New KEN Chair aims to INSPIRE development of European Spatial Data Infrastructure

Marcin Grudzień from the Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography (GUGIK) in Poland has been named the new Chair of a European knowledge exchange network for INSPIRE experts.

The specialist in national spatial data infrastructures (NSDIs) will lead EuroGeographics INSPIRE KEN which focuses on sharing best practice in implementing the Directive. The group is part of the membership association’s network to support Europe’s National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities to improve their capabilities and role.

Marcin takes over the role from Dominique Laurent, National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information, France. Dominique, who was heavily involved in the both the INSPIRE Drafting Team for Data Specifications, and the Thematic Working Groups on Cadastral Parcels and on Buildings, was instrumental in the INSPIRE KEN’s formation and has led its activities for the past decade.

Léa Bodossian, Executive Director and Secretary General, EuroGeographics said: “We are extremely fortunate to count so many world leading experts among our membership and Marcin and Dominique are no exception. Both are well respected professionals whose insight and leadership are vital in cementing our members’ reputation for excellence, particularly during the review period of INSPIRE.”

“EuroGeographics has a strong culture of collaboration and cooperation at its heart. In these uncertain and rapidly changing times, this unity is key to raising awareness among politicians and policymakers of our members’ collective value in delivering better data for better lives.”

Marcin Grudzień added: “By ensuring effective two-way communication between the European Commission and NMCAs, the INSPIRE KEN plays an essential role in the development of a European SDI.”

“In particular, our role is to provide feedback on policies and technical solutions from the EuroGeographics community. With the first phase of implementation ending last year and all the milestones behind us, INSPIRE is evolving. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the KEN to navigate these uncharted waters whilst also continuing its primary objective – the sharing of INSPIRE-related information among NMCAs.”

Marcin’s extensive experience includes coordinating the technical implementation of the INSPIRE Directive in Poland. He has been an active member of the INSPIRE KEN for many years and is a well-known presenter at INSPIRE and SDI-related conferences.

More recently, he played an active role in building Poland’s fourth-biggest public sector IT system, addressing technical, semantic, operational and legal aspects for its stakeholders. He is currently Deputy Director GUGIK’s Strategy, International Cooperation and Public Information Department.

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration:  833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together members from 46 countries, covering the whole of geographical Europe.

Transparency, accountability and common values will fuel digital decade data demand

Underpinning Europe’s Digital Decade with fundamental rights and common values will fuel demand for trusted public sector information, say National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities.

Through their membership association, EuroGeographics, they have welcomed the vision for Europe’s Digital Decade, noting that respect for data privacy, Intellectual Property Rights and the legal protection of databases is essential in providing online services for citizens and supporting public administration.

“Data based on agreed rules of creation and use, legal aspect, accountability, quality management, certification, traceability, and maintenance are needed everywhere by everybody all the time. Knowing that reliable sources of geospatial data exist, and where to obtain them, is essential for making critical decisions that affect all our lives, both from an individual’s perspective, and by policy-makers,” says Léa Bodossian, Secretary General and Executive Director, EuroGeographics.

“Authoritative public sector information is a key building block for a successful digital transformation, which will result in a society empowered by the use of these trusted data and services. Demand for geospatial information from official national sources will continue to grow into the next decade. NMCAs are committed to continue providing quality, value, reliability and ease of re-use data, as these remain key requirements for users.”

“With the constant and dramatic growth of data volumes, information is moving to the clouds and is being shared through data spaces. As such, NMCAs welcome the European Strategy for Data and the transparent governance tools proposed in the Data Governance Act. These initiatives have the potential to be important milestones in reaching the goals of the Digital Decade.”

“EuroGeographics members were early pioneers in data interoperability having solved a wide range of geographical, technical, political, organisational, linguistic and operational challenges to create pan-European datasets. We are eager to share our experience and the lessons learned to help achieve the cohesion needed to realise the digital targets, and we do know that there many more datasets that are to be made open and that will benefit from NMCA’s expertise.”

“We look forward to making a significant contribution to the success of Europe’s Digital Decade and the 2030 digital targets, and welcome being part of this conversation.”

Read EuroGeographics’ feedback on the EU Roadmap for Communication on “Europe’s Digital Decade”: 2030 digital targets.

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration:  833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together members from 46 countries, covering the whole of geographical Europe.

New gateway will connect users to open maps for Europe

Free to use maps from more than 40 European countries are to be made available through a new online gateway.

Open Maps for Europe will signpost and provide easy access to pan-European open data created using official map, geospatial and land information.

The project, which is co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union, is coordinated by EuroGeographics, the voice of European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities, in partnership with the National Geographic Institute (NGI) Belgium.

Users will be able to access the data, created by the not-for-profit membership association, through an online interface developed by thinkWhere. The specialist in open source geographic information system (GIS) technologies will deliver the enhanced gateway for discovering, viewing, licensing and downloading the open datasets after winning an open tender.

