12. Sächsisches GIS-Forum Dresden: 18./19.05.2012 GI2012-OpenDataPolicies-FORUM

1. The
Mythology
Just
some
thoughts
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2. Who are we?
Geospatial Systems Architect at metaspatial.
● President of OSGeo
● OGC Architecture Board Member
● OpenStreetMap Advocate
Founder of several companies and initiatives,
provides consulting for SDI and travels a lot.
Author: Arnulf Christl
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3. The Mythology of INSPIRE
The term "mythology" can refer either to
the study of myths (e.g., comparative
mythology), or to a body or collection of
myths...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology
INSPIRE is of the second type
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4. Technology vs. Politics
The mythology of INSPIRE grew with the
fiction that a technical framework can
solve an:
● otherwise
● apparently
● unsolvable
… political diversity.
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5. The Reality of INSPIRE
The result is that we now have
● a highly complicated and
● infamously rigid
… technical framework which does not
solve the political problem.
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6. … because technology
never was a suitable
tool to tackle
politics.
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7. Common Misconceptions
INSPIRE comes in two tastes
● Implementing Rules (legally binding)
● Technical Guidelines
(recommendations that are not legally
binding)
Nota Bene:
Data schemes are legally binding! 7

8. Conforming to INSPIRE?
Technical Guidelines have conformance
classes (software tests). Implementing
Rules do not have conformance classes.
This means that software can only
conform to the non legally binding
aspects of INSPIRE?!?
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9. Communication Issues
Why does INSPIRE not work bottom-up
(by being more open) or closer with
existing working groups and
organizations?
● Because INSPIRE is not a person
● INSPIRE is not a community
● and top-down
● …
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10. The Structure of INSPIRE
INSPIRE was an inspiring idea …
Now it is:
● a legal construct
● technical framework
● top-down implementation
● but not a community
INSPIRE has been designed by
bureaucrats for bureaucracies to
improve bureaucratic processes. 10

11. How can INSPIRE Improve
Communication?
● INSPIRE members need to identify
themselves as a community with
common interests
● INSPIRE members have to bring
Change Request into existing
standards processes
● INSPIRE members have to recognize
INSPIRE as a chance and not as a legal
threat that is best avoided 11

12. Access to PSI
What INSPIRE forgot to address:
● INSPIRE does not address licensing
● Access restriction is left to the data
providers
● Technological changes are much
faster than legal processes
Social networks and participative
government evolve much quicker than
the seemingly innovative INSPIRE idea
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13. Know How
● Lack of information dissemination
(top-down funnel effect) results in an
information pile-up
● There is too little Know-How available
at the implementing level
● Lack of Know-How at the technical
level of the data providers thwarts
efforts of building working
infrastructure
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14. Authoritative Data!
INSPIRE could become the source for
authoritative data. Questions to
address:
● How to document authoritative data?
● How to make the know-how available
required to get Things Done?
● How to integrate INSPIRE with
community projects?
● How to make INSPIRE really useful to
the citizen? 14

15. Thank you for
your Attention!
The annual Conference on
Free and Open Source Software
With friendly support by: for Geospatial
Copyright: Arnulf Christl, metaspatial. This
http://www.metaspatial.net slide set is copyrighted to the commons
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