Governance and participation MapBiomas is not a legal entity and therefore does not have any formal board; rather, strategic decisions in the network are taken by the coordination committee formed by representatives of each country in the network. Financial oversight is provided by one fiscal sponsor at the network level and by local fiscal sponsors in each country that steward funds received for the coordinating team, initiatives and projects. One of the unique and important aspects to MapBiomas’ success is the network approach, which brings together many organizations with different agendas and even competing goals. The network has a secretariat, based in Brazil, and a coordination team, responsible for ensuring that every network partner and co-creator understands its role and participation commitment in initiatives and work on the expansion and consolidation of the network. Through this effort, organizations and collaborators have developed trusting relationships and a strong collaborative spirit that enables high- quality products and quick development timelines. Team culture and competencies In each country and category, product development is decentralized and performed through a collaboration between local organizations. Each initiative sets ambitious time frames and deliverables for product development and delivery, and the coordination team works with them to facilitate the achievement of these goals. In a recent evaluation, 100% of collaborators reported alignment with MapBiomas’ purpose and 73% of collaborators described the workload as intense or very intense. This combination of purpose and passion makes MapBiomas a desirable place to collaborate (88% would recommend working at MapBiomas to colleagues) and drives the high quality and success of the network. Collaborative and adaptive learning MapBiomas teams work in cells/working groups that develop different map themes (e.g. forest, mangrove, cropland) and each part of the platform (e.g. dashboards, website, etc.), and share all codes in the same environment (e.g. GitHub and Google Earth Engine). Groups meet regularly, with most holding meetings weekly. In the case of Brazil, for example, there is a call every Friday afternoon open to all team members to share experiences, advancements and determine next steps. Enabling technology MapBiomas uses Google Earth Engine and Google Cloud Platform to access and process satellite imagery using ML and deep learning tools. To build the platforms for the distribution and public access of all data, several technologies are used, including Leaflet, Cybernet, Ruby on Rails and others. MapBiomas uses Github as the repository for code used by teams and to make it open to all users. Impact The evaluation confirmed that decision-makers access MapBiomas products to improve the sustainable management of natural resources. These users also indicated that, for many biomes, MapBiomas is the most reliable source of information, and the tool has made evidence- based information much more readily available and accessible. Many stakeholders felt more “positive” pressure to act and more reasons to do so once MapBiomas increased awareness on land- use issues. In total, eight of the 10 biggest banks in Brazil rely on MapBiomas; the three largest meatpackers and the two largest paper companies also access the platform to inform decisions.Many users suggested that without MapBiomas they would have faced difficulties in trying to achieve the same results within the same time frame or at all. MapBiomas has been mentioned as a time saver and more efficient analysis tool. According to a 2023 external evaluation of MapBiomas:9 9. MapBiomas. (2023). MapBiomas External Evaluation and Impact Assessment. https://brasil.mapbiomas.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/01/External- Evaluation-Report-MapBImas-2019-2022.pdf. Supporting infrastructure The Future is Collective: Case Studies of Collective Social Innovation 31

The Future is Collective Case Studies of Collective Social Innovation 2025