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2023-03-31-accounts

The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society

Annual Review

April 2022 - March 2023

Objective of the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society: To advance the education of its members and the public in the many fields of remote sensing and photogrammetry and to promote the benefits to be derived from their application.

Governing Instrument: Memorandum and Articles of Association

Office Address: The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society Office c/o School of Geography University of Nottingham University Park Nottingham NG7 2RD UK

Reporting Accountant: TCP Chartered Accountants 10 The Triangle NG2 Business Park Nottingham NG2 1AE

Charity No: 292647 Company No: 01436807

© The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society 2015

The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society

Report of the Trustees of the Society

April 2022 - March 2023

RSPSoc Trustees: N Bachiller-Jareño, M Foote, N Galiatsatos, A Novellino, S Pike, M Smye-Rumsby, K Smith, F Visser, M Williams and W Xiao

CREDITS

IMAGES AND PHOTOGRAPHS INCLUDED IN THIS ANNUAL REVIEW HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN PROVIDED BY SENSED CONTRIBUTORS OR THE AUTHORS DIRECTLY.

Front and Back Cover Image: Sentinel-2 imagery of Tajikistan. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2023), processed by James O’Connor.

CONTENTS

Page No:
1 Foreword by the President of the Society 1
Paul Curran
2 Message from the Chair 2
Kay Smith
3 Council Membership 4
Meredith Williams
4 Honorary Treasurer's Report 5
Samuel Pike
5 Awards and Professional Standards Committee 6
Wen Xiao
6 Education and Training Committee 8
Fleur Visser
7 External Afairs Committee 9
Kay Smith
8 Publicity and Communications Committee 11
Martin Smye-Rumsby
9 Publications Committee 12
Nikolaos Galiatsatos
10 Conference Committee 13
Meredith Williams
11 Wavelength Representative's Report 14
Yanna Fidai
12 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) 15
NuriaBachiller-Jareño
Annex 1 Council Membership 17
Annex 2 Committee Membership and Terms of Reference 18
Annex 3 Accounts 21
Annex 4 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Conveners 34
Annex 5 Professional Members and Honorary Members 35
Annex 6 Corporate Members 36

Foreword by the President of the Society Professor Sir Paul Curran

For over a generation, our Society or our two founding Societies, have gained great benefit from the enthusiastic leadership of a very active and engaged Council. I would like to thank Dr Kay Smith (Chair), Dr Meredith Williams (Honorary General Secretary), Martin SymeRumsby (Vice-Chair & Publicity), Samuel Pike (Honorary Treasurer), six Council members and four Special Interest Group convenors for their committed leadership during a busy and economically constrained year. I am especially grateful for the administrative support of Rachel Hopkins and Uta Feinstein, the editorial skills of our SENSED team Dr James O’Connor, Dr Chris Lavers and Adam Keith, and the continued generosity of our fourteen corporate members.

A highpoint in our Society’s calendar is our annual September conference. Based on a wide range of scientific, technical, policy and commercial presentations, this meeting brings colleagues together, welcomes guests from around the world, socialises postgraduate students into our Society, looks back on what has been achieved and looks forward to what could be achieved. For this to be both productive and fun we need those rich personal interactions and serendipitous conversations that have been so severely limited during Covid years. It was, therefore, a great pleasure to return to a large (over 400 attendees), lively, in-person conference in the splendid surroundings of the National Space Centre, Leicester. This event brought our Society together in the company of like-minded colleagues from NERC’s National Centre for Earth Observation, the Centre for Earth Observation instrumentation and the Space Applications Catapult. The conference appeared to be very productive and was certainly fun.

I’m delighted to say that this year’s annual conference will again be in-person. Somewhat smaller than last year, it will provide a low-cost opportunity for many members of our Society to meet, present and catch-up at the British Geological Survey headquarters at Keyworth, Nottinghamshire. It will also offer the opportunity for us to thank Dr Kay Smith for her dedicated pan-pandemic service as our Chair, while the baton is passed seamlessly to our new Chair Martin Smye-Rumsby. I look forward to seeing you there.

implications for our Society of the UK being outside the Copernicus and Horizon Europe programmes. This was because I thought we would have re-joined before our 2022 Annual Review was published. How wrong I was. The EU had linked the UK’s involvement with Copernicus and Horizon Europe to wider Brexit-related issues, leaving many RSPSoc academic and commercial members in limbo. We breathed a sigh of relief in February when the UK and EU signed the Windsor Framework which improved trading arrangements and paved the way for us to re-join. However, lurking within the Framework was a clause stipulating that the UK must re-join each of the programme trio of Copernicus, Horizon Europe and Euratom (non-EO), or be excluded from all of them. It soon emerged that the UK was reluctant to pay in full for its £750m share of the 202127 Copernicus programme as it had already missed a couple of years, lost out on major contracts and spent £200m of the allocated money on national and ESA EO projects. Likewise, as the value of the Horizon Europe programme to UK academics has decreased markedly, the UK wished to decrease its annual contribution. The EU has been more relaxed about a reduction in recurrent funds than it has been about a reduction in capital funds and, as they say, talks are ongoing. Fortunately, the wider UK and European research community are united, as a well-publicised and multi-signatory letter made clear: “We are unequivocal that full UK membership of EU programmes, including Horizon Europe, Copernicus and Euratom, remains the best outcome for research and innovation”. I remain hopeful for members of our Society that this disagreement will be resolved before these words are published, not least because a major Horizon Europe grant round for research programmes using Copernicus EO data opens later this year.

On a more generally note, our Society has the expertise and standing needed to influence national policy in ways that are beneficial to both society and our Society. I was therefore pleased to note that we are going to offer our views on the UK Geospatial Strategy, as this could pave the way for similar interventions in the future.

It remains, as ever, a great honour and privilege to be the President of our Society.

Last year I hesitated initially to comment on the negative

Professor Sir Paul Curran

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Message from the Chair Kay Smith

@ BGS Keyworth) and I hope that the effort put in by the Conference and Executive Committees will reap the rewards and reignite collaboration across RSPSoc and wider scientific community to fulfil our remit to inform and educate.

The reporting period covered by this Annual Review (April 2022 to March 2023) has embraced a period when many of our members have begun to settle into new working practice routines after the long period of upheaval due to pandemic restrictions.

RSPSoc are again fortunate that our Executive Secretary, R Hopkins, and Administrative Secretary, U Feinstein, have continued to support RSPSoc throughout this period and our sincerest thanks go to the both of them for their essential roles in underpinning society business.

RSPSoc held our Annual General Meeting in 2022 at the National Space Centre during the conference, providing hybrid access to encourage wider member participation and as a result, numbers were higher than previous years. This upward trend in participation is encouraging and I really hope that our members continue to show interest in society business and grow in attendance in future years. Remember RSPSoc Executive Committee and Council are there to represent you as a society and the AGM is a prime opportunity for discussions around the society business and future planning.

This reporting period saw RSPSoc co-organise the Annual Conference for 2022 together with National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI) and the Satellite Applications Catapult. After a couple of years of virtual conferences (RSPSoc 2020 and EO Week 2021) it was so refreshing and invigorating to be able to get together in-person at the National Space Centre in Leicester for the UK National Earth Observation Conference 2022 with the topic ‘Earth Observation Science – Technology in Action’. The venue proved a hit with many and a much-needed change to previous screen-based events. Through the leadership of NCEO, RSPSoc collaboratively managed to put on a packed conference full of Keynotes, Plenary sessions, Scientific Talks, Poster presentations with some fabulous Exhibitor engagement with many RSPSoc personnel chairing sessions across the conference. The high attendance (both UK and Internationally) was reassuring after such a prolonged period of virtual meetings and I truly believe everyone that attended the event grabbed every opportunity to catch up with colleagues, make new acquaintances and really embrace the networking opportunities of a scientific conference. From an RSPSoc perspective, the interaction and organisation of sessions by our SIGs was encouraging and with a higher than previous RSPSoc member number in attendance, this endorsed the appreciation of members for the wider collaborative joint conference.

