Researcher and consultant in the domains of geospatial data, data infrastructures and digital transformation

The role of Spatial Data Infrastructures for Digital Government Transformation

Webinar, ELISE Knowledge Transfer, 2019

The aim of this webinar was to review the role of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) in the Digital Transformation of Government and explore how SDIs should further evolve to increase its contribution to this transformation. The webinar built on a study commissioned by the EC Joint Research Centre in which a methodology was developed for better understanding the role of SDIs in the Digital Transformation of the public sector and applied to investigate the role between SDIs and Digital Transformation in different European countries

Content

  • Introduction
    • Background: the relationship between the concepts of Spatial Data Infrastructure and Digital Government Transformation
    • Scope and objectives of the study
    • The analytical framework
    • Methodology and limitations
  • Main findings of the study
    • Lessons learnt from the countries in scope
    • Institutional setting
    • Technical infrastructure
    • Impact
  • Conclusions
    • The relevance of the OECD Recommendation on Digital Government Strategies
    • Key takeaways and next steps

Description

Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) “denote the relevant base collection of technologies, policies and institutional arrangements that facilitate the availability of and access to spatial data”. Thanks to the INSPIRE Directive, SDIs in Europe have become a fundamental building block for effective data-sharing across sectors and communities. Through their development process, public sector organisations have had the chance to learn many lessons over the years in topics such terms of cross-sector collaboration, user-centric design, the provision of data-related platforms and other technological solutions for making data, metadata and services available for their reuse.

It can be argued that SDIs play a pivotal role in the Digital Transformation of Governments, a term which can refer to profound changes in the public sector as a result of the uptake and integration of digital technologies in every aspect of government service delivery and decision-making. However, the analysis of the role that SDIs actually play in Digital Government Transformation has not been the object of many studies, so far. With practitioners and academics increasingly acknowledging the links between these two concepts, there is a need to provide an initial picture of how SDIs have contributed to Digital Government Transformation and what their roles may be in the future

The aim of this webinar was to review the role of SDIs in the Digital Transformation of Government and explore how SDIs should further evolve to increase its contribution to this transformation. The webinar built on a recent study commissioned by the EC Joint Research Centre in which a methodology was developed for better understanding the role of SDIs in the Digital Transformation of the public sector and applied to investigate the role between SDIs and Digital Transformation in different European countries. The main findings of this study were presented, and were used as a starting point for a further reflection on how SDIs and Digital Government could deliver a greater value to the European economy and society.

The webinar was the fifth of a series of “Rapid Studies” under the ELISE ISA2 Action. The aim of the Rapid Studies was to quickly engage with new topics of relevance to location interoperability, the digital transformation of government and socio-technical developments in this arena.

More information about the webinar can be found on the Interoperable Europe Portal.