Description
The Societal Impacts Committee explores the organizational/institutional frameworks within which spatial data infrastructures are developed locally and across individual nations, multi-nation regions and globally. The Committee encourages dialogue and interaction with respect to varying approaches and explores SDI models, approaches, and experiences with the goal to enhance cooperation among nations in sharing spatial content, including spatial data, spatially-enabled services, geoprocessing models, etc.
The Saudi Aramco Marine Environmental Research Center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST, http://www.kaust.edu.sa/ ) is developing a significant marine GIS and ecological mapping capability for the coastal seas of Saudi Arabia. The effort is part of a larger marine ecological and oceanographic effort to provide display, archiving, analysis, and visualization of marine and oceanographic data for the region.
In its role as technical coordinator of the INSPIRE Directive, the JRC carried out the public consultation with a survey on the experience of producers and users of spatial data. The survey took place in late 2013 and early 2014. According to the 700 questionnaires returned, the INSPIRE Directive is seen to be starting to address key barriers that prevent the efficient sharing and use of spatial information. Respondents estimated that progress has been made in documenting data and making them available through web services.