Wavelength continued to focus on business during the review period with new leadership in Wavelength Representative, Shadow Representative and Associate Shadow Representative roles. RSPSoc wholly supports Wavelength as they represent a key component of our society, building a brighter future from active young minds. Wavelength2023 would normally have fallen within this reporting period, but due to the availability of meeting rooms at the University of Southampton, the event will be discussed in the next Annual Review for 2023/24. The society should be very encouraged by the way our Wavelength representatives, our students and early career members engage with the wider community.

RSPSoc Council continue to work hard for RSPSoc and I would like to thank the Vice-Chair (Martin Smye-Rumsby), Hon General Secretary (Philippa Mason 2021/22 & Meredith Williams 2022/23), Hon. Treasurer (Samuel Pike), Committee Chairs and the wider Council Members and for their continued desire to challenge and shape the society. Their contributions during this reporting period encourage us all to engage more widely and to assess opportunities to provide new prospects for our membership.

Since then, it has been full steam ahead for the organisation of RSPSoc2023 (5-6 September 2023

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A positive step towards assessing new opportunities, was taken through the redevelopment of our existing membership database. RSPSoc, together with University of Nottingham, supported an apprenticeship in database design and management during the first quarter of the reporting period. RSPSoc were fortunate that R Hopkins and U Feinstein were able to support the student throughout the process and much of the information that was gathered through the online membership form has been imported to build a better understanding of the society representation within a functional system. RSPSoc are grateful to both R Hopkins and U Feinstein for their leadership

on the membership database project.

As RSPSoc Council continue to be relatively low on numbers with numerous vacancies in general and specific roles, I would like to encourage our members to think about the positives of being part of the Council and the opportunity that provides in helping steer the society. New ideas from a wider grouping will help make the society stronger.

Finally, I would encourage you all to read the submissions in this Annual Review to find out how much we, as a society, have achieved during the reporting period.

Kay Smith

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Council Membership Meredith Williams

This is my first report as Honorary General Secretary, taking over from Philippa Mason who stepped down from the role at the 2022 AGM after an impressive 17 years of service. Council thank Philippa for her hard work and dedication over the years, and I personally would like to thank her for ensuring a smooth handover. The 2022-23 reporting period was another busy year for Council, who met in June, November and March, but as last year it was not possible to meet in-person. The online meetings covered a broad range of topics, with a focus on how the Society needs to evolve in the face of rapidly changing commercial, governmental and academic environments for remote sensing and photogrammetry.

Both the 2022 annual conference and 2023 Wavelength events went ahead as planned and are covered in detail in this Annual Review. As in 2021 rather than a stand-alone RSPSoc annual conference there was a joint RSPSoc/NCEO/CEOI/SAC event. In contrast to the 2021 online EO Week, this year’s joint event was a 3-day in-person conference held at the National Space Centre, Leicester, in September 2022. RSPSoc would like to thank the staff of our partner organisations for a successful and profitable event, which we hope to repeat in 2025.

The 2022 AGM was held during the joint conference. There were no new elections to Council during the reporting period. Kevin White, Chair of the Publications Committee, completed his second

term on Council in September 2022. Council would like to thank Kevin for the excellent job he has done in this role during a period in which the publishing landscape has seen unprecedented changes associated with the move toward open access online publishing. Nikolaos Galiatsatos will take over from Kevin in the interim.

As ever, on behalf of Council and the Society, the Honorary Generally Secretary will take this opportunity to thank the RSPSoc Office staff, Rachel Hopkins and Uta Feinstein, for their great work, running things efficiently and smoothly as we steadily move towards the ‘new normal’ following the Covid lockdown period, and keeping us all on track throughout the year.

At the end of the reporting period the Society’s ExOfficio Officers (as elected by Council each year) were Dr Kay Smith (Chair), Martin Smye-Rumsby (Vice-Chair), Sam Pike (Honorary Treasurer) and Dr Meredith Williams (Honorary General Secretary). Dr Kay Smith the current Chair is due to step down at the 2023 AGM in 2023 when Martin Smye-Rumsby will take up the Chair role.

On behalf of the Society and its members, I take this opportunity to collectively thank all Council members (all those in post, as well as those stepping down and up).

Meredith Williams

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Report of the Honorary Treasurer Samuel Pike

The organisation’s financial performance declined slightly from the previous year, but the overall financial position remains healthy. Trading income excluding investments decreased from £76,797 to £42,008, mainly due to the loss of royalties from our publishing partner, Taylor & Francis. The loss of this income was a significant blow to the charity, as it accounted for a large portion of their revenue.

In addition to the loss of royalties, the charity also saw an increase in fundraising expenses and support costs. Fundraising expenses increased to £2,216, while support costs totalled £113,995. These increases were due to a number of factors, including inflationary expenditures and irrecoverable VAT. As a result of these factors, trading activities incurred a net loss of £71,987. This is significantly higher than last year’s loss of £14,075. However, when taking investment income into account, the loss for the year reduces to £63,174. The market value of investments experienced a slight decrease of £6,756, but this is due to turbulent fluctuations throughout 2022 and not a shift in management policy. It’s important to note that the investments are held for long-term gain, making market fluctuations inevitable.

Despite the deficit, the charity’s balance sheet remains strong. As of 31 March 2022, the total funds in the balance sheet amount to £506,043.

Cash at bank is £339,422 and investments stand at £179,324. These figures collectively illustrate a robust and stable balance sheet, providing a strong foundation for the organisation to further build and consolidate upon.

In other news, the charity’s Direct Debit service provider closed in December 2022. The charity quickly switched to a new provider, GoCardless. All affected members were contacted and the majority transferred to this new system. It is now far easier and more convenient for members to apply for membership via Direct Debit than before.

The finance committee has assessed the impact of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic on the charity’s finances and economy. As part of this assessment, the committee have reviewed cash flow forecasts for at least 12 months and are confident that the charity will be able to meet its financial obligations as they come due.

Overall, the charity’s financial performance in the past year was satisfactory. While there were some challenges, the charity remains in a strong financial position. The charity is confident that they can continue to provide essential services to their beneficiaries in the years to come.

Samuel Pike

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Awards & Professional Standards Committee Wen Xiao

The Society’s awards are given either in recognition of the contribution made to the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry disciplines by their recipients, or to recognise younger professionals with potential to make significant contributions to those disciplines. Below is a list of award recipients for this year. They will be presented with their awards at the Annual Conference.

Contributions to the fields of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing are also recognised in the awards for the best contributions to the Society’s three journals, the Len Curtis Award, the E H Thompson Award and the Taylor and Francis Remote Sensing Letters Award.

The successes and contributions of younger professionals in the Society are celebrated through the various student awards. This year a number of very strong theses were submitted for consideration by the Awards Committee. Applications for Student Travel Bursaries still remain at a low level, whereas the newly established Bill Barlow Award has received considerable attention and applications.

The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society Award:

For ‘services to Remote Sensing and/or Photogrammetry’ through sustained and distinguished contributions to furthering the science and applications which use remote sensing or photogrammetry. The terms of the award state that it is to be awarded on an occasional basis and never more than once in any year. This award consists of a suitably inscribed Gold Medal and Honorary Membership of the Society for Life.

The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society Award for 2021-22 was awarded to Stuart Granshaw

Founders’ Award:

An award that is conferred upon those who have made significant, original and personal contributions to the Society. Recipients of the Founder’s Award should not be currently serving as Officers or Trustees of the Society. Awarded occasionally by resolution of Council and not more than once in any one year. This award consists of a Silver medal and a cheque for £250.

