Alcis' KTP starts up the conversation...

 Posted 15.05.12 | By Johnny Levett, Marketing

Alcis hosted the first KTP study day at its Reading HQ last week.  So what? I hear you cry.

Well, this is the first time any UK company has brought together US and UK experts to exchange ideas on an emerging science that fuses geographical analysis from above, with socio-cultural research on the ground.

While it seems an obvious evolution of the research business in fragile environments, it's amazing how these two communities have stayed separate for so long.

The Alcis KTP aims to change that during its three year course and one thing our guests agreed on was that blending disciplines can only benefit the recipients of the many development, agricultural, education, et al, programmes worldwide.

More specifically, the KTP is seeking to design new methods for the collection and integration of geospatially referenced social and physical data for use in fragile environments.

It's about combining the 'what' with the 'why'.

To this end we had some great expertise in the room, as we discussed key issues in food security, climate change, water and conflict and how the fusion approach could build a richer picture of what's happening.

Alcis MD, Richard Brittan set the scene for this unique gathering and then the KTP Associate set out the KTP aims and programme.

Justin Mankin from Stanford University's High Resolution Climate Modelling Department gave a great insight into the impact of climate change on security  and Swathi Veeravalli, from the US Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Centre presented some insights on water security modelling in Afghanistan.  Claire Spencer, CEO of UK company i to i Research, talked about her ground-based work in Afghanistan, including some research showing Afghans are just as happy as Americans.. take that however you'd like!

And taking it all in were representatives from the UK's MOD, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and the Met Office, as well as from the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

So what's next?

We'll be doing a webinar in a few months' time to update people on our findings. In the meantime, watch this space and the website for more KTP news.