The presentation discusses the evolution and significance of spatial data infrastructure (SDI) over the past 30 years, highlighting Canada's role and lessons learned from international initiatives. It emphasizes the shift from centralized data systems to decentralized networks, the challenges posed by evolving technologies, and the emergence of new data sources, including unmanned aerial vehicles. The GSDI Association aims to enhance global accessibility to geographic information, promoting collaboration and standardization to support diverse user needs.

1. International SDI Initiatives:
Thinking Globally, Acting
Locally
Dr. David J. Coleman, President
Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association
http://www.gsdi.org
Pan Canadian SDI Summit
Calgary
18 September 2014

2. Key Subjects of
Presentation
Roots and Canada’s role in SDI
Development
SDI Initiatives at the International and
Global Levels
Lessons learned and challenges for the
future

3. SDI: Looking Back 30
Years

4. Spatial Data Infrastructure
from http://www.gsdi.org
Critical mass of processes, policies,
standards, enabling technologies,
mechanisms and key datasets
required to make geospatial data readily
available to the growing community of end-users.

5. Evolution of the “Driving
Visions”
1960s and 1970s: Vision of creating jurisdiction-wide large,
centralized LIS and GIS “Data Banks” based on a common spatial
referencing framework
1980’s: Shift from large central databases to decentralized
networks of systems
SDI in the early 1990s: Recognizing and addressing
technological, operational and institutional aspects of geospatial
data collection, management, discovery and dissemination in a
coordinated manner.
SDI’s today: Supporting location-based services in the mass
market and spatially enabled workflows in government & industry.

6. 1st-Generation Spatial
Data Infrastructure
Programs
Concept developed in late 1970’s and
refined through 1980s and early 1990s
Evolved from earlier systematic surveying
& mapping programs
Emphasis on data discovery & distribution
Began in earnest in the US circa 1992
Followed quickly by Canada, Australia, the
EEC, the UK and many others

8. SDI: Early Principles
Data collected once and used many times
Seamless databases across boundaries
Recognition of both Basic Framework Data and
Value Added Data
Equitable sharing of SDI Costs, Services &
Responsibilities
(in some countries) Creation of value-added
products & services in support of industry
development From CGII Vision Report, Geoplan Consultants, Nov. 1996

9. SDI Programs
Worldwide
5 key areas of early focus:
 Framework data definition and development
 Geospatial data discovery and download
 Web mapping (sometimes from several different
servers & integrated on your browser)
 Cultivation of “communities of practice”
 Definition and development of standards and
standards-based products to enable the above

11. Non-Government “SDI”
Commercial suppliers of online
geospatial data and services (e.g.,
Google, DigitalGlobe, Bing,
Nokia/Navteq, Esri and many others)
Open source suppliers like
OpenStreetMap
NGOs providing crowdsourced detail
and updates in response to (e.g.,)
Disaster Response and Citizen Science

12. A Changing Marketplace
Today…
Corporate downsizing and reorientation of government
programs
Commoditization and “mass customization” of location-based
services
Challenges to traditional geomatics approaches and suppliers
around the world
Evolving expectations of users re: capability, performance,
transparency, simplicity and reliability
“Big Data” demands changing our views of how we manage,
process, analyze and visualize data.

13. SDIs – The New
Generation
New Waves of geospatial data creation – both active
and passive
Increased operational use of geospatial data: sensor
networks and geospatially-enabled workflows
Increased strategic use of geospatial data by large
public & private organizations to detect patterns and
predict behaviour
Widespread and growing expectations of high
accuracy, currency of information and rapid response
times

14. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(from Pomfret /UNGGIM, 2014)
• Tremendous potential for
geospatial community, but…
• Number of legal concerns
- In-air collisions
- Personal injuries
- Privacy
• Number of countries re-examining laws & policies
• Impact could be much broader implications than
simply UAVs.
Image courtesy of LandScope Engineering

15. Volunteered Geographic
Information
http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1433169/2/GRDRR%20report%20final%20for%20web.pdf