The Founders’ Award for 2021-22 was made to Dr Tina Thomson.

The Business Innovation Award:

The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society’s new award is to be presented at the society’s Annual Conference focused around the commercial exploitation of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry. Entitled the ‘Business Innovation Award’, the award has been created to recognize the leading technologies, products and services the society’s corporate company and individual members are delivering to users across different market sectors.

The Business Innovation Award has not been awarded this year.

The Len Curtis Award:

For an outstanding technical paper published in the International Journal of Remote Sensing (IJRS) during the preceding calendar year. It consists of a certificate and books to the value of £200 sponsored by Taylor and Francis. Nominations are considered by the Awards & Professional Standards Committee, and the award is confirmed by Council.

Awarded to: Jing Guo, Zhiliang Zhu & Peng Gong (2022) A global forest reference set with time series annual change information from 2000 to 2020, International Journal of Remote Sensing, 43:9, 3152-3162, DOI: 10.1080/01431161.2022.2088256

The Taylor and Francis Remote Sensing Letters Award (now re-named the Arthur Cracknell Award): Awarded for the best letter published in the Remote Sensing Letters publication during the previous calendar year. The award winner receives a certificate and one year’s free subscription to the IJRS/RSL or a £100 book token. The award is sponsored by Taylor and Francis. Nominations are considered by the Awards & Professional Standards Committee, and the award is confirmed by Council.

Awarded to: D. Runfola, A. Stefanidis & H. Baier (2022) Using satellite data and deep learning to estimate educational outcomes in data-sparse environments, Remote Sensing Letters, 13:1, 87-97, DOI: 10.1080/2150704X.2021.1987575

E H Thompson Award:

Awarded to the author of the paper in The

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Photogrammetric Record which most merits the award. The award will be made primarily for the originality of the content and the value of the paper to photogrammetry. It will be made from all those eligible papers published in the oneyear period up to and including April of the year in which the award is to be made. The award usually takes the form of a certificate and £100. Nominations are considered by the Awards and Professional Standards Committee, and the award is confirmed by Council.

Awarded to: Zhang, S., Peng, S., Wu, Y., Wen, B., Zhang, J., Jia, Y., Liu, S., Qi, C., Ma, Y., Yan, Y. and Li, H. (2022), Positioning Accuracy of the Zhurong Mars Rover’s Hand–Eye System. Photogram Rec, 37: 6186. https://doi.org/10.1111/phor.12401

Bill Barlow Award:

The Bill Barlow Award is newly established to support the cost of non-conference-related activities in the fields of Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry, Earth Observation and other related disciplines, as undertaken by a student. These activities could include (but are not limited to) data purchase, fieldwork expenses and/or equipment, and support for overseas exchange or internship.

This year the Bill Barlow Award is awarded to Amritha Nair at University of Worcester, to cover the visit of a research lab at UoA during their PhD study.

The Student Awards:

The Society makes two student awards annually for the best Doctoral and Masters Theses, on the subjects of remote sensing and/or photogrammetry, accepted by a university during the previous calendar year. The submission of the theses should be made by the student’s supervisor, who is required to write a supporting letter. The thesis should be submitted in a softcopy format where possible.

The Doctoral award is restricted to student members of the Society, and the award comprises a certificate and cheque for £500. The Masters award is open to any student who submits a thesis on the subject of remote sensing and/ or photogrammetry, and the award comprises a certificate, a cheque for £250 and one year concessionary membership of the Society.

PhD: Dr. Yu Tao, University College London, ‘On Martian Surface Exploration: Development of Automated 3D Reconstruction and SuperResolution Restoration Techniques for Mars Orbital

Images’

MSc: Roy YUEN, University College London, ‘Potential of Consumer-Grade Cameras and Photogrammetric Guidelines for Subsurface Utility Mapping’

President’s Cup:

The President’s Cup is awarded for the best oral presentation, not including keynote addresses or invited lectures, made at the Society’s Annual Conference. The award is determined by a combination of a secret ballot of conference attendees and chairs of the sessions at the annual conference. The award is in the form of a certificate and the engraving of the winner’s name on the President’s Cup trophy.

The President’s Cup was awarded at RSPSoc2022 to Richard Brittan, for their presentation entitled “The Business of EO. Opportunities and threats of the evolving EO market for the public sector”.

Poster Paper Award:

For the best poster paper displayed at the Annual Conference of the Society as judged by the Awards and Professional Standards Committee.

The awards consist of a main award and up to two runner-up merit awards. In 2018 the main award took the form of a certificate and £100.

The Poster Paper Award for 2022 was made to: Gregg, D.J., Wyche, K.P., Nichols, M., Parfitt, H., Beckett, P. & Smallbone, K.L.: for “Changes in ambient air quality and atmospheric composition and reactivity in the South East of the UK as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown”

Professional Membership

FRSPSoc: N/A

AFRSPSoc: N/A

Travel Bursaries:

Awarded for travel that supports the aims of the Society, especially towards part of the costs of student and younger members of the Society presenting papers at international conferences or carrying out fieldworks.

One application was received but was then cancelled. The Society is encouraging young members to take advantage of this award for their travels.

Wen Xiao

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Education and Training Committee Fleur Visser

The Education and Training (E&T) Committee aims to increase awareness and understanding of remote sensing (RS), Earth Observation (EO) and Photogrammetry.

The committee will continue ongoing activities over the coming year, including the following:

A single lesson activity pack on EO for schools is in development, based on experience gained from the trial sessions done over the last few years. The pack will be made available for schools/geography teachers, to promote and support uptake of Earth Observation in teaching.

The following activities were undertaken during the last year:

• A successful session on ‘Earth Observation Education’ took place at the UK National Earth Observation Conference 2022, chaired by Fleur Visser and co-hosted by Gail Millin-Chalabi. The four presentations resulted in an interesting discussion, which suggested that there is more need for meetings on this topic.

Fleur will be handing over committee chairship to a new chair but hopes to continue contributing to the committee and help further develop activities to engage wider audiences with Remote Sensing, Earth Observation and Photogrammetry.

• The E&T column in Sensed has continued throughout the year.

• The E&T facebook page and Twitter account have not been active so their reach remained the same: https://www.facebook.com/ EOforSchools (166 followers) and https://twitter. com/EOforSchools (40 followers).

If any members wish to find out more about past or planned activities, or if they wish to contribute in any way, please get in contact with Fleur (f.visser@ worc.ac.uk). We’d love to hear from you!

Fleur Visser

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External Affairs Committee Kay Smith

The purpose of the External Affairs Committee is to strengthen existing links and to build new links with relevant groups, societies or organisations with a similar focus on remote sensing or photogrammetry.

money. An alternative Plan B has been discussed but was not yet openly available. The importance of NetZero was highlighted.

EARSeL (JUNE 2022): EARSeL held a very successful 12th workshop on imaging spectroscopy in Potsdam (22-24 June 2022) and RSPSoc were interested to see a ‘Green’ section on their events pages to highlight the carbon impact of their symposium. This is something that RSPSoc are considering adopting to highlight recent environmental impact changes in RSPSoc business approach (i.e. virtual Council meetings, digital-only generation of SENSED, moving away from printed versions of any council documentation). In September 2022, RSPSoc participated in the EARSeL Council meeting, thankfully held as a virtual meeting during their highly successful 41st Symposium in Paphos, Cyprus attended by 130 participants, with 2 keynotes, 6 special session and included a workshop on developing countries. The council meeting followed a similar structure to an RSPSoc council meeting. It was interesting to hear EARSeL reaching a similar view on the effects of changes in publication landscape, through their own affiliated journal. During the reporting period, RSPSoc were notified of candidacies and joint-candidacies for the Chair positions of the Thermal Remote Sensing and Forest Fires SIGs, and RSPSoc were also pleased to hear the nomination success of the UK representative to the council - Elias Symeonakis (Manchester Metropolitan University). At the end of the reporting period, RSPSoc were invited to vote on the election of officers to the EARSeL bureau. RSPSoc continued to forward e-announcements from EARSeL to the membership.

