SDI

Keynote Speakers Announced for Global Geospatial Conference 2012 in Quebec

/ Matt Artz

The joint organizers of Global Geospatial Conference 2012 are delighted to announce Dr. Gilberto Câmara (Brazil), Dr. Prashant Shukle (Canada), Dr. Michael Goodchild (US) and Dr. Abbas Rajabifard (Australia) as featured keynote speakers at the upcoming May conference.

Dr. Gilberto Câmara is General Director of Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and will address the topic of Global Visions in Sharing Geospatial Data and Tools and Progress in Their Achievement. Dr. Camara is being honored as well with a Global Citizen Award for his staunch support and highly influential global leadership in opening citizen access to governments’ environmental and geospatial data across the planet.

Dr. Prashant Shukle, Director General of the Mapping Information Branch of Natural Resources Canada, will highlight substantial innovations employed and advancements made in spatially enabling Canadian government services and providing access for businesses and citizens.

Dr. Michael Goodchild, member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Director of the University of California-Santa Barbara’s Center for Spatial Studies, will provide a personal perspective on topics raised at the conference and topics drawn from his over forty years in supporting and observing advancements in the field.

Dr. Abbas Rajabifard, Chair of the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at The University of Melbourne and President of the GSDI Association, will open the conference with an address on Visions for Spatially Enabling Government, Industry and Citizens.

GGC 2012 will take place at the Québec City Convention Center from May 14-17, 2012. This conference combines the GSDI World Conference (GSDI 13), 14th GEOIDE Annual Scientific Conference, Canadian Geomatics Conference (CGC 2012) and the 7th 3D GeoInfo Conference. In addition to the keynotes, the conference has a full slate of corporate sponsors, the exhibit space is sold out, a full program of technical and plenary sessions will be presented, additional poster and industry showcase sessions will be highlighted and the social events have all been booked.

We congratulate titanium sponsor Tecterra, platinum sponsor Esri/Esri Canada and all of the other sponsors, exhibitors, and speakers that promise to make the conference a great success.

Come join your professional, government, industry and academic peers in beautiful Quebec City in May 2012!

[Source: GSDI News]

Expert System to Enhance the Functionality of Clearinghouse Services

/ Matt Artz

Computers, Environment and Urban SystemsComputers, Environment and Urban Systems, Volume 35, Issue 2, March 2011, Pages 159-172

Ali Mansourian, Ebrahim Omidi, Ara Toomanian, and Lars Harrie

“Research highlights:

  • Using expert system in geoportals facilitates automatic determination of candidate datasets which can be converted to the users’ required data.
  • Using expert system in geoportals facilitate the conversion of the available data to the users’ required data.
  • Using a schema translator in geoportals provides the capability of finding similar data that might be used in other disciplines or other datasets.
  • Expert system and schema translator provides the capability of better use of the spatial data resources available, even for non-expert users.

“Spatial data clearinghouses are one of the key features of a spatial data infrastructure (SDI). However, recent research indicates that few national clearinghouses function well, as the spatial data resources available cannot be satisfactorily accessed or optimally used. To improve the functionality, we propose that clearinghouses to be complemented with expert systems and semantic matching. The expert system facilitates automatic determination of candidate datasets and the conversion of the available data to the required data. A schema translator is also used to find similar data that might be used in other disciplines or other datasets by semantic matching. In order to accomplish this, we have developed a method of identifying available data and methods for data conversion. The methodology is implemented using standardized map services. Practical tests show that the discovery of available data in the clearinghouse satisfying users’ requirements is substantially increased, which is an important step forward in building future SDIs.”

An Assessment View to Evaluate whether Spatial Data Infrastructures Meet their Goals

/ Matt Artz

Computers, Environment and Urban SystemsComputers, Environment and Urban Systems, Volume 35, Issue 3, May 2011, Pages 217-229

Łukasz Grus, Watse Castelein, Joep Crompvoets, Theo Overduin, Bastiaan van Loenen, Annemarie van Groenestijn, Abbas Rajabifard, and Arnold K. Bregt

“Research highlights:

  • As a result of the research, a SDI goal-oriented assessment view has been proposed.
  • The practical applicability of the proposed assessment view has been demonstrated by its implementation in the Dutch SDI case.
  • The presented goal-oriented SDI assessment approach offers a specific and rational assessment which helps to evaluate SDIs for accountability purposes.
  • The design of the assessment view is generic, so it can be used to measure the extent of goals realization of any infrastructures with clearly defined and agreeable goals and where all of the stakeholders can be identified and approached.