16. Slide courtesy Google/Arabu [2013]

17. Managing the Data
Resource
By 2013,
5 EXABYTES
was created
EVERY 10
MINUTES
From the
beginning of
recorded time until
2003, we created
5 EXABYTES
of Textual Data
In 2011,
5 EXABYTES of
all digital data
was created
EVERY TWO
DAYS
[Enriquez 2003/ Schmidt 2010/ Borne 2013]

19. Transnational and Global
SDI Initiatives

20. International Standards:
The glue holding SDIs
together

21. INSPIRE

22. Arctic Spatial Data
Infrastructure
Courtesy GeoConnections, Natural Resources Canada

27. Privacy Constraints
Trends towards Open Data
Public attitudes towards reconnaissance
using UAVs
and high-resolution satellites
IBA Potential Convention on Geoinformation

28. Global Initiative headquartered in China
Influenced by 1986 Vision of a “Digital Earth”
proposed by VP Al Gore and modified since.
International Executive Committee
Eight major “Digital Earth” international
symposia held since 1999

29. The GSDI Association
Advancing a Spatially-Enabled World
Our Vision: A world where everyone can
readily discover, access and apply geographic
information to improve their daily lives.
The GSDI Association
Advancing a Spatially-Enabled World
Our Vision: A world where everyone can
readily discover, access and apply geographic
information to improve their daily lives.

30. Wiki Version.
PDF versions now
available in
English, Spanish,
Chinese, Polish
and Albanian

31. GSDI Small Grants
Program
GSDI Small Grants Program to support
training & software (http://www.gsdi.org/sic1)
Cooperating with URISA GIS Corps to
provide services to some countries
Cooperating with International Center for
Land Policy Studies and Training Seminar on
GIS &Land Management (Chinese Taipei)
Great causes looking for more assistance!

32. GSDI Conferences:
Sharing Lessons Learned

33. SDI Lessons Learned and
Key Accomplishments

34. Evolving SDIs
“Mass Customized” SDI
(Today)
“Private Sector” SDI
(2000s)
Traditional Public Sector SDI (1990s)
Similar Evolution Patterns as Traditional SDI, BUT
•Accelerating Technology Development
•Built atop in-place standards
•Increasingly sophisticated user community already possessing the
necessary technology for other reasons
•Based on market-based values & principles
•Much less emphasis on governance & consensus
•Reliance on Users to provide data “infills” and updates.

35. “Authoritative” SDI
Programs 1995-2014:
Looking Back…
Public infrastructure indeed laid the framework
for private sector initiatives, but…
Mapping Emphasis and Library/Bookstore Metaphor
limited the vision
Emphasis on widespread, mass-market use of
government mapping files has not taken hold.
Mixed successes in government-government and
government-industry partnerships
Except in a few examples, did not predict the ultimate
influence of integrated, real-time location-based
services

36. SDI Programs 1995-2014:
Key Accomplishments
Provided basis of defensible
forecasting of customer
demand for government data
S uppo rt e d I mpor t a nt
S t a nd a rd s a nd
Provided I nt e r private o pe ra b companies ilit y E ffor t s
with
more consistent & comprehensive
Important Sharing of
Lessons Learned
information on which to base their
Raised levels of user
Allowed own services.
public comparison
of different approaches to on-line
discovery & downloads
expectations
Changed the workflows,
efficiency and turnaround of
government tasks & services

37. “Thinking Globally, Acting
Locally”
SDIs of all stripes still depend on people to start,
grow and thrive:
•Individual Champions who can create compelling arguments
for their creation and continuation;
•People willing to come together to change the ways in which
they look at their work and how they approach problems;
•People willing to realize the value of standards based
solutions rather than “one-of” creations – to think in terms of
programs rather than just individual projects or problems;
•People with the confidence and resources to be able to
share their expertise and experiences.

38. Useful Links
CGRCT http://cgcrt.ca
CGDI http://geoconnections.nrcan.gc.ca
GEO http://www.earthobservations.org
GGIM http://ggim.un.org
INSPIRE http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.cfm
ISDE http://www.digitalearth-isde.org
FGDC http://www.fgdc.gov

39. For further information
http://www.gsdi.org