This paper outlines an organisational model for development of the GSDI based on government agencies. The purpose of the paper is to present some options for consideration by delegates to the GSDI3 Conference in Canberra in November 1998, within the context of the overall conference theme paper 'GSDI Policy and Organisational Issues'. This paper is not a formal proposal of the Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific, but draws in part on the existing structure of that group. Elements of other international government-based organisations have also been incorporated.
There are two key assumptions underpinning this GSDI Commission model:
It is recognised however that governments per se are not the primary beneficiaries of a GSDI, and that any government-based structure must include appropriate liaison and consultation mechanisms with industry and community stakeholders.
The proposed objective of the GSDI Commission (through its Agency) is to:
| Facilitate development of a GSDI which enables universal access to fundamental spatial data. |
The GSDI Commission membership will comprise one representative from each member country of the United Nations. This member may be either the head of the national mapping agency, or some other person with appropriate national responsibilities nominated by their government. The Commission will also invite observers from the international professional associations, standards bodies, industry and other related government and non-government international bodies. The GSDI Commission and its Agency will be recognised by the UN.
The GSDI Agency will be the Commission's operational arm, comprising:
The GSDI Commission will meet as a whole every two years. Meetings will be held in conjunction with other relevant international meetings, or at the location of the GSDI Agency. These Commission meetings may incorporate a continuing series of GSDI Conferences.
The Commission will elect eight representatives to form an Executive Committee, for a four year term, comprising the following positions:
President (also holding one of the following
eight positions)
Vice President - Asia-Pacific (2 positions)
Vice President - Europe (2 positions)
Vice President - Africa-Middle East (2 positions)
Vice President - Americas (2 positions)
The Vice Presidents will be elected by the members from their geographic region. The President will be elected by all members, with the eight Vice Presidents as candidates. The occupants of the following positions will be ex officio members of the Executive Committee:
Director of the GSDI Agency (Secretary and Treasurer of the Commission)
Immediate Past President (who may also hold a Vice President position)
The Constitution of the Commission will define limits on terms of Executive Committee membership and arrangements for replacing Executive Committee members who depart office during their terms. The Executive Committee will meet twice per year at the GSDI Agency.
The GSDI Agency will operate as the Secretariat to the Commission, with a full-time staff of between five and twenty. The Director of the Agency will also be the Secretary and Treasurer of the Commission. The Director position will be advertised internationally for a five-year contract appointment and would be filled by a person with senior management experience relevant to SDI development. Five other specialist staff will also be appointed to the Agency, under three-year (renewable) contracts, following international advertising. Skills recruited through these specialist positions will include financial management, training, GIS technology, Internet technology, and spatial database management.
Up to fifteen other positions will be defined in the Agency, for the purpose of undertaking GSDI projects or training. These positions will be staffed, for periods ranging from three months to three years, by secondment from member countries. Member countries will generally meet all staff and living costs for these secondments, although other sources of funding may be sought.
The GSDI Agency will need a semi-permanent location, with appropriate office, communications and technology infrastructure. Member countries of the Commission will be asked to bid for the right to host the Agency. Selection criteria will be developed for assessing bids, including financial considerations. This process will be repeated every ten years.
An indicative annual budget ($US) for the GSDI Agency would comprise:
| Contract Staff | $400,000 |
| Project Staff | provided by members |
| Project Costs | $350,000 |
| Travel | $200,000 |
| Communications | $ 50,000 |
| Technology | provided by host |
| Office | provided by host |
| Total | $1 million |
The Executive Committee will be responsible for policy and strategy. The Director of the Agency will prepare a three-year Business Plan, defining projects, resources, budgets and outcomes, for consideration by the Commission. The Business Plan will be updated annually, and progress will be monitored by the Executive Committee.
The Business Plan will identify the Project Teams which will be required to deliver the planned outcomes, including seconded staff, to be staffed through the GSDI Agency. The Agency will also function as the GSDI clearinghouse, and will manage the primary GSDI web site.
An indicative general structure for the GSDI Agency Project Teams is:
| Policy: projects to develop policies, guidelines and models for NSDI and GSDI development. |
| Standards: projects to identify or develop international standards and guidelines. |
| Data: projects to build and maintain fundamental global datasets. |
| Access: projects to enable universal access to the fundamental data. |
| Clearinghouse: projects to develop the GSDI clearinghouse on the Internet. |
| Development: projects to support NSDI development, including in-Agency training. |
Within this structure there may be five to eight projects underway at any time, each with two to five full-time staff. Projects may also require resources and support from organisations external to the Agency, and may involve collaborations or partnerships with other organisations.
The GSDI Commission and Agency will be funded through three sources:
The GSDI Agency will be a non-profit organisation and will maintain independence from any commercial interests. The Agency itself will have an active role in obtaining financial support.
The initial three-year Business Plan of the GSDI Agency should focus on the following goals:
The success of the GSDI Commission and its Agency will be measured by reference to its objective of " facilitating development of a GSDI which enables universal access to fundamental spatial data ". It is recognised that some form of GSDI will emerge regardless of any initiatives that may emerge from the GSDI Conferences. The test should therefore be whether, after three years of operation, the GSDI Commission and its Agency have accelerated this development, and made it more coherent and useful to the global community.
The key to implementation of the GSDI Commission model is to secure funding for the Agency. This in turn may be dependent on obtaining formal recognition of the Commission from the UN.
Establishment of the Commission, creation of a legal framework for the operation of the Agency, selection of a host country for the Agency, and recruitment of a Director and specialist staff would take a minimum of twelve to eighteen months. This establishment process itself will require considerable resources, and would be best undertaken by a small committee with one full time support person and an appropriate budget.
The GSDI Commission model outlined above is obviously a highly bureaucratic approach to development of the GSDI. The strength of this approach is in the dedication of full-time resources to the GSDI projects. Other models based on part-time and voluntary staffing will inevitably suffer from the inability of the participants to dedicate significant time and resources.
The model does not preclude the existence of other national, regional and global SDI associations, umbrella groups and projects - the GSDI Agency should be seen as a resource for these groups, who can influence its direction through participation in the Commission. A key role of the Agency will be to consult with GSDI stakeholders, particularly end-users and NSDI organisations in developing countries, to ensure that the Business Plan is focussed on delivering benefits to them. The Plan must also recognise that the GSDI will be achieved by the convergence of top-down (global) and bottom-up (local) developments.
The Agency must be careful not to duplicate existing bodies and projects - the focus should be on consultation, partnerships, facilitation and filling in the gaps. Other organisational models may be more inclusive and better suited to consultative processes, but will they actually accelerate development of an effective, efficient and genuinely global SDI?
The proposed GSDI Commission model may also be considered from an economic rationalism perspective. What is the economic case for this (modest!) level of government intervention in the spatial data market? What market failure (actual or potential) is being addressed by the Agency programs? The answer to these questions is that the GSDI is a 'public good' activity, which is not of itself profitable. The market has no motivation to deliver universal access to fundamental spatial data - their focus will (quite properly) be on products and services that can provide a commercial return on investment. Without government intervention, particularly at the data access policy level, the GSDI will not achieve the optimum balance between economic, social and environmental priorities.