PartnershipsSpatial Data

InfrastructuresMetadata

Partnerships

• Often fraught with hazards – can take longer and create friction

• BUT

• Often there is no real choice for they can bring:– New staff skills

– Additional technology

– Marketing skills

– Better brand image

– New insights on user needs

– New products

– Cost- and risk-sharing

Local partnerships: an example

Channel Island National Marine Sanctuary

NOAA NMS

SB County Planning & Develop

Island Packers

Blue Planet

Commercial Fisherman of SB, Inc

Ventura College

UCSB

Channel Islands National Park

Calif Coastal Commission

Many, many others …

SSE

CIPE

News of GIS Day is spread by use of the Internet and by advertising. Any organization can host such an event: 2,400+ organizations hosted GIS Day events in more than 91 different countries in 1999 (see map). About 2.4 million children and adults were enlightened on GIS technology on that day

Local to global partnerships: an example

National partnerships via NSDIs

• The problem:– Data duplication commonplace – so waste occurs

– Ad hoc data sharing has many difficulties

– Data often tailored to one application

– Best data often collected in greatest detail at local level but not accessible to regional or national folk

– Indexes/metadata to available GI unknown until recently

– No general protocols for any of this until NSDI..

What is a National Spatial Data Infrastructure?

• ‘the technology, policies, standards, and human resources necessary to acquire, process, store, distribute, and improve utilization of geospatial data’

Source: Presidential Executive Order #12906 (1994): 'Co-ordinating Geographic Data Acquisition and Access: The National Spatial Data Infrastructure' W Clinton.

BUT what does it mean in practice?

Initial elements of the US NSDI

• Defined standards (mandated on federal agencies and encouraged for others) Minimizing inconsistency

• Clearinghouse – metadata descriptions of existing data. Advertising what is available

• National geospatial data framework - a common ‘template’ on which to assemble other data

The NSDI is composed ofThe NSDI is composed of

MetadataMetadata

Geospatial dataGeospatial data

ClearinghouseClearinghouse

StandardsStandards

Partnerships

The data provide a core...The data provide a core...

Geospatial DataGeospatial DataGeospatial DataGeospatial Data

Categories of Geospatial Data

• Community-developed data sets usually derived for a single purpose but made available for potential re-use

• Data sets developed to a common content specification for high re-use potential. These are known as “Framework” data.

GEOdataGEOdataFrameworkFramework

Categories of Geospatial Categories of Geospatial DataData

Framework Framework provides. . .provides. . .a foundation to which spatial information

and attributes can be added.a base on which other themes of data

can be compiled.context to orient and link the results of

analyses to the landscape

Digital orthoimagery

Elevation and bathymetry

Boundaries

Railroads

Geodetic

FederalState

LocalPrivate

Utilities

Spatial Analysis Base for Other Data Finished Maps

Roads

Cadastral

Hydrography

Framework DataFramework Data

Spatial Analysis Base for Other Data Finished Maps

GEOdataGEOdataFrameworkFramework

MetadataMetadata

Describing your data...Describing your data...

Metadata: “nutritional” Metadata: “nutritional” label for GIS data setslabel for GIS data sets

The uses of metadataThe uses of metadata

documentation of existing (inventory) structured search and comparison

(advertising) use data in an appropriate context

(liability)

Metadata developmentsMetadata developments Refinement of the FGDC Metadata

Standard Harmonization with international

standards Collection tools available Training available from FGDC

GEOdataGEOdataFrameworkFramework

MetadataMetadata

Making data discoverable...

Clearinghouse (catalog)Clearinghouse (catalog)

Clearinghouse provides...Clearinghouse provides... Discovery of spatial data Distributed search worldwide Uniform interface for spatial data

searches Advertising for your data holdings

Clearinghouse operates Clearinghouse operates as...as...

