SUCCESS CASES

The diversification of economic activity in a territory highly dependent on tourism: the case of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura and the Canarias Geo Innovation Program.

The Challenge Addressed

The Canary Islands are a Spanish territory that stands out for being the tourist paradise of Europe. Annually, nearly 18 million travelers visit the Canary Islands to enjoy its beaches, hotels and hours of sunshine. However, the crisis caused by the COVID-19 highlighted the need to diversify the region's economic activity and promote new sectors that could contribute to the creation of territorial Capabilities , new businesses and quality employment.

The Cabildo de Fuerteventura, a local entity with broad competences on the island of Fuerteventura, decided to promote the creation of a unique facility in the Fuerteventura Technology Park: a stratport, or airfield specialized in high-altitude platform flights. The situation of the Canary Islands as the European region closest to the equator makes it a suitable place for the launch of these platforms, as well as for the management of the data sent by them.

The Canarias Geo Innovation Program is a program promoted by the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildo of Fuerteventura to position this island as the center of the management of these pseudo-satellites or HAPS, for its acronym in English, in Europe.

Novadays' Contribution

Novadays' contribution to this project is part of a Technical Office contract that allows the Park to provide human resources and the necessary Capabilities to strengthen its internal teams and, thus, manage with greater guarantees a complex program such as Canarias Geo Innovation Program. Our contribution has included:

  • The implementation of a specialized technical office for program management.
  • Providing PTFSA with support and assistance services for the governance, definition, monitoring, risk control and revitalization of the CGIP2030 program.
  • The implementation of its projects and initiatives, preparing specifications for public contracts and performing the technical management of the projects.
  • Identification of new projects of interest and their structuring, through institutional alliances and financial structuring of projects, co-financed with regional, national and European funds.

Impact and Results Obtained

  • Support to the Fuerteventura Technology Park as its Technical Office in the consolidation of its role as a major player in the HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo-Satellites) and UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) platforms sector.
  • The construction of a unique infrastructure in Europe: the Canarias Stratoport for HAPS & UAS on the island of Fuerteventura as the first airport on the continent for the operation of HAPS and UAS.
  • The design and construction of a center for the reception and processing of data from HAPS and UAS missions (ISSEC, International Smart Centre for Security, Emergencies, Biodiversity, and other Public Service Missions) developed from the Canary Islands Stratoport.
  • Support for the development of the Canarias GeoInnovation Program 2030 as a framework for a set of major projects that respond to the needs of Canary Islands public institutions by providing solutions based on highly innovative technologies such as unmanned aerial platforms, AI and Big data.
  • Tendering, contracting and technical management support for a large Innovative Public Procurement (IPP) project for the implementation of R&D services oriented to emergency management, biodiversity monitoring and hospital logistics using UAS and HAPS with European (MRR) and regional funds.
  • Support for the technical management of a large project submitted to the call for Territorial Networks of Technological Specialization (RETECH) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation in the field of forest monitoring and forest fire prevention and fighting with HAPS and UAS systems in the regions of the Canary Islands and Castilla-León.
  • The creation of an ambitious program to fight organized crime in coordination with the Directorate General of Police and other African partners focused on the fight against illegal immigration and drug trafficking in the Canary Islands and other areas of the national territory.
  • The mobilization of public investments with more than 100 million euros executed in infrastructures and projects through the Fuerteventura Technology Park.
  • Support to the implementation of several aerospace companies that manufacture HAPS platforms in the Canary Islands Stratoport for HAPS&UAS.

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