RSPSoc is represented on the Earth Observation Advisory Committee (EOAC) to the UK Space Agency (UKSA), European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL) Council, Geospatial Commission through the Skills Gap Consultation, International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) UK Sub-Committee, and the UKGeoForum.

EOAC: During this reporting period, the RSPSoc Chair participated in 2 virtual EOAC meetings (8th June 2022 and 13th March 2023). As a background, EOAC was established in 2012 to provide advice to UKSA on strategic direction for the UK involvement in EO programmes and projects. The first meeting discussed UKSA plans for EO in the next 3 years, the long-term plans for EO in the Space Directorate of the UK Government’s Department BEIS (now DSIT), as well as updates from Space4Climate, CEOS/GEO, CEOI and CMIN22. In September 2022, it was pleasing to see and hear from many of the EOAC committee members at the UK National Earth Observation Conference 2022 at the National Space Centre, Leicester. The second meeting provided the opportunity for the EOAC to regroup as a community and welcome new and replacement members to the committee. The meeting contained updates and an outline of the restructuring that had recently taken place within UKSA and included an outline of the 3 focus areas and 8 priorities for UKSA across the whole space sector. As was pointed out, the National Space Strategy supports the space sector in the UK worth £16.3bn with a workforce of around 47,000 so a key investment for the UK. The meeting continued with an outline of the status of UK involvement in Copernicus in light of the Windsor agreement (signed at the end of 2022) with positive feeling towards Copernicus, Horizon Europe and Erratum through seeking a fair and reasonable participation and ensuring value for

Geospatial Commission: During this reporting period, the RSPSoc Chair attended an online review event for the UK Geospatial Strategy on 24th November 2022. RSPSoc members were notified of the related Call for Evidence for stakeholder contribution to the mid-point review of the UK Geospatial Strategy (by 12th December 2022), but RSPSoc decided not to formulate an ‘RSPSoc’

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response in order to encourage individual responses for a more diverse view.

ISPRS (JUNE 2022): The UK Sub-Committee to ISPRS was set up to represent the UK Earth Observation community (including RSPSoc, RICS and CICES) on the international stage. During this reporting period the ISPRS General Assembly and Congress was held in Nice, France (6-10 June 2022) where the UK perspective on ISPRS-related activities at this meeting were represented by I Dowman, J Mills and P Newby. Many documents were up for discussion, including consideration on the hosting locations for the next Technical Commission (TC) meetings and Congress. The Congress was considered as a success although numbers were down, some presenting by video, and it was noted that the UK had few delegates in attendance. The General Assembly did not involve anything controversial except the question of Russian membership. After some quite strong comments it was decided to deny Ukraine’s request to exclude Russia and instead endorse the ISPRS statement on Ukraine which is based on that of the International Science Council ISC, https://council. science/current/news/isc-statement-ukraine/. The next Congress will be in Canada with Commissions being given to China/Brazil (I), USA/Switzerland (II), France/Brazil (III), Australia/Italy(IV) and Philippines/ USA (V). Following the Nice meeting, planning is already underway for the XXV Congress in Toronto 2026, hosted by the new Canadian Ordinary Member. RSPSoc has received ISPRS e-Bulletins and have forwarded these on the RSPSoc membership. RSPSoc recently received news from the General Assembly with election of XXV Congress hosts, new Council Members and Technical Commission Presidents (TCPs). ISPRS has new Working Groups created during the Joint Council and TCPs meetings held in Prague (September 2022) and detail on these have been uploaded to their website, with encouragement for those wishing to be involved to contact their respective working group officer. At the end of the reporting period, RSPSoc sadly received correspondence from I Dowman of his wish to step down from his long-standing role on the ISRPS UK sub-committee I Dowman has played such a huge role in shaping the UK involvement with ISPRS and RSPSoc will have to think very carefully

how to re-engage with the representatives to the committee from the existing partnership on the UK sub-committee.

UKGeoForum: The UKGeoForum (ukgeoforum. org) is a group of organisations that represent core specialist skills of geography, mapping and geospatial technology that are key to many applications in the modern world. During this reporting period, RSPSoc were sent a questionnaire to provide response on the national report on the state of the UK mapping and geospatial industry, produced by UK Cartography 26 Committee, part of the BCS and completed at the behest of the Royal Society and distributed through the International Cartographic Association (ICA). The report recorded the wide range of activities that are going on across the UK by the many organisations involved in making and using maps as well as the use of other forms of geospatial data. It is designed to record the current state of the wider geospatial community and showcase our latest innovations and applications. These were shared with a worldwide audience through The Cartographic Journal and this year the results will also be available through a bespoke website and on-line publications.

Chartership: Since the last Annual Review, RSPSoc have continued to assess the provision of support towards Chartership status through a linkage with an existing organisation, who have both the experience with and support structure in order to bestow chartership status on applicants. Discussions have been ongoing throughout the reporting period but no decisions have formally been made.

During the reporting period, RSPSoc began to assess potential new collaborations and linkages with similar organisations and to seek opportunities for high-level engagement. However, due to an already stretched council activities, no extension to external engagement was pursued. It is worth reminding that in order to extend our external engagement activities RSPSoc would need additional members to join Council so existing volunteers are not spread too thinly or heavily burdened.

Kay Smith

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Publicity and Communications Committee

Martin Smye-Rumsby

Overview.

The Publicity and Communications Committee (PCC) has organised around 4 channels this year: SENSED; social media; website; and corporate. Digital media remains core to the Society’s efforts with continued strong social media growth underpinned by the quarterly SENSED digital magazine.

SENSED.

A core offering which is more accessible to a wider audience than the Society’s journals, there have been 4 issues of SENSED published during the reporting period. The PCC would like to recognise the particular contribution of Rachel Hopkins, James O’Connor, and Chris Lavers for their diligent efforts to ensure timely publication. A rich variety of articles has included pieces ranging from, “Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry in Schools” to “The Influence of China”. SENSED can be found on the Society’s website under the publications menu.

Social media.

Many of our members continue to primarily use social media to source information about their interests and so the PCC has continued to focus on LinkedIn as a primary platform during the reporting period. Regular posts about an informative range of topics have seen the Society secure an additional 10,000 followers upon last year as at the reporting period end, continuing to grow at a steady rate past 25,000 followers. This followership provides a foundation from which the Society can achieve its charitable mission to inform and educate.

Website.

This remains our authoritative source of information about the Society and contains a wealth of content for reference. The PCC is grateful to Dr Kay Smith for her considerable efforts keeping the RSPSoc website updated. Reviewing the arrangements for maintaining the website to consider how best to ensure content remains up to date will be important in the year ahead. The website content management system requires some learning and practice to become proficient, so the PCC will be looking for a volunteer(s) to commit their time to this important task.

Corporate.

The reporting period has not seen a dedicated level of interaction with the Society’s corporate members that perhaps would be hoped. This channel focuses on managing relationships with industry to provide support to the Society’s outreach activities. A key part of this channel is ensuring a clear set of benefits to our corporate supporters. It remains necessary to understand in more depth the needs and wants of our corporate membership, particularly so in what have been challenging trading conditions during the reporting period. The Society will also engage with the British Association of Remote Sensing Companies (BARSC) to better understand the potential opportunities for our corporate members.