“The motives for constructing Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) are often based on their anticipated benefits for society, economy, and environment. According to those widely articulated but rarely proven benefits, SDI coordinators have been defining more specific objectives to be achieved by their SDIs. However, there is a limited number of assessment approaches that are able to demonstrate whether SDIs indeed realize the intended goals. In this article we develop, apply and evaluate an assessment view for evaluating the extent to which SDIs realize their goals. The assessment view has been developed stepwise using the Multi-view SDI assessment framework as a guideline. The application of the proposed view in the Dutch SDI demonstrates its potential. In addition, the evaluation of the proposed view by the potential users confirms to a certain extent its usability. The results also show that the ease of determining assessment indicators depends on the precision with which the SDI goals are formulated.”

Interoperable Processing of Sensor-data in Spatial Data Infrastructures – A Use Case for Wind Power Analysis

/ Matt Artz

ISW-2011: Integrating Sensor Web and Web-based Geoprocessing, An AGILE 2011 Conference Workshop; Utrecht, The Netherlands, April 18, 2011

Sandra Lanig, Georg Walenciak, and Alexander Zipf

“Nowadays, sensor data are omnipresent and ubiquitous available. Additionally, sensor measurements were required in several domains such as disaster management or renewable energies. This paper presents a proposal how sensor data measurements can be integrated in a standardized Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs). Therefore we extended the SDI by the OGC Web Processing Service (WPS) in order to compute and access sensor data measurements served by a Sensor Observation Service (SOS).”

Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) Executive Symposium to be Held at the Esri User Conference

/ Matt Artz
Nancy Tosta will moderate the SDI Executive Symposium at the 2011 Esri International User Conference.

Nancy Tosta will moderate the SDI Executive Symposium at the 2011 Esri International User Conference.

Tuesday, 12 July 2011, Room 20D (San Diego Convention Center)

First Session: 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.; Second Session: 10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Moderator:  Nancy Tosta, Principal, Ross & Associates, Ltd.

Senior Executives driving implementations of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) around the world will collaborate in this symposium. These leaders will present their experiences in local, national and trans-national organizations. A panel discussion will follow to explore ideas on how to leverage the value of SDI.

Part 1: Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) Executive Symposium – Panel Discussion Senior Executives driving implementations of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) around the world will share ideas and best practices in this symposium. These leaders from local, national and trans-national organizations will present their perspectives on critical directions for SDI. A panel discussion will follow to explore ideas on how to leverage the value of SDI and where it is evolving to in the future.

Part2: Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) Executive Symposium – Roundtable Discussion This is the second session of the SDI Senior Executive Symposium. It will expand on topics presented in the previous panel discussion session. Leaders in SDI from local, national and trans-national organizations will collaborate in roundtable discussions on how to effectively address SDI issues.

Panel

Mr. Ng Siau Yong, Director, GeoSpatial –Land Asset Management Services, Singapore Land Authority

Ms. Deanna Archuleta , Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, US Department of Interior

Mr. Mike Wood, Director of recovery.gov (US)

Mr. Adrien Vieira de Mello, Senior IM Specialist, Centre de competence du SITG, Canton on Geneva

Ms. Cathrine Armour, Program Manager, Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Initiative (AGEDI)

Dr. Mukund Rao, Senior Advisor on GIS, Government of India

Mr. Abdul Karim Al Raeisi, Executive Manager-SDC, Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre

National Land Survey of Iceland to Deploy ArcGIS for INSPIRE

/ Matt Artz
ArcGIS for INSPIRE

ArcGIS for INSPIRE helps develop a geospatial platform to support decision-making and engage citizens.

Solution Will Open Access to Data for Improved Governance

The National Land Survey of Iceland (NLSI) is implementing Esri’s ArcGIS for INSPIRE to meet compliance with the European Union’s Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) Directive. This will ensure that the country’s public data is visible and accessible to institutions, companies, and individuals for improved governance.

