The socio-economic benefits of Earth Observation (EO): insights from the final users of EO services and applications in Italy

Earth observation (EO) is a strategic and fast-changing domain of the space economy that increasingly contributes to the understanding, analysis and management of different natural and societal aspects of Earth. A range of socio-economic benefits may derive from the use of EO data. This chapter aims to identify the benefits accrued by end users of EO services and applications, on which there is scarce evidence in the literature. With the objective of filling in this gap, the chapter relies on a survey distributed to the end users of EO services in Italy, a country which is active along the whole value chain of the space economy.