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GEOSPATIAL 
Innovation FOR Food Security Challenge
Geospatial technologies, methods, and information can help build a food secure future, from finding new ways to decide where we grow crops as the climate changes, to generating innovative models for how organizations coordinate along supply chains, to helping people see the impacts of eating well every day. TGI is bringing together an interdisciplinary multi-organizational community of researchers, innovators and implementers to work together to advance geospatial innovation and create a new future for the food system grounded in sustainability and food security.
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TGI G.I.F.S. Ideation Workshop #1
Read about the outcomes of the first TGI G.I.F.S. workshop and watch the recordings of the keynote and a fireside chat with Nadine Alameh and Tomás Peña.

Apply to join the wait list to participate
in the upcoming events.
November 13, 2024
EVENT Details
TGI G.I.F.S. Ideation Workshop #2
Teams will meet in-person at T-Rex in STL for panels and science speed dating that will test the strength of each teams' ideas.

Apply to join the wait list to participate in
the upcoming events.
february 6, 2025
EVENT Details
TGI G.I.F.S. Ideation Workshop #3
Participating teams will pitch the real-world problems they think should be the focus of the upcoming Challenge.

Apply to join the wait list to participate in
the upcoming events.
April 17, 2025
EVENT Details
helping promote Sustainable
agricultural Land Management
Preventing land degradation and rehabilitating land resources contributes to a sustainable future. From GPS-enabled see-and-spray systems to reduce the number of pesticides required to protect crops, to monitoring systems that detect early indicators of crop stress, to regional planning capabilities that support modeling of multiple future land use scenarios, geospatial technologies play a key role in these practices. TGI is assembling teams to imagine and create tomorrow's geospatially enabled capabilities for caring for the land that produces the world's food.
enabling equitable access to nutrition
Providing people with access to nutritious and affordable food every day takes substantial effort. This effort is undertaken by NGOs, community groups, and other stakeholders, and requires up to date information on the changing barriers faced by diverse communities, and systems that can target support where it's needed most. Geospatial information is essential to monitoring where these needs and barriers arise, understanding the factors that drive them, and developing strategies to address them. TGI is working to build collaborations between technologists, practitioners and social scientists to develop new approaches to equitable nutrition access.
Avoiding food loss and waste
Food is lost at nearly every step in its journey between the farm field and the plate. Food thrown away further harms the environment and contributes to planetary heating and our changing climate. Geospatial technologies can help to reduce loss and waste, for example through developing novel strategies to optimize routes for refrigerated trucks and helping cities plan for hyper local waste disposal. TGI is connecting the experts and implementers working across the supply chain to develop and trial new solutions to these persistent problems.
how to get involved
Call for Partnerships and Sponsorships
Join the TGI Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge as a Partner or Sponsor
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workshops application
Join us to co-design the Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge by contributing to in-person workshops and virtual collaboration sessions. Get more details and apply today.
apply today
community survey
Share what you think and help shape the Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge (GIFS) by answering the five questions in our community survey.
fill out survey
developing the challenge
TGI is committed to using geospatial technologies to drive positive outcomes for people and the planet through its work on food security.  To focus our efforts, we're starting with a horizon scan of the research strategies and impact priorities set out by organizations worldwide that shape sustainable agriculture and food security. In Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, we will work with the community to identify critical problems where geospatial approaches can have the greatest impact through in person workshops and virtual discussions. In spring 2025, TGI will issue a call for projects to address the problems with the greatest opportunities for impactful geospatial research.

