[Back]

J. Ogunbiyi:
"Reviewing the Status of National Spatial Data Infrastructure: Acase study in Southern Africa countries";
Supervisor: M. Jobst, G. Gartner; Department für Geodäsie und Geoinformation 120-06, 2021; final examination: 2021-06-17.

For many years, spatial data infrastructure has provided a reliable platform thatfacilitates the exchange and integration of geospatial data among citizens, government,and private entities. Regardless of the progress in SDI, the implementation of nationalspatial data infrastructures has been slow in developing countries, particularly incountries in Southern Africa.
Therefore, it is important to assess the current status of SDI development by tracking implementation and measuring stakeholder accountability. The main objective of thisstudy was to assess the status and current development of the National Spatial DataInfrastructure in selected countries (Botswana, South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe, andTanzania).
The assessment of the status of the NSDI was conducted using two multi-view assessment framework approaches, the organizational assessment method and themodified state-of-play approach. The organizational assessment method includesdocument analysis, website research, and outreach to relevant NSDI organizations. Inaddition, the modified state-of-play analysis includes the use of questionnaire survey,document analysis, and website search as tools for data collection. In addition, animplementation of open source tools (Geodjango) was developed to demonstrate thescalability of the NSDI platform.
The results of the multi-view assessment show that sharing and integration of datasets among stakeholders and departments is one of the main barriers to the development ofthe NSDI in African countries. Some of the components of spatial data infrastructuresuch as technical infrastructure, legal framework, strategic policy implications, nationalsecurity, and privacy issues are poorly developed in the selected countries.
The technical approach to facilitating interoperability and sharing of datasets across digital platforms is still at an early stage in Southern African countries, while human andpolicy issues exist. The desire of government agencies to implement their mandateshinders mechanisms for sharing and effectively distributing spatial data infrastructure indeveloping countries (UN-GGIM 2020).

SDI, NSDI, multi-view assessment framework, SDI status