Survey of European national mapping agencies

Access to core geospatial datasets (topographic digital map data, administrative units, hydrography, geology, etc.) is critical for academic research and teaching in almost every discipline. It is well recognised that finding and gaining access to such data is difficult, hence the existence of services like Go-Geo!, UKBORDERS and Digimap. When a researcher or student moves beyond their home country looking to access international geospatial data, the difficulties are compounded.

EDINA is currently conducting two surveys with the help of EuroGeographics, a pan-European organisation representing 52 National Mapping and Cadastral Agencies (NMCAs) from 43 countries across Europe, and AGILE, the Association of Geographic Information Laboratories for Europe.

The first is a survey of the NMCAs in each EU member state to establish the current arrangements for the supply of geospatial data to the academic community in that country. The second is a targeted survey of key, but representative, academic users in each country regarding their experiences of access to NMCA data in their country.

For UK academia, Digimap has radically eased access to national mapping data. Anecdotal evidence suggests that things are not so easy for researchers and students in other European nations. In some cases, national security concerns may mean that data are not in the public domain. Where data are in the public domain, access is limited by commercial price levels. Where discounted prices are available these are still beyond the funding available to the majority of university departments or research groups. Often data are available only for geographically and/or temporally constrained areas or on an ad hoc, case by case basis. Certainly, data are not freely available to large numbers of users in a consistent, timely or transparent fashion.

In order to assist UK researchers and students to gain access to European geospatial data, first EDINA needs to understand in more detail how access to core geospatial data is arranged in each European country. Secondly, we need to work with researchers and academic staff in other countries to improve access to national geospatial datasets.

We are looking to work with researchers and academic staff in other countries to persuade NMCAs within each member state to make their data products available to their own academic communities. Following on from this, we hope that reciprocal arrangements can be made for access to data between member states across the European academic community.

It is intended that both surveys will be completed by Easter 2009 and will form the baseline assessment of the current state and future needs of European academics for access to national mapping data. Around this time, and again with the help of EuroGeographics, we plan to hold a workshop with representatives of NMCAs and academic users, to report the findings, and to progress the initiative further by encouraging data providers and academics to work together to provide mutual, tangible benefits to all stakeholders. A report will be published and circulated to relevant European organisations. The findings will also feed into the EU funded European Spatial Data Infrastructure Network (ESDIN) project in which EDINA is involved.