Possibility or a dream? Spatially Enabled Geovernment and Societies

The ultimate challenge

Paul Cheung Director of Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM) Secretariat and Statistics Division, United Nations

It is important to deal with institutional, legal and common frameworks, management models, and technical standards for the building of sustainable spatial data infrastructures.
The ultimate challenge is how we can help countries develop the full potential of geospatial information and the underlying technology in order to make it accessible to, and able to be used effectively by, a broad range of users.

Sustaining the technology

Hiroshi Murakami PhD, Director-General,Geospatial Information Department, Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI)

GPS or the satellite positioning and timing technology has been deeply interwoven in various activities of the society now in Japan, ranging from vehicle (cars, airplanes, ships, trains, etc.) navigation to timing for online trading. It is anticipated that there could be insurmountable damage to the functions of the society in case GPS signals were to be disrupted indefinitely.
However, the technology currently depends totally on the operation of one country. While Russia, EU and China are developing their own GNSS, political leaders in Japan have come to an understanding that the country should be independent and self-sustained on this important technology.

A journey, not an end

Teo CheeHai President, International Federation of Surveyors (FIG)

Spatial maturity could not be simply defined with a set of parameters. Instead, it would be more evolutionary, progressing from one stage to another. The goal posts may change and keep moving forward. In a sense, it is a journey and not an end. The important aspect is that that such a journey is shared by most if not all of the jurisdictions within the Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP) region. We should endeavor to engage more and more jurisdictions in this journey. It may so happen that some of the jurisdictions may progress slower than others but all are the part of this journey, striving to progress towards a spatially enabled society as that would ultimately benefit the people within these jurisdictions. If we fail to involve all these jurisdictions, particularly the small islands and developing jurisdictions in this journey, then that would be sad for humanity.

Build with the end goal in mind

Brent A Jones PE, PLS, Global Industry Manager, Cadastre/Survey/AEC, Esri, USA)

Successful cadastral systems evolve. As societies, culture, laws, and technology evolve, so can the benefits from the system. It is important to understand full spatial enablement and begin building with the end goal in mind and build a system designed to evolve and grow.

For citizens

Datuk Prof Sr Dr Abdul Kadir Taib Director General, Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia

The geospatial information generated by mapping agencies like Department of Surveying and Mapping (JUPEM), Malaysia should ultimately benefit the people and society. I will consider the objective of spatially enabled governance and society has been achieved when geospatial information is not only used by the government agencies which are working in geospatial domain but also by those agencies who do not deal with geospatial data directly. However, the geospatial data should ultimately be used by the citizens. When that happens, I can say, we are Spatially Enabled Society.

Legislative interoperability

Peter M Laarakker Advisor, Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency, The Netherlands

The processes of land management like land use planning, taxation and property rights registration both use ánd produce land information. One of the objectives of an NSDI is to reuse the produced information as much as possible for the other land management processes. The extent to which this is possible is depending on the laws that govern those land management processes, that all have a perspective on spatial reality but which perspectives are not necessarily the same. One can speak of legislative interoperability when all hindrances for reuse in these land management laws have been removed and concepts and definitions of spatial objects are aligned as much as possible.

We seriously risk “spatial stagnation”

Greg Scott Group Leader, National Geographic Information, Environmental Geoscience Division, Geoscience Australia

By definition, ‘spatial enablement in action’ means that we (governments) must make our spatial information “actionable”. That is, it must be used and leveraged beyond just for mapping. It must form the enduring fundamental authoritative spatial data layers of a nation, and do so in a way so that it is able to support evidence-based decision making for the many social, economic and environmental drivers challenges that face our Governments. It is incumbent on us doing so. Should we not do so, we seriously risk “spatial stagnation”, and have a rich resource of geoinformation that remains largely untapped and with significant unrealised potential.

Technology transfer is a key

Professor William Cartwright School of Mathematical and Geospatial Sciences, RMIT University, Australia; Chair, Joint Board of Geospatial Information Societies

Capacity building and technology transfer is a key issue for spatial and geographic information management. There is a need for a global agenda for capacity building and technology transfer for countries in the context of spatial information. This element is also central to the objectives of the Joint Board GIS member organizations in support of local, national and international spatial data management and infrastructure developments that will allow nations and their citizens to better address social, economic, and environmental issues of pressing importance.
Knowledge transfer, conducted by Joint Board of Geospatial Information Societies (JB GIS) member associations, inmany instances conducted in collaboration with national member organizations, affiliates and industry, are provided to contribute to the provision of new knowledge and to foster the advancement of the discipline. In order for students to have access to relevant courses and for industry to keep abreast with developments in technology and contemporary geospatial information thinking, it is important for relevant educational courses be offered.
JB GIS is committed to supporting existing educational courses and providing specialist courses where needed. Sister organisations that form the JB GIS champion education and training. This can be in the form of traditional university and training college programmes, short courses for professional and technical members of mapping agencies and as outreach initiatives to transfer knowledge about the discipline and its contemporary practices.
These programmes can be supported by JB GIS member associations offering programmes independently, or in partnership with sister associations.

Need for collaboration

Sr Ahmad Fauzi bin Nordin Deputy Director General of Survey and Mapping, Malaysia

It is obvious that there are enormous benefits of a government being spatially enabled- this includes improved decision making and improved delivery mechanisms. However to realize a spatially enabled government, there needs to be much collaboration, because the effort is multi-disciplinary in nature. The Treasury need not have reservation in providing funding for data collection and maintenance works as studies have shown that there is positive return on investment (ROI) in funding those works.

