Further investment in spatial data infrastructures

In recent developments, the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) Association has announced a donation of almost US$40,000 to continue to stimulate the implementation and improvement of spatial data infrastructures globally. Their financial support, specifically targeted at low and lower middle income countries, will be administered by the Global Geospatial Information Management Section, of the UN Statistics Division.

This donation represents a further and final investment to add to the very significant contribution made by the Association since its inception over 20 years ago. GSDI has delivered 15 World Conferences, has provided funding of nearly US$300,000 for Small Projects developing Spatial Data Infrastructures, facilitated extensive knowledge-sharing across an international network of geospatial professionals, and published SDI news appreciated by many thousands of readers globally.

Closure of the Association has resulted from a growing recognition that its vision and mission has, increasingly and to a great extent, been adopted by internationally resourced organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the Open Geospatial Consortium. In early 2018 the Board, Members and Executive of GSDI decided that these international organizations have the traction and funding needed to take Spatial Data Infrastructure development and deployment to the next level and, as a result, after long and careful deliberation, agreed that GSDI Association should wind up its operations during 2018.

Whilst this represents their final financial investment in spatial data infrastructures, the Association having recently closed down, GSDI’s resources will remain available from http://gsdiassociation.org/