The wider architecture

Five pillars

None of these five pillars is a settled commitment. Each is a line of inquiry the Alliance is testing with partners, to find where it can add value its members could not generate apart. They are mutually reinforcing: access without capacity produces unused data; capacity without impact produces training with no path to decisions; and impact without governance can create harm.

Illustration: a corridor of tape-reel data racks stretching to the horizon, tiled with satellite images of Earth.

Access

Making satellite imagery, computing resources and usable datasets available to organizations through three access pathways in rising order of ambition.

Federated access and discovery: Help eligible users find the relevant data, archives, providers and existing mechanisms, with interoperability and referral as the default rather than a separate negotiation each time.
Shared processing capacity: Cloud, geospatial-processing and AI credits allocated according to public-interest need rather than an organization’s ability to pay.
Shared evidence datasets: Carefully governed collections of labelled satellite and contextual evidence built on common standards, provenance and metadata.

Illustration: a seated group at a control console watching a vast projection of Earth with a satellite in orbit, a crescent moon above.

Capacity

Building the people, institutions and professional pathways needed to turn satellite data into reliable and responsible peace-and-conflict analysis and decision support.

A shared peace-supporting curriculum: A common curriculum with regional delivery and training-of-trainers, developed with existing professional bodies wherever possible.
Open participation: Pathways so analysts from smaller and affected-region organizations can build the capacity to work with these data, not only those inside large institutions.
Recognized, portable competence: Competence assessed on demonstrated ability rather than course attendance, and recognized across Alliance members.

Illustration: a group gathered around a lit three-dimensional terrain map picked out in contour and relief.

Impact

Connecting members around peacebuilding and recovery decisions, so that satellite evidence actually changes what gets decided.

Decision-led, not data-led: Work begins with the decision to be supported rather than the data available, and every demonstration has a named co-owner who will use the output.
Bounded demonstrations: Retrospective case reconstruction and safe exercises test coordination, verification, delivery, security, financing and adoption before any wider scale.
A path to routine use: Each demonstration defines in advance who uses the output, what recurring resources it needs and what would make the capability routine.

Illustration: a wireframe globe in the dark, Europe and Africa picked out in points of light.

Advocacy

Making satellite data more consistently available for conflict-affected populations, under-observed conflicts and peacebuilding contexts.

A published observation record: A regular, public account of what is observed, at what resolution and on what terms — built as a long-run time series meant to become a standard reference.
Usable licensing terms: Working with operators on terms that let responsible findings be shared, published and used as evidence where appropriate.
Naming gaps and progress: Identifying the least observable conflict settings, and the states, missions, institutions and companies whose arrangements demonstrably widen access.

Illustration: delegates seated in a curved assembly chamber, Earth visible through the window above.

Policy and Governance

Establishing the rules and public-interest arrangements needed for satellite evidence to be used safely, equitably and credibly.

Common safeguards: Shared requirements on do-no-harm, consent, data sovereignty, publication and evidentiary rights, security and responsible AI — with binding agreements where sensitive data or services are involved.
Clear civil–military boundaries: Boundaries so infrastructure built for security can also serve peace without compromising either.
Representation and finance: A seat for humanitarian organizations, affected regions and local experts in the forums where the rules are shaped, and the public-interest finance behind the Peace Fund and platform.