Entry point to constellation of servers Collection of distributed Z39.50

servers A virtual “Google” for geospatial data

WebWebClientClient

Gateway

ClearinghouseClearinghouse““Nodes” orNodes” or

ServersServers

This is all “Clearinghouse”This is all “Clearinghouse”

NOAANOAA

OregonOregonUSGSUSGSNMDNMD

NGSNGS

GEOdataGEOdataFrameworkFramework

MetadataMetadata

Clearinghouse (catalog)Clearinghouse (catalog)

StandardsStandards

Consistent approaches...

Who builds standards?Who builds standards?

ISO - Intl Standards Organization FGDC Standards working group in

partnership with . . . FGDC Thematic subcommittees Concerned organizations Producers and users of geospatial data

Types of standardsTypes of standards

Data content—Common classifications

—Common collection criteria Data management

– Metadata

– Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS)

Standards under Standards under developmentdevelopment

Base Cartographic Cultural and Demographic Metadata Geodetic Control Networks Transportation Network Profile RiverReach File Version 3.0 Earth Cover Classification Geologic Facilities Shoreline

Partnerships

GEOdataGEOdataFrameworkFramework

MetadataMetadata

Clearinghouse (catalog)Clearinghouse (catalog)

StandardsStandards

Lots of people involved…

• Federal government (many agencies)• State government• Local government• Private sector – contractors, value-

adders, exploiters• Not for profit organizations• Citizenry• Others…• No one is in charge…

The Geospatial One-Stop at geodata.gov

Growth in use of US NSDI Clearinghouse

Note:

•Rapid growth

•International use almost as big as national

Source: Henry Tom

An example of a global partnership

OSU Transboundary Waters

waterpartners.geo.orst.eduwww.transboundarywaters.orst.edu

Governments and the private sectors

• National governments own and control national mapping agencies

• All such mapping produced to national specifications until recently

• New private sector providers:– Produce imagery for anywhere in world

– Produce road databases

• How do we get these to work together?

A Global Spatial Data Infrastructure?

• Difficult enough to get national players to work together…

• Is GSDI a process, a general framework or a product?

• Who are the stakeholders?

• Who needs it? (military doing what they need themselves?)

A Research Agenda

• Future of the Spatial Information Infrastructure– Information policy

• Intellectual property rights, privacy, liability

– Digital government research

– Local generation and integration of data• Public participation GIS

Other Research Priorities(Long Term)

• Geographic Representation

• Scale

• Spatial Data Acquisition & Integration

• Spatial Cognition

• Spatial Ontologies

• Space and Space/Time Analysis & Modeling

• Uncertainty

• Visualization

• GIS and Society

• Geographic Information Engineering

Short Term Research Priorities

www.ucgis.org priorities-->research• Institutional aspects of

SDIs

• GI Partnering

• GI Resource Mgmt

• Gradation, Indeterminate Boundaries

• Geospatial Semantic Web

• Spatialization

• Pervasive Computing

• Location Based Services

• Spatial Clustering

• Geoslavery & Security

• Geospatial Data Fusion

• Global Representation and Modeling

• Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery

• Dynamic Modeling

Education Priorities www.ucgis.org priorities-->education

• Model Curricula• Emerging

Technolgies– Distance Education

• Supporting Infrastructure

• Access and Equity• Professional

Education

• Alternative Designs for Curriculum Content and Evaluation

• Research-based Graduate Education

• Learning with GIS• Accrediation and

Certification

Life, partnerships and GIS

• When do you work in partnership with other people or organisations?

– What makes it worthwhile?

The same applies to GIS partnerships:

– Commitment to a cause, wish to improve matters?

– Personal ambition? Influence? Fame? Status?

– Money?

Summary

• Partnerships versus competition

– Local

– National Spatial Data Infrastructure

• Geodata, Framework, Metadata, Clearinghouse, Standards, Partnerships

– Global Spatial Data Infrastructures

• Political power in partnerships

• Bringing it all together: the GIS game

Summary cont.

• Choose GIS partners carefully, nurture relationships…