Geographic data provide the spatial context required to create an comprehensible picture of the physical world and our place in it. Geomatics, the term commonly referenced within the geographic data community, is the integration of the sciences, tools and technologies used to capture, organize, classify, manage, analyze, and disseminate geographic data. Examples of the principal activity domains within geomatics include: global positioning systems (GPS); photogrammetry, radargrammetry and satellite imagery.
Within the resource based sectors, geomatics research has given rise to GIS and GPS technologies which facilitate land use planning, ecosystem management, navigational and logistics systems development, and environmental monitoring, ocean governance and surveillance, business efficiencies, etc. The agricultural sector employs GPS technologies for the optimization of fertilizer and pesticide spraying, as well as crop mapping to ensure better crop yields and more appropriate soil management. In mining, geomatics is being used to assess environmental damage and create strategies to deal with the issue of acid mine drainage.
Increasingly however, geographic data and geomatics innovation are being applied to decision-making across a broader range of activities. For example, geographic data are now prevalent on government web sites for communicating information on services such as the location and dates of garbage collection, transit routes, public events, location of public and private facilities, libraries, child care services, etc.
In the private sector, geographic data are becoming widely used to support investment decisions, delivery logistics, and marketing. In recent years, increased attention has been paid to the development web-mapping capacity, location-based service support direct to individual consumers, vehicle routing and emergency location, etc. Much use is made of the inherent capacity of geographic data to serve as an integrator of diverse data-sets in order to create greater potential for decision-making.
It is estimated that geographic data and geomatics innovation is the fuel that will drive an estimated $45 to $67 billion (US) world market for geomatics based products and services by the year 2004. [5] According to a recent Statistics Canada’s survey of the mapping and surveying services industry, there are over 2,000 companies in Canada that generate $1.5 billion worth of annual revenues from geomatics based activities. [6] Alberta accounts for 90% of this revenue growth, primarily in the area of geophysical surveying. It also has the highest level of revenues, followed by Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.
Some widely cited statistics, although hard to conclusively calculate and confirm, have indicated that for every $1 spent by government on providing modern high quality geo-scientific data, $4-$10 is spent by the private sector, which in turn resulted in the discovery of new resources worth $100 to $150. [7] Furthermore for every $1 invested in producing spatial information, $4 of benefit were generated within the economy. [8]
A 2001 study by Hickling Arthurs Low Corporation indicates that the dramatic advancements in computing technology in the 1990’s will provide the impetus for a further cycle of expanded innovation and product / service development within the geomatics domain in the first decade of the new millenium. Much of this activity could be delivered in non-proprietary data formats and focus on services and the delivery of myriad applications facilitating decision-making. The study also concludes that geomatics technology will progressively extend to less sophisticated users, leading to further opportunities for the provision of goods and services to a broad spectrum of consumers.
The most recent research, trends and analyses suggest that software currently designed for use in independent mapping, GIS and image analysis will become increasingly integrated. Prices will continue to decline, leading to much wider use of geographic software and the services, as well as the spatial data they rely on. The Internet will continue to play an important role at the level of the consumer in the distribution of geomatics products and technological change will continue to blur industry boundaries.
Given the growing significance of geographic data in the Canadian and global economies, it is important for governments at all levels to ensure that the dissemination and licensing practices pertaining to the creation, use, and distribution of government geographic data support and extend the value of these data sets. Indeed, given the typically high costs of collecting core geographic data-sets such as road networks, hydrographic data, geodetic control points, etc., efforts should be made to optimize the use of such data once collected as core information assets facilitating public and private decision making.
The following chapters of the Dissemination of Government Geographic Data in Canada - Guide to Best Practices respond to the need for a clear and consistent approach to the development of integrated government geographic data dissemination and licensing practices. This is achieved by providing a review and assessment of current government data dissemination environment, developing a single integrated framework for government dissemination and licensing, and by providing practical tips for use by the government geographic data licensing practitioner.