Martin Smye-Rumsby

11

Publications Committee Nikolaos Galiatsatos

The Publications Committee is responsible for ‘developing and coordinating the Society’s publications’. It is chaired by Nikolaos Galiatsatos. Also on the Publications Committee are Kevin Tansey (Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Remote Sensing), Costas Varotsos (Editor-in-Chief, Remote Sensing Letters), Yongjun Zhang and Debra F. Laefer (Co-Editors-in-Chief, The Photogrammetric Record), Rachel Hopkins (in attendance), Katie Dickinson (Journal Publishing Manager, The Photogrammetric Record) and Samuel Pike (RSPSoc Honorary Treasurer). The committee liaises with our publishing partners – Wiley (The Photogrammetric Record), and Taylor and Francis (International Journal of Remote Sensing, Remote Sensing Letters).

Slight drop in the impact factor from 2.744 (2020) to 2.618 (2021), but still at a higher level than previous years. The journal is a key asset to the Society, maintaining a distinct focus on contributions in Photogrammetry, alongside a reputation for high quality papers.

The Editorial teams, and the Society, are grateful for the efforts of RSPSoc members to help build the success of the journals (by submitting and reviewing articles) and we encourage them to continue and be further involved. For example, PHOR launched in 2022 an Early Career Researcher Editorial Board for junior researchers to get a year of editorial experience.

Overall, there is a general push towards open access publications, thus ensuring that research/ innovation communities and wider society can access and built on the research findings. Taylor & Francis are offering members of RSPSoc open access publication in the IJRS and RSL with a 50% discount on the standard article processing charge (APC). Both Wiley and Taylor & Francis have open access agreements with institutions (for example JISC in UK, Bibliosan in Italy, etc).

International Journal of Remote Sensing (IJRS) and Remote Sensing Letters (RSL) (published by Taylor & Francis)

Submissions to IJRS have increased during the last year and the number of published articles remains high (440 in 2020, 425 in 2021). What is notable is the percentage of Open Access articles (3% in 2020, 6% in 2021), which is expected to increase further. The impact factor kept its upward trend from 2.976 (2020) to 3.151 (2021).

Our academic journals remain a key part of the Society’s activities, helping us to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise in remote sensing and photogrammetry. The move towards open access continues to push academic publishing in a new direction. For example, UKRI extended its open access policy to apply to long-form publications (e.g. monographs, book chapters and edited collections). The Publications Committee will continue to monitor the impacts of this changing publishing landscape on members’ interests, to ensure our publications play their important part in our mission to inform and educate both members and the public.

Similar patterns appear in RSL. Submissions are increased and the number of published articles remains high (121 in 2020, 120 in 2021). The Open Access articles have also increased (3% in 2020, 4% in 2021) with a prediction to reach 6% in 2022. However, the impact factor dropped a bit from 2.91 (2020) to 2.58 (2021).

Photogrammetric Record (PhoR) (published by Wiley)

Nikolaos Galiatsatos

12

Conference Committee Meredith Williams

The Conference Committee (CC) aims to ensure vibrant and engaging events are available for the Society’s members. The RSPSoc calendar on the Society website continues to provide information on forthcoming events in remote sensing and photogrammetry, as well as deadlines for abstract submissions and registrations.

With Covid restrictions finally lifting RSPSoc were able to resume in-person events in 2022. The 2023 Wavelength event organised by Yanna Fidai and Amritha Nair at Southampton ran slightly later in the year than previous years, so falls outside the reporting period for this annual review and will be covered in the 2023/24 review.

As in 2021 rather than holding a stand-alone RSPSoc Conference we partnered with the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) and Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI) for a joint event. For 2022 we were also joined by the Satellite Applications Catapult (SAC). The event was title ‘Earth Observation Science – Technology in Action’. It took place from 6-8 September 2022 at the National Space Centre, Leicester, and also showcased the newly opened Space Park Leicester. Unlike the previous year’s online EO Week event in which the partner organisations ran dedicated sessions this in-person event had a fully integrated programme. The event attracted over 400 delegates and 231 presentations covering a spectrum of topics of interest to the commercial, governmental and academic members of the Society. Overall the event was a great success, in terms of the technical programme, networking, and also financially. The event turned a small profit, which will be retained by NCEO to support future joint events. On behalf

of the RSPSoc Conference Committee I would like to thank the numerous staff in our partner organisations who contributed to making the event the success that it was. All parties involved were keen to continue the joint event on a 3-year repeat cycle, and we look forward to a repeat in 2025.

For 2023 RSPSoc will return to running a stand-alone annual conference. As our first stand-alone in-person annual conference since 2019 we are understandably being financially cautious. The event, titled ‘Earth Observation and Photogrammetry for real world applications’, will run on 5-6th September 2023 at the British Geological Survey (BGS) headquarters in Keyworth, Nottingham, with a social networking event on the Tuesday evening at Canal House in central Nottingham. The relatively small size of the conference facilities at BGS restrict us to a singlestream event with a maximum of 100 delegates, but there should be something to interest all member in the broad range of talks scheduled. The full programme and registration details can be found at www.rspsoc.org.uk.

As yet there are no firm plans for the 2024 annual conference which could potentially be online, hybrid, or in-person. If any members are interesting in hosting this or getting involved, please contact the RSPSoc office.

We welcome your ideas for facilitating discussion about the many and varied matters of the moment in our respective disciplines. Please send any suggestions for new events, and feedback on events, to to office@rspsoc.org.uk.

Meredith Williams

13

Wavelength Representative’s Report Yanna Alexia Fidai

The RSPSoc Wavelength Conference was held 3rd and 4th April 2023 at the University of Southampton. It was a highlight to celebrate its 10th year with just over thirty in-person and online attendees.

The conference was supported by MDPI’s Remote Sensing Journal, Specto Natura, the School of Geography and Environmental science at the University of Southampton, Southampton Geospatial, More than Maps, and the NERC National Centre for Earth Observation and Field Spectroscopy Facility. Over the course of two days, there were twenty presentations from PhD students and early career researchers, six keynotes, two workshops and a careers panel. The talks spanned multiple topics from machine learning to marine ecosystems and hazard monitoring. It was inspiring to hear the different applications and progress in remote sensing methods.

professionals, to support this there was a pizza and quiz night social which was great fun, interacting with peers has been challenging under the pandemic but this event meant participants were able to network in a comfortable setting.

The careers panel, with a mix of academics and industry panellists (from SA Catapult, Specto Natura, and University of Southampton) was the perfect opportunity for everyone to ask the career-related questions they wanted to. Workshops from More than Maps and the Field Spectroscopy Facility were big hit and participants got to learn new skills including a field spectrometer and using Google Earth Engine.

The conference was brought to a close with the ‘Best oral presentation’ and ‘Best poster presentation’ awards voted for by the audience. Thank you to everyone who made this event possible and successful, including the RSPSoc team and our supporters.

A highlight of this conference was the opportunity to meet other early career researchers and

Yanna Fidai

14

Special Interest Groups Nuria Bachiller-Jareño

SIGs – Overview

As shown below, the SIGs have remained active over the period. Having headed up the GRSG for six years, successfully steering the groups through challenging enterprises such as a global pandemic, previous GRSG SIG Chair Charlotte Bishop passed the role to Dr. Jennifer Scoular. The RSPSoc Council would like to express their gratitude to Charlotte for her dedicated work during the years she headed the GRSG.

I would like to thank the SIGs conveners and their members for their effort and enthusiasm during this year. I would also like to take the opportunity to encourage the Society’s members to become active members of the SIGs or to contact us if they have an idea for a new SIG. The SIGs act as foci for members of the Society within particular specialist or application areas to meet and share ideas.

