SDI BEST PRACTICE AWARD 2009
Source: Dr. Gabor Remetey-Fülöpp, Secretary General HUNAGI; Patrizia Lazio and Dr. Joachim Rix of eSDI-Net+
Facilitating access to geographic information content identifying SDI best practices
Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) services are tools having vital importance also from the re-use of public sector information point of view.
Announcement has been made by the eSDI-Net+ project "Identification and Analysis of Spatial Data Infrastructures Best Practices“ towards get involved and submit applications for the SDI Best Practice Award 2009. The applications were expected from organisations facilitating access to geographical content or providing geo-information services to end-users. All SDIs in Europe were invited to submit their best practice and be part of the fast growing network of SDIs.
eSDI-Net+ Project
eSDI-Net+ (www.esdinetplus.eu) is a thematic network co-founded by the eContentplus Program of the EU.
Table 1 Participating institutions of the eSDI-Net+ project
| INI-GraphicsNet Stiftung, Germany | Hungarian Association for Geo-information (HUNAGI) |
| AGH University, Poland | Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence "Institutul De Cercetari Pentru Inteligenta Artificiala, Academia Romana" (ICIA), Romania, www.racai.ro |
| AM/FM GIS Italia, Italy | Intergraph CR spol. s r.o., Czech Republic |
| Association for Geospatial Information in South-East Europe (AGISEE), Bulgaria | Kuovola Region Federation of Municipalities (KRF), Finland |
| Association of Geographic Information Laboratories for Europe (AGILE), Netherlands www.agile-online.org | Linköpings Universitet, Department of Computer and Information Science, Sweden |
| Association Users of Geographic Information (USIG), Portugal www.usig.pt | Regione Piemonte, Italy |
| Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Matematica Applicata e Tecnologie Informatiche, Unità Organizzativa di Genova, Italy www.ge.imati.cnr.it | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium |
| European Umbrella Organisation for Geographic Information (EUROGI), Netherlands www.eurogi.org | The South East European Research Centre (SEERC), Greece |
| Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Germany | The University “Jaume I” (King James I), Spain |
| Association on Geographical Information Systems and on Geographical Information (GISIG), Italy www.gisig.it | University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy |
Its objective is to bring together key European SDI stakeholders in order to share relevant knowledge through a Thematic Network, a platform for communication and knowledge exchange at all levels, from local to global.
The SDI Best Practice Award:Identification and analysis of SDI best practices
SDI’s are bound to complex structures. To achieve a coherent identification and evaluation of existing SDI’s, the eSDI-Net+ project in 2008 defined an articulated methodology and an evaluation framework. More then 160 SDIs were identified, analysed and discussed in 12 national workshops during 2008/2009.
Table 2 National and regional eSDI-Net+ workshops
| European region(s) represented at the workshop | eSDI-NET+ Workshop location | Date | Point of contact |
| France | Strasbourg | June 5-6, 2008 | AFIGÉO |
| Hungary | Budapest | August 29, 2008 | HUNAGI |
| Czech Republic Slovakia | Brno, Czech Republic | September 10, 2008 | INGR |
| Italy | Rome | September 25, 2008 | AMFM Italia |
| Romania | Bucharest | December 11-12, 2008 | ICIA |
| Poland | Warsaw, Poland | January 29, 2009 | AGH-UST |
| Iberia (Portugal, Spain) | Lisbon, Portugal | February 5, 2009 | USIG, UJI |
| SE Europe: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovenia, Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, FYROM, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey | Thessaloniki, Greece | February 5-6, 2009 | SEERC, AGISEE |
| United Kingdom Ireland | Liverpool, UK | February 11, 2009 | RSW GEO |
| Germany, Austria Switzerland | Darmstadt, Germany | February 12-13, 2009 | IGS, FHG-IGD |
| Scandinavia: Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway | Stockholm, Sweden | April 27, 2009 | LIU-IDA |
| Netherlands, Belgium | Brussels, Belgium | April 28, 2009 | AGILE, SADL |
The process of the identification and analysis of SDI solutions and the Award aim to promote existing, working, accessible and intelligible solutions, to communicate the purpose and aims of the INSPIRE directive, to improve the overall knowledge about SDIs and to encourage local collaboration in setting up innovative solutions in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. The aim of the Award international event is to give the chance of learning from best practices. The process will lead to the SDI Best Practice Award on November 26-27, 2009 in Turin, Italy.
Evaluation Criteria
The SDI Best Practice selection is based on the following five assessment criteria, articulated in 32 indicators:
- Quantitative aspects
- Data and service quality
- Cooperation and subsidiarity
- Sustainability
- Users and usability
The 160 SDIs registered for the identification and analysis phase will be considered automatically for the November 2009 Award, providing they have been positively evaluated during the described process. In order to involve more SDIs, if possible, the process was re-open in March 2009 and an official call for entries was launched. Further SDIs were asked to submit their application until July 17, 2009.
The eSDI-Net+ network invited all types and sizes of stakeholders in charge of SDI developments from any region of Europe and at any level, from local through regional to national.
SDIs to be considered must meet the following criteria:
- They must have been operating for at least the last one year
- They should meet the overall profile outlined in the current invitation
- They must be web-based
After an initial evaluation of the applications, a number of promising SDIs will be selected for detailed interviews to provide further information. Each interviewed SDI will then be evaluated by the national representatives of the eSDI-Net+ project. Key aspects of successful SDI selection comprise:
- Technological, innovative level and originality of the project
- Implementation and/or readiness for INSPIRE principles
- Level of fostering cooperation between different users (proof of visibility and/or user feedback)
- Possibility of extension or transfer to other countries and regions
After the interviews, selected Best Practices will be invited to present their developments at the SDI Best Practice Award 2009.
The 2009 Turin Award Interntional Conference
The Conference will take place on November 26th and 27th, where the final selection of SDIs will be made. Based on the finalist's presentations and/or demonstrations, a final ranking will be decided by a Jury of six members (three from project Advisory Board and three from project partners).
All finalists' solutions will be promoted to all European stakeholders and the media. The event will be marketed to attract an international audience engaged in SDI and related GI activities at European, national, regional and local levels.
For the participation at the Conference please register by filling in the registration form on-line or download the registration form in "pdf" format and then send it to the organisational office.
For more information on any development related to the SDI Best Practice Award please visit www.esdinetplus.eu