By recent law, NLSI is the key player for implementing INSPIRE in Iceland. To help meet this directive, Esri’s distributor in Iceland, Samsyn ehf., is providing the software and services to the national organization. NLSI has been a client of Samsyn since 1994 and in 2009 signed an enterprise license agreement to implement Esri software throughout the organization. Spatial data has been maintained and made available using Esri’s ArcGIS software for many years.

“We believe Esri provides us with the best tools and latest solutions in order to comply with the INSPIRE requirements,” said Eydís Líndal Finnbogadóttir, director of service and SDI at NLSI.

ArcGIS for INSPIRE allows NLSI to fulfill the INSPIRE requirements without having to change its processes for creating and maintaining data. ArcGIS for INSPIRE includes tools to transform data into INSPIRE-compliant databases, which can be published with INSPIRE-compliant web services.

“We are excited to assist in this implementation of INSPIRE in Iceland,” said Stefan Gudlaugsson, GIS manager at Samsyn. “ArcGIS for INSPIRE will make it easier for our clients to create and maintain INSPIRE-compliant data, metadata, and network services, creating a more robust spatial data infrastructure for the country.”

The INSPIRE Directive addresses 34 spatial data themes necessary for environmental applications. These themes are organized into three annexes. ArcGIS for INSPIRE includes data models that comply with INSPIRE Annex I, which is the next milestone required for compliance with the INSPIRE Directive. ArcGIS for INSPIRE will be updated as necessary to include support for Annex II and III data models once they have been finalized.

For more information about ArcGIS for INSPIRE, visit esri.com/inspire.

[Source: Esri press release]

Evaluating the Application of the Multi-view Spatial Data Infrastructure Assessment Framework

/ Matt Artz

Journal of Spatial Science, Volume 56, Issue 1, June 2011, Pages 121 – 141

Authors: L. Grus; J. Crompvoets; A. K. Bregt; B. van Loenen; Tatiana Delgado Fernandez; and D. Vandenbroucke

“As a response to the growing interest in assessing Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) the Multi-view SDI assessment framework has been proposed. The Multi-view SDI assessment framework collects multiple assessment approaches and methods with the aim to assess many different aspects of SDI in a comprehensive and unbiased way. Despite the potential strengths of the framework, its complex design raises concerns about its usability and applicability for SDI assessment. In this article we evaluate the application of the Multi-view SDI assessment framework. In addition, we ask the potential users of the framework to evaluate its applicability to assess SDIs. The results show that the framework could be applied to 21 National SDIs. Evaluation of the application process reveals that the completeness of assessment data and time needed to measure indicators depends strongly on the assessment methods used. It is recommended to use those methods that need less time to measure assessment indicators. The results also show that a significant part of the measurements could not be done due to survey questions not being filled in by the respondents. The results also show that the users tend to agree with the applicability of the Multi-view SDI assessment framework to assess SDIs.”

Issues and Challenges for Federal Geospatial Information

/ Matt Artz

Congressional Research Service, 7-5700, 18 May 2011

Peter Folger

“Congress has recognized the challenge of coordinating and sharing geospatial data from the local, county, and state level to the national level, and vice versa. The cost to the federal government of gathering and coordinating geospatial information has also been an ongoing concern. As much as 80% of government information has a geospatial component, according to various sources. The federal government’s role has changed from being a primary provider of authoritative geospatial information to coordinating and managing geospatial data and facilitating partnerships. Congress explored issues of cost, duplication of effort, and coordination of geospatial information in hearings during the 108th Congress. However, challenges to coordinating how geospatial data are acquired and used—collecting duplicative data sets, for example—at the local, state, and federal levels, in collaboration with the private sector, are not yet resolved.