SIGs – Conveners

Archaeology - Chris Brooke (University of Nottingham) and Louise Rayne (Newcastle University, UK)

Emergency, Disaster and Risk Management (ED&RM) – Richard Teeuw (University of Portsmouth, UK)

Geological Remote Sensing Group (GRSG) - Jennifer Scoular (SkyGeo, Netherlands)

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) - Amy Woodget (Natural England, UK)

Archaeology SIG

This year’s main activity was planning an Archaeology SIG session for the conference. There were some speakers who had not presented previously. The SIG had a mailing list that was used to send out notices of sessions. The SIG encouraged submission of new papers for the conference.

Emergency, Disaster and Risk Management (ED&RM) SIG

The Disaster and Risk Management Special Interest Group (SIG) organised a session during the RSPSoc Annual Conference in collaboration with the Royal Geographical Society Professional Practice Group for Disaster Risk Management. The session, co-chaired by Richard Teeuw and Matt Foote, had a good range of topics, from utilisation of satellite Remote Sensing in famines and flood disasters to outcome of experiments conducted with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to identify the optimal sensor setups for conducting wide area searches for survivors after a disaster. The session was well-attended, with a total of 50 delegates participating.

Geological Remote Sensing Group (GRSG) SIG

The Geological Remote Sensing Group (GRSG) returned to an in-person 33rd Annual Conference and AGM, which was held at ITC Faculty GeoInformation Science and Earth Observation in the Netherlands in December. Besides the GRSG annual student awards, another conference highlight includes the one day spectral geology workshop, led by Dr David Coulter, Xiaodont Zhou and Professor Chris Hecker.

At the AGM, the group had some committee changes. Charlotte stepped down after 6 years as GRSG Chairwoman and Dr. Jennifer Scoular was appointed as the group’s new Chairwoman and three new committee members were appointed.

The GRSG’s North American Chapter organised a webinar on Remote Sensing for Natural Resource Site Remediation and Ecological Restoration in October 2022 which was a great success with 80+ attendees tuning in.

15

Other activities of the SIG this year include their participation in the RSPSoc Annual Conference leading the Geological Applications of EO session and a presentation in Wavelength 2023 last March

to promote the GRSG and our activities for students and those in early careers.

Nuria Bachiller-Jareño

16

Annex 1 - Council Membership at the End of the Reporting Period, 31st March 2023

EX-OFFICIO (TRUSTEES)

Dr K Smith, Chair (British Geological Survey), Dr M Williams, Honorary General Secretary (University of Greenwich), Mr M Smye-Rumsby, Vice-Chair* (Blue Sphere Space Ltd), Mr S Pike, Honorary Treasurer * (Environmental Systems Ltd)

(* = Directors of RSPSoc)

ELECTED MEMBERS (TRUSTEES)

Ms N Bachiller-Jareño (University of Portsmouth) Mr M Foote (Willis Towers Watson) Dr N Galiatsatos (Independent Researcher) Dr A Novellino (British Geological Survey) Mr S Pike (Environment Systems Ltd) Dr F Visser (University of Worcester) Dr W Xiao (China University of Sciences, Wuhan)

IN ATTENDANCE

Prof Sir P Curran President (The City University, London) Prof G Foody Liaison Officer, (University of Nottingham) Dr C Lavers SENSED Editor Dr J O’Connor SENSED Editor Dr D F Laefer Co-Editor of The Photogrammetric Record Dr P Mason Imperial College Prof K Tansey Editor of the International Journal of Remote Sensing Prof Costas Varotsos Editor of Remote Sensing Letters (RSL) Dr Y Zhang Co-Editor of The Photogrammetric Record Ms Y Fidai Wavelength Representative 2022-23 Ms A Nair Wavelength Representative 2023-24 Ms R Hopkins Executive Secretary (RSPSoc Office)

17

ANNEX 2 - Committee Membership and Terms of Reference (April 2022 - March 2023)

AWARDS AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

Wen Xiao (Convenor) Richard Armitage Rachel Gaulton

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

. Working with teachers (and practitioners) at all levels of education and promoting interaction between remote sensing scientists and professionals and those in the teaching profession to support use of remote sensing/earth observation and photogrammetry in teaching. This may include:

Supporting outreach activities in schools

Developing teaching materials for use in schools Organising teacher CPD activities. Influencing education curriculum.

. Supporting or undertaking the provision of training to introduce a wider audience to RS/EO techniques.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Kay Smith (Convener) Martin Smye-Rumsby Meredith Williams Samuel Pike Rachel Hopkins (in attendance)

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Kay Smith (Convener) Matthew Foote

18

Affiliated members :

Beth Greenaway, UK Space Agency Earth Observation Advisory Committee (EOAC) membership Alistair Maclenan (BARSC)

ISPRS Sub-committee: RSPSoc Chair - Kay Smith (Chair) RSPSoc Honorary Treasurer - Samuel Pike (Treasurer) Ian Dowman (Secretary) Ann Allen (CICES) Sally Cooper (EuroSDR) Allan Jamieson (OS) James Kavanagh (RICS) Jon Mills (ISPRS fellow)

FINANCE

To advise the Treasurer on all aspects of the Society’s Financial Affairs

Samuel Pike (Convener) Uta Feinstein (in attendance) Rachel Hopkins (in attendance)

PUBLICATIONS

• To be responsible for the editing and production of the Society’s publications and ensure their technical quality.

Nikolaos Galiatsatos (Convener) Costas Varotsos (Editor, RSL) Kevin Tansey/(Editor, IJRS) Kay Smith (RSPSoc Chair) Debra Laefer, Yongjun Zhang (Editors, The Photogrammetric Record) Rachel Hopkins (in attendance)

PUBLICITY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Martin Smye-Rumsby (Convenor) James O’Connor/Chris Lavers(Co-Editors, SENSED) Rachel Hopkins (in attendance)

19

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

•

To co-ordinate and facilitate communications between the Society’s affiliated and wholly owned Special Interest Groups.

Nuria Bachiller-Jareño (Convenor)

Archaeology (Chris Brooke and Louise Rayne) Emergency, Disaster and Risk Management (Richard Teeuw)

Geological Remote Sensing Group (GRSG) (Jennifer Scoular)

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) (Amy Woodget)

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

Core Members :

Meredith Williams (Convener) Kay Smith Rachel Hopkins (in attendance)

20

ANNEX 3 - Accounts

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 01436807 (England and Wales) REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 292647

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND

UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

FOR

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY (A COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

tcp 10 the triangle ng2 business park nottingham nottinghamshire ng2 1ae

21

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

CONTENTS OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Page
Report of the Trustees 1 to 2
Independent Examiner's Report 3
Statement of Financial Activities 4
Balance Sheet 5
Notes to the Financial Statements 6 to 9
Detailed Statement of Financial Activities 10 to 11

22

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2023. The trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2021).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES Objectives and aims

The purposes of the charity is to advance the education of the public in the many fields of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry. In pursuance of these objectives the Society conducts a number of technical meetings throughout the United Kingdom and various members of the Society participate in similar activities around the world.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The state of the charity's affairs is considered satisfactory, reflecting consistent financial performance over the past year.

In terms of trading income, excluding investments, the total for the year amounted to £42,008, compared to £76,797 the previous year. Expenditures for fundraising activities amounted to £2,216 (2022: £1,004), while support costs totalled £113,995 (2022: £90,872). As a result, trading activities incurred a net loss of £71,987. It is noteworthy that this loss is significantly higher compared to last year's loss of £14,075. This increase can be attributed to the loss of royalties from our publishing partner, Taylor & Francis. This income for the International Journal of Remote Sensing and Remote Sensing Letters ceased at the end of December 2021. An additional £14,966 of the deficit results from irrecoverable VAT. However, when taking investment income into account, the loss for the year reduces to £63,174 (2022: £9,845). To ensure accuracy and comparable reporting, the values for 2021/22 have been restated in the statement of financial activities due to very late payments.

