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Policy Solutions for Enhancing Geospatial Data Use
A Changing Environment, New Ways of Thinking
More and more, geographic information is becoming embedded in commerce and public sector activities, as well as in the everyday lives of Canadians. Among the factors contributing to the growing use of geospatial data are a rapidly expanding world market for innovative geomatics products and services, and increasing evidence of the positive impact that geospatial data have on the economy and the quality of public services.
Although digital technology has removed many of the technical barriers to sharing geospatial data, government policies have not kept pace with the demands of a changing environment. New policies on such key issues as licensing, access and financing of geospatial data are needed to promote data exchange and integration, and to ensure that social and economic decisions are taken with the benefit of the best available information.
Addressing the Tough Policy Issues
That's where the GeoConnections Policy Advisory Node comes in. A collaborative initiative involving partners in the public, private and academic sectors, the Policy Advisory Node is charged with finding solutions to the difficult policy issues involved in enhancing access to government geospatial data. The Policy Advisory Node is a key component of GeoConnections, a national collaborative initiative with the goal of making Canada's geographic information widely available through the Internet via the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure. As the policy arm of this broader initiative, the Policy Advisory Node supports the development and implementation of policies that:
- enable increased access to and use of government geospatial data in the public and private sectors
- resolve licensing and distribution issues that inhibit data sharing and use
- promote inter-agency geospatial data-sharing arrangements
- expand public and private partnerships
- enhance government efficiencies in collecting, maintaining and distributing geospatial data
Five Major Policy Thrusts
Working as part of the GeoConnections team, the Policy Advisory Node is focusing its efforts on creative, consensus-building approaches in five major areas of interest:
Roles and Responsibilities Defining the respective "areas of operation" of public and private sector interests is an essential step in the development and promotion of enabling policies. Accordingly, one of the Policy Advisory Node's focus areas is establishing partnerships with key players and identifying sensitivities and challenges affecting these fundamental relationships - including, for example, policy barriers to the effective exchange of data. One important issue is the respective roles of public and private sector data providers of road network data.
Access A significant component of geospatial data sets supplied by government can be considered a public good with many potential benefits. Policy Advisory Node activities support making government digital geospatial data as readily available as possible.
Copyright and Licensing Among the principal constraints to the wider use of government geospatial data are the restrictive terms and conditions governing how data can be used. At the same time, licensing helps to offset production and maintenance costs, preserve data quality and enable data tracking and liability control. Policy Advisory Node activities are aimed at balancing these interests by reducing the complexity of current licensing regimes.
Pricing The varied application of cost recovery policies relating to geospatial data - which ranges from free distribution to value-added pricing - can be a major source of frustration for data producers and clients. In collaboration with its partners, the Policy Advisory Node is exploring principles and protocols for determining reasonable direct costs for distributing thematic and value-added products and services.
Financing While current policies and practices may impede the distribution of geomatics data, appropriate consideration must be given to the resources required to produce and distribute government geospatial data sets. The Policy Advisory Node supports exploration and development of alternative and/or complementary mechanisms for financing data development, maintenance and dissemination activities.
For more information: GeoConnections Secretariat 615 Booth Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0E9 Tel: (613) 947-1345 1-877-221-6213 Fax: (613) 947-2410 E-mail: info@geoconnections.org Web site: www.geoconnections.org