To learn more about TGI’s work on Food Security or to participate in shaping the Challenge, contact th
e program manager .
our partners
TGI is passionate about fueling geospatial science and technology to create the next generation of solutions and policies that the whole world will depend on for sustainability and growth. The TGI consortium includes Saint Louis University, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Harris-Stowe State University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Missouri University of Science & Technology, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Washington University in St. Louis. Collectively, these institutions cover geospatial research from ocean depths to outer space.
join our community
of researchers

and partner institutions
co-invest in the future of geospatial
contact us to learn more.
events
Join us in St Louis, at key conferences, and online to help shape the Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge.
Geospatial Innovation Food Security Challenge (G.I.F.S.) Launch
The Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge will be publicly introduced at the TGI/Bayer Partnership event.
September 4, 2024
Ideation Workshop Applications
Apply to participate in 3 in person workshops where will we envision the future of geospatial technologies and information used to promote food security and work together to identify the challenges where geospatial can contribute the most.

Join us to co-design the Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge by contributing to in-person workshops and virtual collaboration sessions.

Get more details and apply to participate here.
September 9 - november 1, 2024
TGI G.I.F.S. Community Survey Open
We want to hear your views on the future of our world's food systems and how geospatial capabilities can help to create it. Share what you think and help shape the Geospatial Innovation for Food Security Challenge by answering the five questions in our community survey here.
September 9
TGI G.I.F.S. at GeoGov 2024
Join us at GeoGov to hear more about the initiative and TGI's approach to tackling the global challenge of food security through collaborative innovation in geospatial technologies.
September 10-12, 2024
TGI G.I.F.S. at NYC Climate Week
Find us at Climate Week in NYC to talk about how to get involved in TGI's ideation workshops and learn how you can partner on the G.I.F.S. Challenge. Contact the program manager to set a time to meet during Climate Week!
September 22-29, 2024
TGI G.I.F.S. Ideation Workshop Prep Session
Get your mind set to collaborate in a new way during the prep workshop.
November 7, 2024
TGI G.I.F.S. Ideation Workshop #1
Join us in person at T-Rex in STL to start developing ideas for the focus of TGI’s food security challenge. Program details
forthcoming.

Get more details and apply to participate here.
November 13, 2024 | 8:30am-5pm Central
EVENT Details
TGI G.I.F.S. Ideation Virtual Working Session
Gather with your team and the Challenge staff to plan your collaborative strategies.
December 4, 2024 | 12-1pm EST.
TGI G.I.F.S. Ideation Virtual Working Session
Focus on opportunity, feasibility, viability with your team and the Challenge staff.
January 9, 2025 | 12-1pm EST.
TGI G.I.F.S. Ideation Workshop #2
Join us in person at T-Rex in STL for a science speed dating style event, designed to test the strength of teams’ ideas. Program details forthcoming.
february 6, 2025
Event Details
TGI G.I.F.S. Ideation Virtual Working Session
Learn expectations for framing a pitch with your team.
march 13, 2025 | 12-1pm EST.
TGI G.I.F.S. Ideation Workshop #3
Join us in person at T-Rex in STL to pitch the real-world problem your team thinks should be the focus of the upcoming Challenge. Program details forthcoming.
april 17, 2025
Event Details
Call for Proposals Opens
May 2025
Projects Selected
Anticipated august 2025
Pilot Projects Start
Anticipated October - December 2025
Full Projects Start
Anticipated JAnuary 2026
Geospatial Innovation events
Join us in St Louis and online to help shape the Geospatial Innovation in Food Security Challenge.
Launch
The GIFS Challenge will be publicly launched at the TGI/Bayer Partnership event, 4 September 2024. 
Title
Join us at GeoGov to hear more about the initiative and TGI's approach to tackling the global challenge of food security through collaborative innovation in geospatial technologies.
TGI gifs @nyc climate week
Find us at Climate Week in NYC to talk about how to get involved in TGI's ideation workshops and learn how you can partner on the GIFS Challenge. Contact the program manager to set a time to meet during Climate Week!
GIFS Ideation WOrkshop #1
Apply to participate in the first of 3 workshops where will we envision the future of geospatial technologies and information used to promote food security and work together to identify the challenges where geospatial can contribute the most.
News
Check back for updates on the GIFS Challenge.
contact us
For more information email the Program Manager by filling out the form below
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