed by our membership, or the “Persistent Testbed (PTB)” initiative which brings several members together to perform research activities based on the basis of a service oriented platform. Recently AGILE members also initiated a small project on the educational activities of the membership and on activities related to the Body of Knowledge (BoK2) for defining GIScience curricula in universities.

Members will be enabled to actively participate in the networks of GI researchers that have been built as a result of the activities of GISDATA and EGIS and there will also be chances to influence the future European GI research agenda. Currently (2013) AGILE is contributing to INSPIRE and the emerging EU Location Framework. By becoming member of AGILE your group will also be entitled to the following specific benefits:

Special rates at AGILE events including the annual conference and working group workshops;
The right to nominate candidates for election to the AGILE Council;
The right to propose and take part in AGILE initiatives or projects in which AGILE is active;
The right to use the AGILE name in your promotional material;
The right to use the AGILE communication channels (Website, Newsletter, mailing lists) to announce positions, training & research projects, etc…;
The right to apply for grants for attending AGILE Conference.

Affiliated members

Academics involved in research and education often work in close conjunction with industrial partners.In order to allow for these kind of linkages within the AGILE structure, a special class of membershiphas been created: affiliated members. The affiliated membership can be a first step in the process tostrengthen the links between the European academic GI-community and an industrial partner. Currentaffiliated members are ESRI, Intergraph, MapInfo, Bentley and Definiens.

Activities

One of the major activities of AGILE is the organisation of an annual conference. Thus far,conferences has been organised in Enschede (1998), Rome (1999), Helsinki (2000), Brno (2001),Palma de Mallorca (2002), Lyon (2003), Crete (2004), Estoril (2005), Visegrád (2006), Aalborg (2007), Girona (2008), Hannover (2009), Guimaraes (2010), Utrecht (2011), Avignon (2012), Leuven (2013), Castellón (2014) and Lisbon (2015).

Memoranda of Understanding

In order to co-operate with other associations in the Geo-Information Science, AGILE has signedMemoranda of Understanding (MOU’s) with associations like, GEOIDE, GISIG,OGC, UCGIS, UNIGIS, ISPRS and EuroSDR,as well asGI-software vendors such as Bentley, Definiens, ESRI, and Intergraph.

Council

Activities of AGILE are managed by a council elected by its members. Its main tasks are to develop anorganisational structure to realise the goals stated above, to prepare with the help of the members aEuropean research agenda, and to organise a yearly conference and special meetings.

Members of the Council (2014 - 2015)

Lars Bernard(University of Dresden, Germany) (co- Chairperson)

Martin Raubal (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) (co- Chairperson)

Marek Baranowski(Institute of Geodesy and Cartography, Poland) (Secretary-general)

Hardy Pundt(Harz University of Applied Sciences, Germany) (Treasurer)

Marinos Kavouras(National Technical University of Athens, Greece)

Tiina Sarjakoski(Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, Finland)

Alexis Comber(University of Leicester, United Kingdom)

Ali Mansourian(Lund University, Sweden)