1. FROM GI2000 HISTORY TO INSPIRE
SUSTAINABILITY – THE CHALLENGES AHEAD
Roger Longhorn
Director, Info‐Dynamics Research Associates Ltd, UK
INSPIRE Expert, Compass Informatics Ltd, Ireland
Chair, GSDI Association Legal & Socioeconomic Working Group
Editor, GEO:connexion International magazine
ral@alum.mit.edu
www.gsdi.org/standingcomms.asp

2. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow!
• Yesterday (or the many yesterdays!)
– 1995‐1999
– 2000‐2002
– 2002‐2007
• Today – 2007‐2009 & 2010
• Tomorrow – 2010 – 2019?
• ... and then what?
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3. Yesterday 1995‐1999
• GI2000: Towards a European Policy Framework for
Geographic Information
– A (draft) Communication from the Commission to the
Council, to the European Parliament, to the Economic and
Social Committee and to the Committee of the Regions
• Response to 1994 Clinton Executive Order in USA
• Slotted into the Information Market portfolio
• ‘Died’ in April 1999, ‘Killed’ in October 1999
• but ... many valuable lessons were learned and
networks of experts formed for the future!
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4. Yesterday 1995‐1999
• Lessons learned?
• Find the right ‘champion’! (We didn’t!)
• Find the right ‘driver’! (‘Information Market’ was
not it!)
• Find the right ‘support mechanism’ for initial
funding! (EU partial‐funded projects are helpful, but
not the answer)
• Engage, engage, engage – with all stakeholders! (or
as many as you can find!)
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5. Yesterday 2000‐2002
• GI2000 ‐ kept alive via EU‐funded projects
– metadata (MADAME ‐ Methods for Access to Data and
Metadata in Europe; ESMI – European Spatial Metadata
Infrasturcture)
– SDI development issues, including reference data selection
(ETeMII – the European Territorial Management Information
Infrastructure; CLEAR ‐ Spatial data clearing house Saar‐Lor‐
Lux.; others)
• Environmental European Spatial Data Infrastructure (E‐
ESDI) – the INSPIRE precursor
• Sixth Environment Action Programme and the European
Sustainable Development Strategy – SAVED!
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6. Yesterday 2002 ‐ 2007
• 11 April 2002 ‐ Memorandum of understanding between
Commissioners Wallstróm, Solbes, Busquin for Infrastructure
for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE)
• FUNDS become available!
• ... for an “initiative to support Geographical Information for
Community policies” – in a number of areas, not just
environment.
• Position Papers produced on most aspects of SDI
development(2002‐2003)
• Impact Assessment(s) produced (2003‐2004)
• Experts Groups formed (2004)
• 23 July 2004 – COM (2004) 516 final published – calls for a
Directive called INSPIRE
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7. Today 2007 – 2009 (& 2010)
• 25 April 2007 – INSPIRE Directive published in the OJ
– Calls for adoption by EU Member States by 15 May 2009
• Establishes the basic principles and a regime of
implementation actions – the Implementing Rules – to
be enacted by separate EU legislation, i.e. EC
Regulations &/or Decisions
• 2008 – ‘Roadmaps’, Drafting Teams, preparatory
actions
• 4 Dec 2008 – EC Regulation 1205/2008 published
covering INSPIRE metadata production and standards
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8. Today 2009 ‐ 2010
• 11 June 2009 – Commission Decision of 5 June 2009
for INSPIRE Monitoring & Reporting
• 20 Oct 2009 – EC Regulation 976/2009 covering
Network Services for Discovery and Viewing Services.
• 14 Dec 2009 – draft EC Regulation amending 976/2009
to cover Download and Transformation Services.
• 14 Dec 2009 – draft EC Regulation on interoperability
of spatial data sets and services (data specifications for
Annex I data themes).
• 29 March 2010 – EC Regulation 268/2010 on access
and sharing of INSPIRE data with EU Institutions.
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9. Tomorrow 2010 – 2019 ?
• December 2010 – metadata to be available for the 13 Annex I and II
data themes
• May & Nov 2011 – Discovery and View services to be available (IOC,
then full).
• 15 May 2012 – Data specs (interoperability) Regulation to be ready
for Annex II and III data themes.
• June 2012 – INSPIRE Reg Comm opinion on ‘Invoke’ Services due.
• June 2012 – Download and Transformation Services to be
available.
• June 2012 – Annex I datasets to be ‘harmonised’.
• Dec 2013 – Metadata for Annex III data themes (21) to be available.
• January 2015 – Annex II and III data to be ‘harmonised’.
• June 2017 – ‘Legacy’ Annex I datasets to be ‘harmonised’
• 30 May 2019 – ‘Legacy’ Annex II and III datasets to be ‘harmonised’.
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10. What Then?
• Information Infrastructure has this nasty
tendency of needing to be sustained well into the
future – SDI is no different.
• But by 2019, SDI should be well embedded into
generic National Information Infrastructure (NII),
e‐government and the decision‐making processes
of government at all levels.
• By 2019, SDI should be supporting myriad
location‐based services throughout society, in
commerce and in our daily lives.
• Yes?
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11. Challenges Ahead
• How do you sustain an expensive infrastructure in
times of financial crisis – such as today!
• What are currently successful Business Models – if
any?
• What is the role of private industry in socioeconomic
information infrastructure?
• Information Infrastructure evolution makes it difficult
to predict ‘future’ challenges:
– New technology can overcome some barriers – technical
and policy oriented (e.g. IPR)
– New technology can also raise new challenges – e.g.
privacy invasion, protection of personal data, etc.
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12. Learn from our successes – and from our
mistakes!
• Identify, codify, monitor and diffuse ‘Best Practice’
wherever it is found.
• Think laterally! The geo world is not the first to be involved
in developing information infrastructure.
• Observe and adopt best practice from allied initiatives – e‐
Government, health information infrastructure, etc.
• Continue efforts on awareness and dissemination of
information regarding info infrastructure and its benefits –
to both decision makers and to those who will be impacted
upon by the decisions!
• Most importantly – participate!
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13. Thank you for your attention!
Please note the Workshop on Saturday on
“INSPIRE – The Readiness Checklist”
Roger Longhorn
Director, Info‐Dynamics Research Associates Ltd, UK
INSPIRE Expert, Compass Informatics Ltd, Ireland
Chair, GSDI Association Legal & Socioeconomic Working Group
Editor, GEO:connexion International magazine
ral@alum.mit.edu
www.gsdi.org/standingcomms.asp
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