The main topics of this meeting were:

• to analyze responses to the questionnaire concerning the technical components, existing functionalities and technical architecture of information systems presently storing African data;
• to discuss the general approach around Reference Model proposed by WP1 from the engineering and technological viewpoints;
• to define future steps and discuss the deliverable content of WP2 and the critical dates for completion.

The IT section of the questionnaire includes questions about the technical components of existing IT infrastructure within the organizations concerned. Security issues, such as the technology required to protect the system and network, have been considered. Issues such as intellectual property right management (IPR), licensing, authorization requirements, etc. related to the public availability of data sets, have been also taken into consideration.

The technical infrastructure provides the connection between stakeholders and users. Different scenarios were foreseen based on the analysis of the responses to the questionnaire. Very advanced systems using infrastructure capable of providing the required services have been identified. Such systems could also be hosts for others whose infrastructure might not be capable of providing full services. The inputs and outputs required for and from the other work packages were also discussed. All next decisions on architectural specifications should be made through close consultation between WP1, WP2 and WP3.