Regarding investments, the market value experienced a slight decrease of £6,756 (2022: increase of £29,051). This change is due to market fluctuations throughout 2022 and not a shift in management policy. It's essential to note that the investments are held for longterm gain, making market fluctuations inevitable.

As of 31 March 2022, the total funds depicted in the Balance Sheet amount to £506,043 (2022: £575,973). Cash at bank is £339,422, and investments stand at £179,324. These figures collectively illustrate a robust and stable balance sheet, providing a strong foundation for the organisation to further build and consolidate upon.

Of note this year, our Direct Debit service provider closed in December 2022, and we changed provider to GoCardless. All affected members were contacted, and the majority transferred to this new system. It is now far easier, and more convenient, for members to apply for membership via Direct Debit than before..

GOING CONCERN AND COVID-19

The directors and trustees have considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which started in January 2020 on the company from both a financial and economic perspective.

As part of this review the directors have considered cash flow forecasts for a period of at least 12 months from the date of signing of these financial statements and are confident that the company can meet its liabilities as they fall due.

As such, the directors and trustees do not believe that COVID-19 will have any material or adverse impact on the company's ability to continue as a going concern.

POTENTIAL IMPACT OF BREXIT AND THE EURO

The directors do not believe that Britain exiting the European Union will have any material or adverse impact on the company or its future performance.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

Charity constitution

The company is limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. Every member of the Society undertakes to contribute to the assets of the Society in the event of the company being wound up during the time of their membership or within one year thereafter. However, the maximum amount they may be required to contribute is £1 per member.

In addition, the company is precluded by its Memorandum and Articles of Association from distributing any portion of its net income to the members.

23

Page 1

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

The Articles of Association states the regulations in respect of the appointment and re-elections of the Trustees and Council Members.

Decision making

The decision making for the Society is determined by various Committees comprising both Trustees and Council members of the Society who hold regular meetings throughout the financial year.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

01436807 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

292647

Registered office

The School of Geography The University of Nottingham University Park Nottingham NG7 2RD

Trustees

The following Trustees are Ex-Officio Trustees and are also the company directors:

Mr M B Smye-Rumsby Dr K Smith (Chair) Dr P J Mason (resigned 08/09/2022) Mr S Pike Dr M Williams

The following were Trustees during the year under review but are not company directors:

Dr K White (resigned 08/09/2022) Dr F Visser Dr W Xiao M Foote Dr A Novellino Dr N Galiatsatos N Bachiller-Jareño

Company Secretary

Dr P J Mason (resigned 08/09/2022) Dr M Williams (appointed 08/09/2022)

Independent Examiner

tcp (gb) group ltd 10 the triangle ng2 business park nottingham ng2 1ae

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 25 August 2023 and signed on its behalf by:

Dr K Smith – Trustee and Chair

24

Page 2

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of The Remote Sensing And Photogrammetry Society

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2023, which are set out on pages 4 to 11.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act').

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity's accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act'). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

tcp (gb) group ltd 10 the triangle ng2 business park nottingham nottinghamshire ng2 1ae

25 August 2023

25

Page 3

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Unrestricted
fund
Notes
£
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Donations and legacies
31,276
Other trading activities
2
10,732
Investment income
3
11,029
Other income
-
Total
53,037
EXPENDITURE ON
Raising funds
2,216
Other
113,995
Total
116,211
NET (EXPENDITURE)/INCOME
(63,174)
Other recognised gains/(losses)
Gains/(losses) on revaluation of fixed assets
(6,756)
Net movement in funds
(69,930)
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS
Total funds brought forward
546,140
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD
476,210		 31/3/2023
31/3/2022
as restated
Restricted
Total
Total
fund
funds
funds
£
£
£
-
31,276
69,664
-
10,732
7,133
-
11,029
5,234
-
-
-
-
53,037
82,031
-
2,216
1,004
-
113,995
90,872
-
116,211
91,876
-
(63,174)
(9,845)
-
(6,756)
14,844
-
(69,930)
4,999
29,833
575,973
570,974
29,833
506,043
575,973

The notes form part of these financial statements

26

Page 4

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

BALANCE SHEET 31 MARCH 2023

Unrestricted
fund
Notes
£
FIXED ASSETS
Investments
6
179,324
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
7
13,305
Cash at bank
309,589
322,894
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year
8
(26,008)
NET CURRENT ASSETS
296,886
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
476,210
NET ASSETS
476,210
FUNDS
9
Unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
TOTAL FUNDS		 31/3/2023
31/3/2022
as restated
Restricted
Total
Total
fund
funds
funds
£
£
£
-
179,324
186,080
-
13,305
67,354
29,833
339,422
353,655
29,833
352,727
421,009
-
(26,008)
(31,116)
29,833
326,719
389,893
29,833
506,043
575,973
29,833
506,043
575,973
476,210
546,140
29,833
29,833
506,043
575,973

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2023.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to charitable companies subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 25 August 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

Dr K Smith – Trustee and Chair

The notes form part of these financial statements

Page 5

27

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2021)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value, as modified by the revaluation of certain assets.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Member's subscriptions are recognised when received and any payments received in advance are deferred to future periods. Other income is recognised when receivable.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Foreign currencies

Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of transaction. Exchange differences are taken into account in arriving at the operating result.

2. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES
31/3/2023 31/3/2022
as restated
£ £
Conferences 345 286
Publications: IJRS/RSL - (907)
ISPRS 1,800 1,800
Publications: The Record 8,587 4,749
Committee awards and education - 1,105
Annual administration fee - 100
10,732 7,133
INVESTMENT INCOME
31/3/2023 31/3/2022
as restated
£ £
Deposit account interest 11,029 5,234

3. INVESTMENT INCOME

28

continued...

Page 6

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

4. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

The Trustees all give freely time and expertise freely without any form of remuneration or other benefit in cash or kind (2022: £nil).

Trustees' expenses

Expenses paid to the Trustees in the year £nil (2022: £nil). These expenses were made up of 4 Trustees (2022: 4) reimbursed for their travel and refreshment expenses.

5.

STAFF COSTS

The charity does not employ any members of staff. The day to day operations are carried out by employees of The University of Nottingham who re-charge the salary costs to the charity on a monthly basis.

6. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS

FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS
Listed
investments
£
MARKET VALUE
At 1 April 2022 186,080
Net unrealised gains on revaluation (6,756)
At 31 March 2023 179,324
NET BOOK VALUE
At 31 March 2023 179,324
At 31 March 2022 186,080

There were no investment assets outside the UK.

The charity holds 9,570.61 Income units in the COIF Charities Investment Fund and these have been valued at the mid market value at the balance sheet date. The original cost of the investment was £71,953.

7. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
31/3/2023 31/3/2022
as restated
£ £
Trade debtors 6,270 60,283
Prepayments and accrued income 7,035 7,071
13,305 67,354
CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
31/3/2023 31/3/2022
as restated
£ £
Trade creditors - 6,440
VAT - 3,007
Accruals and deferred income 25,607 21,033
Other Creditors 401 636
26,008 31,116

8. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

29

continued...

Page 7

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

9. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

At 1/4/2022
£
as restated
Unrestricted funds
General fund
546,140
Restricted funds
Restricted fund
29,833
TOTAL FUNDS
575,973
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
Incoming
Resources
resources
expended
£
£
Unrestricted funds
General fund
53,037
(116,211)
TOTAL FUNDS
53,037
(116,211)
Comparatives for movement in funds
At 1/4/2021
£
Unrestricted funds
General fund
541,141
Restricted funds
Restricted fund
29,833
TOTAL FUNDS
570,974
Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:		 Net
movement
At
in funds
31/3/2023
£
£
(69,930)
476,210
-
29,833
(69,930)
506,043
Gains and
Movement
losses
in funds
£
£
(6,756)
(69,930)
(6,756)
(69,930)
Net
movement
At
in funds
31/3/2022
as restated
as restated
£
£
4,999
546,140
-
29,833
4,999
575,973

Unrestricted funds
General fund
TOTAL FUNDS		 Incoming
resources
as restated

£
82,031
82,031		 Resources
expended
as restated
£
(91,876)
(91,876)		 Gains and
Movement
losses
in funds
as restated
as restated
£
£
14,844
4,999
14,844
4,999

Unrestricted funds include unrealised investment gains of £107,371 (2022: £114,127).

