Stakeholder analysis of the governance framework of a national SDI dataset-whose needs are met in the buildings and address register of the Netherlands?

National spatial data infrastructures are key to achieving the Digital Earth vision.In many cases,national datasets are integrated from local datasets created and maintained by municipalities.Examples are address,building and topographic information.Integration of local datasets may result in a dataset satisfying the needs of users of national datasets,but is it productive for those who create and maintain the data?This article presents a stakeholder analysis of the Basisregistratie Adressen en Gebouwen(BAG),a collection of base information about addresses and buildings in the Netherlands.The information is captured and maintained by municipalities and integrated into a national base register by Kadaster,the Cadastre,Land Registry and Mapping Agency of the Netherlands.The stakeholder analysis identifies organisations involved in the BAG governance framework,describes their interests,rights,ownerships and responsibilities in the BAG,and maps the relationships between them.Analysis results indicate that Kadaster and the municipalities have the highest relative importance in the governance framework of the BAG.The study reveals challenges of setting up a governance framework that maintains the delicate balance between the interests of all stakeholders.The results provide guidance for SDI role players setting up governance frameworks for national or global datasets.

Capacitating local governments for the digital earth vision:lessons learnt from the role of municipalities in the South African spatial data infrastructure

The Digital Earth vision foresees the availability and accessibility of geospatial information to achieve the goals of sustainable development,economic growth and social well-being.In the case of urban areas,upto-date geospatial information is essential for managing a city towards achieving these goals.The rapid shift from rural to urban areas globally puts pressure on local governments and they often struggle to find and organise the resources required to collect and maintain geospatial information that can help to address urban growth challenges.A spatial data infrastructure(SDI)can facilitate the availability and accessibility of geospatial information towards addressing national objectives,however,the involvement of local governments in an SDI can be a challenge.In this paper,we critique the role of municipalities against the backdrop of the developments of the South African SDI(SASDI)to date.The critique identifies five high-level shortcomings of the SASDI that have led to the limited participation of municipalities.Based on the shortcomings,we provide recommendations for capacitating municipalities through SASDI so that the Digital Earth vision can also be achieved for municipalities.These recommendations are aimed at involving the local sphere of government in a national SDI and are equally applicable to other countries.