Challenge is legal and institutional arrangements

Professor Woosug Cho Department of Civil Engineering, Director, Inha Innovation Center for Engineering Education, Inha University, Korea

The key challenge in the context of spatial governance is legal and institutional arrangements which define most of national, regional and global activities in collection, dissemination, utilization as well as service of geospatial information toward a spatially enabled society.

Change in mentality

Michael Sutherland PhD, Department of Geomatics Engineering and Land Management, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago

The shift in paradigm in governance (towards spatially enabled) will happen only if there is change in mentality. The shift in mentality is really from a divisionist view of the world to a holistic, systems view of the world. We design institutions, systems, processes, databases etc. based on the way we think – our perceptions of needs. The divisionist mentality hardly makes space for sharing information in the design process because it is focused only on fulfilling of narrow mandates – on the partial view of the world. The holistic, systems thinking mentality perceives the need of the whole even in the design of parts. It is systems thinking that is the germ for the SDI concept in the spatial enablement of government and society, but SDI implementation will be stymied if all stakeholders do not share the holistic mentality – they will pose barriers to its development.

The key drivers

Fuziah binti Abu Hanifah Director, Malaysian Centre for Geospatial Data Infrastructure (MaCGDI), Malaysia

Data policy and copyrights need to be clearly identified as driving forces in the context of geospatial information sharing.

The key drivers

Keith Clifford Bell The World Bank, East Asia Pacific Region, Washington DC, USA

I would like to refer Maslow’s hierarchical theory of human needs (physical and psychological) , which dates from 1943. Through taking a Maslow optic of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) provides a refreshing perspective of the links between human development needs and broader development needs including economic development. At the lowest level of Maslow, are the basic needs of people to survive – Food, Water and Shelter. Currently, more than 1 billion of the world’s population or 20% live without access to safe drinking water. More than 13% of the world’s population are hungry, one billion children live in poverty (or 1 in 2 children in the world) and 640 million live without adequate shelter. Poverty is the principle cause of hunger.
Much of the pitch for SEGS, is for high end economies, where people already have met the requirements of the lower levels of Maslow and indeed the MDG. We see this in the sophisticated applications of GPS enabled cell phones, in-car navigation systems and other applications that Maslow would rank at the selfactualization level of human development and enrichment – that is those trying to make millions. Only infrequently, do we see then pitch for SEGS aimed at the lowest level of Maslow – those struggling to survive – that is, those millions trying to make it. Thus as key professional and industry organizations such as FIG, GSDI and ICA continue to promote SEGS, and we see similar advocacy from PCGIAP, UNRCC and now UN GGIM, greater consideration needs to be given to the power of SEGS to help those at the low end of Maslow’s hierarchy – those struggling to survive, or just make it. SEGS has enormous potential to contribute to the successful realization of the MDG.

Kuala Lumpur declaration on Spatially Enabled Government & Society

We, the participants of the United Nations sponsored Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific International Symposium on Spatially Enabled Government and Society, with the theme “Towards Spatial Maturity” held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on February 15th and 16th, 2012, having met in the context of building trust to promote understanding and to enhance collaboration in the field of geospatial information and spatial enablement that addresses current national, regional and global challenges, hereby issue this Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Spatially Enabled Government and Society.

Recalling Resolution 16 at the 13th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific in 1994 that established the Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP),

Noting Resolution 1 at the 16th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific in 2003 on the importance of spatial data infrastructures in supporting sustainable development at national, regional and global levels,

Further noting Resolution 5 at the 18th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific in 2009 to understand, compare and determine the state of spatially enabled government and society including levels of maturity and governance of spatial data infrastructure in the region,

Bearing in mind that the rapid development and increased demand for spatial information infrastructures in all countries in past years has made geospatial information an invaluable tool in policy planning and evidence-based decision making,
Mindful that spatial enablement, that is, the ability to add location to almost all existing information, unlocks the wealth of existing knowledge about social, economic and environmental matters, and can play a vital role in understanding and addressing the many challenges that we face in an increasingly complex and interconnected world,

Acknowledging that spatial enablement, by definition, requires information to be collected, updated, analyzed, represented, and communicated, together with information on ownership and custodianship, in a consistent manner to underpin effective delivery systems, good governance, public safety and security towards the well being of societies, the environment and economy,

Recognizing that geospatial information includes ‘fundamental data’ that is essential and therefore must have authority, currency, resilience and sustainability, be comprehensive, freely available, accessible and usable for informed decision-making, which immediately leads to better policies and sustainable actions, and more open, accountable, responsive and efficient governments,

Agree that spatially enabled societies and governments, recognizing that all activities and events have a geographical and temporal context, make decisions and organize their affairs through the effective and efficient use of spatial data, information and services,

Resolve to fully support the initiative of the United Nations to implement global mechanisms to foster geospatial information management among the Member States, international organizations, and the private sector, and in this regard to make every effort to:
• enhance national efforts including investments towards the managing of all information spatially and the realizing of spatially enabled governments and societies with a focus on citizens and users;
• confirm the importance of governance and legislative frameworks and the need for legislative interoperability;
• confirm the importance of authoritative and assured data and information, encourage the incorporation of volunteered information, develop enabling platforms by locating, connecting and delivering information from different scales, purposes and origins;
• confirm the importance of common geodetic reference frameworks, positioning and network infrastructures;
• avail resources to invest, manage and sustain the capture, collection and collation of fundamental data and information and to reduce duplication in these efforts;
• build and use common standards and frameworks to ensure interoperability;
• enhance institutional arrangements and stakeholder collaborations; and
• improve returns on investment through better coordination, use and reuse of data, information and systems and to enhance innovation and productivity.