The restricted funds relate to income received from a donor in prior year's and the fund can only be used for educational purposes.

30 continued...

Page 8

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - continued FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

10. CONTINGENT LIABILITIES

Honoraria payments are paid to certain individuals who volunteer their service to the Society. These payments are paid gross without the deduction of income tax. If any person fails to declare their honoraria income to H M Revenue and Customs then there could be recourse to the Society for the tax payable.

11. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES

There were no related party transactions for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Page 9

31

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

31/3/2023 31/3/2022
as restated
£ £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS
Donations and legacies
Donations - -
Subscriptions 25,299 18,382
Royalties 5,977 51,282
31,276 69,664
Other trading activities
Conferences 345 286
Publications: IJRS/RSL - (907)
ISPRS 1,800 1,800
PHOR Income 8,587 4,599
Committee awards and education - 1,105
Annual administration fee - 100
Other income - 150
10,732 7,133
Investment income
Deposit account interest 11,029 5,234
Total incoming resources 53,037 82,031
EXPENDITURE
Raising donations and legacies
Committee: Awards and standards 1,825 770
Conference expenses 351 184
Donations 40 50
2,216 1,004
Other trading activities
IJRS expenditure 280
ISPRS expenditure 3,860
PHOR Expenses 10,065 8,651
14,205 8,651
Support costs
Finance
Bank charges 889 974
Over interest payable - 627
889
1,601
Governance costs
Staff and centre costs 80,235 74,981
Insurance 1,230 1,099
Postage, printing and stationery 106 64
Accountancy 2,018 1,500
Website costs 142 180
Carried forward 83,731 77,824

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements

32

Page 10

THE REMOTE SENSING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY SOCIETY

DETAILED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

31/3/2023 31/3/2022
as restated
£ £
Governance costs
Brought forward 83,731 77,824
Repairs and renewals - 1,621
Society subscriptions 204 294
Legal and professional fees - 881
Irrecoverable VAT 14,966 -
98,901 80,620
Total resources expended 116,211 91,876
Net expenditure (63,174) (9,845)

This page does not form part of the statutory financial statements

33

Page 11

ANNEX 4 - Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

Membership of the SIGs is open to all RSPSoc Members. For details of SIG activities please contact the Conveners listed below via the Society’s office or website.

Archaeology - Chris Brooke and Louise Rayne

Disaster Management – Richard Teeuw

Geological Remote Sensing Group (GRSG) - Jennifer Scoular

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) - Amy Woodget

34

ANNEX 5 - Professional Members - FRSPSoc, AFRSPSoc and Honorary Members

FRSPSoc

R Armitage P Atkinson S M J Baban J C Boardman C D R Chan H T Chuah K Challis T Clarke A J Fox A Hart R Hill L A Hisscott C Jordan A Koh R Littleworth W M McKay P Mason C Power R Stanbridge I L Thomas T Thomson A M Thriscuttf G Vincent E H F Wickens

AFRSPSoc Honorary Members PS Amin A S Belward DWG Arthur K Bishop K B Atkinson C J Brooke D Bowers A R Condal G Brachet FRSPSoc A C Cook V Brown G C Deane P Curran FRSPSoc D N M Donoghue G Davison FRSPSoc I Downey I J Dowman AFRSPSoc J Duignan G Ducher P Eales J E Farrow N D J Edmead G M Foody AFRSPsoc H Epp C S Fraser R Evans P Goldsmith FRSPSoc M J F Fowler Stuart Granshaw G B Groom P Gudmandsen FRSPSoc K-A Henderson R Gurney R F E Jones J Hale C Kidd GH Holder J Kupiec J Houghton FRSPSoc P Lakin RJ Hulme V V Lawrence SO Ihemadu R G Lloyd LS Koh FRSPSoc R MacDonald A S Macdonald AFRSPSoc J McMorrow P Mason FRSPSoc C M Mould E J Milton AFRSPSoc T Moore D Muir Wood J-P A L Muller I Newton P J Naylor G Paterson T Nishidai D W Proctor A G Nwosu D W Rhind S Pike I Robinson AFRSPSoc B F Plummer H F Ross S Plummer A N Schofield M R Pooley G H Thomson W G Rees J E Todd A D Robinson J Townsend, FRSPSoc R J S Rowe J L van Genderen FRSPSoc R F Scott B V Vinogradov FRSPSoc M R Shortis S Wilson FRSPSoc A Smart J A T Young FRSPSoc G D’Souza N Veck J C Taylor D A Wallis FRSPSoc R M Teeuw A S Walker FRSPSoc R M Walpole M Wooster R M Warwick Smith M J C Weir T C Welsh K White A K Wilson

35

ANNEX 6 - The Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society Corporate Members

DARTCOM ,

Powdermills, Postbridge, Yelverton, Devon, PL20 6SP, UK (Tel: + 44 (0) 1822 88253, Fax: +44 (0) 1822 88232) (https://www.dartcom.co.uk/home)

NCGI National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence

IKM Info. Division, Pathfinder Building, RAF Wyton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 2EA

EARSeL ,

EARSeL Head Office, WAm Dill 169 48163 Münster, Germany (secretariat@earsel.org / https://earsel.org/)

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY ,

Lower Bristol Road, Twerton, Bath, BA2 9ES, UK (Tel: +44 (0) 1225 444066. Fax: +44 (0) 1225 469939) (https://www.gov.uk/government/ organisations/environment-agency)

HISTORIC ENGLAND ,

The Survey Team, The Photogrammetric Unit, 37 Tanner Row, York, YO1 6WP, UK (Tel: + 44 (0) 1904 601959, Fax: +44 (0) 1904 601999) (https://historicengland.org.uk/)

Tailte Éireann ,

Phoenix Park, Dublin 8, Ireland (Tel: +353 1802 5383, Fhttps://www.osi.ie/)

Photoarc Surveys Ltd (IlC Technologies Ltd)

The Catalyst, York Science Park, Baird Lane, York, YO10 5GA https://www.iictechnologies.com/

Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)

Prospect Place Plymouth Devon PL1 3DH

UK HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE (The

Library), Admiralty Way, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 2DN, UK (Tel: +44 (0) 1823 337900 x3500, https://www. gov.uk/government/organisations/ uk-hydrographic-office)

UK SPACE AGENCY, Polaris House,

Room C204, North Star Avenue, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 1SZ https:// wwww.gov.uk/government/ organisation/uk-space-agency

VEXCEL IMAGING GmbH ,

Anzengrubergasse 8/4, 8010 Graz, Austria (Tel: +43 (0) 316 849 066 – 966, Fax: +43 (0) 316 849 066 – 999, angelika.rieger@vexcel-imaging.com

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR

EARTH OBSERVATION

Space Research Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH ( info@nceo.ac.uk https://www.nceo.ac.uk/)

ORDNANCE SURVEY ,

Adanac Drive, Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 OAS, UK (Tel: +44 (0) 2380 792349, Fax: + 44 (0) 2380 792472, enquiries@ordnancesurvey.co.uk)

ORDNANCE SURVEY OF

NORTHERN IRELAND ,

1S Queens Court, Belfast, BT1 6FD, UK (Tel: +44 28 90 255740, (Email: osni@nics.gov.uk https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/ ordnance-survey-of-northern-ireland)

36