THE GROUP ON EARTH OBSERVATIONS (GEO) IS A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP OF 103 GOVERNMENTS AND 103 ORGANIZATIONS THAT ENVISIONS A FUTURE WHEREIN DECISIONS AND ACTIONS FOR THE BENEFITS OF HUMAN KIND ARE INFORMED BY COORDINATED COMPREHENSIVE AND SUSTAINED EARTH OBSERVATIONS. A KEY TENET OF GEO S VISION IS THAT EARTH OBSERVATION DATA SHOULD SERVE SOCIETAL NEEDS. THE VALUE OF THIS DATA IS FULLY REALIZED WHEN IT IS TRANSFORMED INTO USEABLE KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION TO ADDRESS SOCIETAL NEEDS. AS IT EMBARKS ON ITS SECOND DECADE GEO WILL FOCUS ON CONVENING KEY STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS THE PROVIDER-USER SPECTRUM TO SYSTEMATICALLY IDENTIFY DOCUMENT AND ACT ON EARTH OBSERVATION NEEDS TO ADDRESS SPECIFIC PROBLEMS ACROSS A RANGE OF SOCIETAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES. A KEY ELEMENT OF THIS INITIATIVE WILL BE FOR GEO TO DEVELOP DEEPER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO ACCELERATE THE PACE OF INNOVATION IN THE USE OF EARTH OBSERVATIONS WHICH WILL IN TURN CONTRIBUTE TO ECONOMIC GROWTH. BECAUSE OF ITS BROAD INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEMBERSHIP AND VARIETY OF CONTRIBUTING ORGANIZATIONS GEO IS ABLE TO ASSEMBLE AND COORDINATE EXPERTISE FROM ACROSS DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES AND COMMUNITIES. GEO USES THIS CONVENING POWER TO BRING TOGETHER THE UNIQUE COMBINATIONS OF PARTNERS REQUIRED TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES FACED BY COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE GLOBE AT EVERY SCALE FROM INDIVIDUALS TO COUNTRIES TO CONTINENTS DRAWING ON COMPREHENSIVE COORDINATED AND SUSTAINED EARTH OBSERVATIONS.