OBSERVATOIRE DU SAHARA ET DU SAHEL

Their core work

The Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel (OSS) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Tunis that monitors environmental conditions across the Sahara-Sahel region of Africa. Its core work covers land degradation, water resources, climate monitoring, and food security — bridging EU research capabilities with on-the-ground African regional expertise and institutional networks. In H2020, OSS contributed as a regional knowledge partner, providing African context, data access, and local institutional connections that purely European partners cannot replicate. Their dual participation in water-quality and earth-observation projects reflects their cross-cutting role as a trusted neutral body for North and Sub-Saharan African environmental governance.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

OSS entered H2020 through water-quality work (FLOWERED, 2016), focusing on a specific technical problem — fluoride contamination — in dryland water and food systems, though this project generated no keyword signal in available metadata. Their subsequent project (AfriCultuReS, 2017) pivoted clearly toward the broader food-security and earth-observation agenda, with strong alignment to GEO and GMES & Africa international frameworks. The trend is away from single-contaminant water engineering and toward integrated climate–agriculture intelligence platforms, suggesting OSS is positioning itself as a data-access and regional-validation partner within large Earth observation consortia.

OSS is moving toward large-scale African climate and food intelligence platforms, making them a strong candidate for future Horizon Europe projects under the Food, Bioeconomy, or Climate pillars that require African regional institutional anchoring.

How they like to work

OSS joins consortia as a specialist partner — never as coordinator in H2020 — contributing regional expertise and institutional reach rather than leading research design. Their two projects account for 30 unique partners across 14 countries, indicating participation in substantial international consortia rather than small bilateral arrangements. This suggests they are comfortable operating inside complex multi-partner structures and are valued for the African access and legitimacy they bring to otherwise Europe-centric research teams.

OSS has built connections with 30 unique partners spanning 14 countries through just two projects, reflecting the large consortia typical of RIA calls in the climate-Africa space. Their network is geographically split between European research institutions and African regional bodies, which is rare and strategically valuable.

What sets them apart

OSS occupies a position that no European university or research institute can replicate: as an African intergovernmental body with a formal mandate across the Sahara-Sahel region, it provides legitimate, politically neutral access to national governments, environmental agencies, and field data networks in over 20 African member states. For any EU consortium targeting African food security, climate adaptation, or land and water management, OSS is a credible and well-connected entry point that satisfies both scientific and partnership-diversity requirements. Their alignment with GEO and GMES & Africa frameworks means they also connect projects to broader global Earth observation governance.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AfriCultuReS
  The largest of OSS's two projects (EUR 327,500), spanning five years and directly connecting African agricultural decision-making to EU-level remote sensing infrastructure under the GEO/GMES & Africa umbrella.
• FLOWERED
  Demonstrates OSS's capacity beyond remote sensing — contributing to a concrete water-safety engineering project addressing fluoride contamination affecting human and livestock health across East Africa and the Rift Valley.