“The federal government has recognized the need to organize and coordinate the collection and management of geospatial data since at least 1990, when the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) revised Circular A-16 to establish the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and to promote the coordinated use, sharing, and dissemination of geospatial data nationwide. OMB Circular A-16 also called for development of a national digital spatial information resource to enable the sharing and transfer of spatial data between users and producers, linked by criteria and standards. Executive Order 12906, issued in 1994, strengthened and enhanced Circular A-16, and specified that FGDC shall coordinate development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). On November 10, 2010, OMB issued supplemental guidance to Circular A-16 that labels geospatial data as a “capital asset,” and refers to its acquisition and management in terms analogous to financial assets to be managed as a National Geospatial Data Asset Portfolio. It will likely take some time, and several budget cycles, to track whether agencies are adhering to the “portfolio-centric model” of geospatial data management outlined in the supplemental guidance. The 112th Congress may examine its oversight role in the implementation of OMB Circular A-16, particularly in how federal agencies are coordinating their programs that have geospatial assets.

“The high-level leadership and broad membership of the FGDC—10 cabinet-level departments and 9 other federal agencies—highlights the importance of geospatial information to the federal government. Questions remain, however, about how effectively the FGDC is fulfilling its mission. Has this organizational structure worked? Can the federal government account for the costs of acquiring, coordinating, and managing geospatial information? How well is the federal government coordinating with the state and local entities that have an increasing stake in geospatial information? What is the role of the private sector?

“State-level geospatial entities, through the National State Geographic Information Council, also embrace the need for better coordination. However, the states are sensitive to possible federal encroachment on their prerogatives to customize NSDI to meet the needs of the states.

“In early 2009, several proposals were released calling for efforts to create a national Geospatial Information System (GIS). Language in the proposals attempted to make the case for considering such efforts part of the national investment in critical infrastructure. Congress may consider how a national GIS or geospatial infrastructure would be conceived, perhaps drawing on proposals for these national efforts and how they would be similar to or differ from current efforts.”

Poland Implements Esri-Based INSPIRE Solution

/ Matt Artz

Spatial Data and Services Will be Accessible throughout the Country

The Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography in Poland (GUGiK) is implementing an Esri-based solution to support compliance with the European Union’s Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) Directive. The directive sets out a framework and timetable for implementing a pan-European spatial data infrastructure (SDI) to address multinational and multi-agency issues. GUGiK is the central state administration unit responsible for national policy related to geodesy and cartography.

Esri’s ArcGIS technology will be used to create GUGiK’s GeoPortal2, a project designed to improve access to government datasets and provide mapping and survey services to other government agencies, citizens, and businesses.

GeoPortal2 includes Esri’s ArcGIS for INSPIRE product as well as software from Esri business partner con terra GmbH. The project is being implemented by Esri distributor ESRI Polska sp. z o.o.; Esri partner GISPartner; and the largest IT company in the country, Asseco Poland SA.

GeoPortal2 is scheduled to be completed in November 2012 and will include

  • Geographic names and addresses throughout Poland
  • Integrated and unified distribution of spatial data services defined by the INSPIRE Directive
  • Streamlined and improved data maintenance
  • Digital archive of spatial data for the central registry of data
  • Uniform maintenance on all orders of data products and services
  • More accurate monitoring of distributed resources

“ESRI Polska is excited by this opportunity and fully committed to working with GUGiK to implement this strategic project successfully,” says Lech Nowogrodzki, president, ESRI Polska. “We look forward to making a real difference to the development of Poland’s, and Europe’s, SDI.”

Passed by the member states of the European Union and the European Parliament, INSPIRE’s goal is to tie European geospatial information producers and users together into a single community to improve decision making and operations for a productive and sustainable Europe.

For more information about ArcGIS for INSPIRE, visit esri.com/INSPIRE.

[Source: Esri press release]

Grid-enabled Spatial Data Infrastructure for Environmental Sciences: Challenges and Opportunities

/ Matt Artz

Future Generation Computer Systems, Volume 27 Issue 3, March 2011

Gregory Giuliani, Nicolas Ray, and Anthony Lehmann

“Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) are being widely used in the environmental sciences to share, discover, visualize and retrieve geospatial data through Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web services. However, SDIs have limited analytical capabilities, an essential task to turn data into understandable information. Geospatial data are typically processed on desktop computers, but their limited power limits the types of analyses that can be conducted given ever-increasing amounts of high resolution data. With the recently introduced Web Processing Service and the availability of large storage and computing facilities offered by Grid infrastructures, new opportunities are emerging within the environmental sciences communities. The enviroGRIDS project, funded by the European Commission ”Seventh Framework Programme” (EU/FP7), will target these issues.”