Standards for Geospatial Data

The problem

Public administration bodies need to work with many outside actors where accurate location is critical to ensure the necessary delivery of services. This requires the many different sources of geographic information to be shared in a way most likely to be re-usable by partner organisations and interoperable with other location information according to a common standard.

The solution

UK’s Ordnance Survey Open Data, ODImpact: This case study, part of the ODImpact case studies created by the GovLab, demonstrates how opening geospatial data creates economic opportunities.

US Opening GPS Data for Civilian Use, ODImpact: This case study, part of the ODImpact work created by the GovLab, shows how opening geospatial data creates economic opportunities for the aviation sector, transportation and construction sector.

UK’s HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, ODImpact: This case study, part of the ODImpact work created by the GovLab, shows how opening geospatial data creates economic opportunities for the real estate market and proptech community.

Engage mapping meetups and OpenStreetMap community: Governments should work to engage with these groups on data standards and to help determine what data to release for their use.

INSPIRE Directive: This EU directive puts forth standards for government release of geospatial data.

Global Open Data Index: Several geospatial datasets are assessed within the Global Open Data Index (land ownership, location datasets, national maps) demand these datasets also be released according to OGC standards. This tool is the foundation for what data is determined to be important to be released according to civil society organizations.