The open data will include topographic data, a digital elevation model, imagery, a cadastral index map, and a regional gazetteer. The first maps are expected to be available in summer 2021.

Angela Baker, Programme Manager, Data Access and Integration, EuroGeographics said: “As the official national sources of map, cadastral and land information, our members’ data is fundamental to the everyday lives of people across Europe. We may not always realise it, but their authoritative information underpins our public services, provides certainty of property ownership and helps to save precious time and potentially save lives when responding to emergencies. In an ever connected world, it is also increasingly used in a wide range of applications relied upon by both citizens and businesses.”

“The Open Data Directive recognises that the value of data lies in its use and re-use.  By providing easy access to free to use harmonised maps for Europe, our members want to boost the development of these innovative services. Their aim is to encourage greater use of their official geospatial data to drive market development and economic growth, and increase competitiveness by reducing costs.

“By working to ensure their data is interoperable, readily available and easily accessible, they are demonstrating a commitment to delivering Open Maps for Europe both now and in the future.”

Alan Moore, Chief Executive, thinkWhere added:  “We are delighted to be working with EuroGeographics and its members on the Open Maps for Europe project where the primary aim is to drive up the use of official geospatial and open data.”

“Our mission is to make geographic data highly accessible, easy to use and an essential part of your information architecture. Collaborating with EuroGeographics and its members we will harness the power of our cloud-based geospatial data infrastructure and drive the development of a user-centric portal that makes it easy to find, view, publish and share the rich suite of pan European digital mapping, cadastral and topographic datasets.”

Open Maps for Europe runs until 31 December 2022 .

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration:  833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together members from 46 countries, covering the whole of geographical Europe.

thinkWhere is a leading UK geospatial data and technology company specialising in open source, open data and cloud computing. Working with many public sector and commercial clients, we transform the way organisations use geographic data.

For further information, please visit www.thinkwhere.com 

The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of EuroGeographics and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.

New head of EuroGeographics aims to put official geospatial data on the map in the heart of Europe

EuroGeographics today (22 October 2020) announced European affairs advisor Léa Bodossian as its new Secretary General and Executive Director.

In addition to a passion for geography, Léa brings high-level representation, communication and management skills to the Brussels-based membership association for European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities. Her previous roles include Secretary General of the Airport Regions Council and a number of positions within the European Commission and Parliament.

Commenting on her appointment, Léa said: “Official national geospatial data and cadastral services provided by members of EuroGeographics are a fundamental part of our everyday lives – whether or not we realise it.”

“For example, they are currently supporting national responses to the global pandemic by delivering up to date, accurate data and expertise for government management and monitoring of COVID-19. We need to ensure these valuable contributions are widely recognised and understood so that all areas of society can benefit fully from our members’ activities and expertise.”

“As a geographer and a lover of maps, it is of course an honour to join EuroGeographics, which enables the connection between maps, people and policies in Europe and beyond. I am, however, also thrilled to be part of an association which has a strong culture of collaboration and cooperation at its heart. In these uncertain and rapidly changing times, this unity is key to raising awareness among politicians and policymakers of our members’ collective value in delivering better data for better lives.”

President of EuroGeographics, Colin Bray added: “We are delighted to welcome Léa to head up our Association. We know that her extensive experience in successfully securing EU grants and delivering projects, as well as contributing to consultations and expert groups, and participating in hearings and meetings at the European Parliament, will help to ensure our members’ roles, capabilities and concerns continue to be understood across the world.”

Léa succeeds Mick Cory who is retiring after successfully leading EuroGeographics since 2015.

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration:  833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together members from 46 countries, covering the whole of geographical Europe.

UN-GGIM framework for effective land administration welcomed by EuroGeographics

EuroGeographics, which represents Europe’s National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities (NMCAs), has welcomed a new framework for effective land administration that recognises the importance of providing secure land and property rights to people across the world.

The adoption of the Framework for Effective Land Administration (FELA) at the tenth session of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), follows an extensive consultation to which EuroGeographics and its members contributed.

Mick Cory, Secretary General and Executive Director, EuroGeographics says: “The greater majority of humanity do not enjoy secure land rights.  The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a global plan of action: effective land administration underpins and supports leaving no one behind - the commitment of the 2030 Agenda.  Many EuroGeographics’ members focus on property rights and registration, and we have an active knowledge network of cadastral and land registration experts.”

“We are pleased by this recognition that secure land and property rights for all is a crucial component for an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable society through  FELA’s full alignment with the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework which supports the Sustainable Development Goals for both developing and developed countries.”

“We encourage the Expert Group to consider how best to actively engage with wider stakeholders and decision makers outside the geospatial community to promote and advocate the importance of effective and efficient land administration and management.

He continued: “In Europe, we see a need where – based on the existing level of maturity – next steps can be defined following the nine pathways of the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF).  As the membership association for European NMCAs, we continue to follow the progress of the FELA and welcome opportunities for future cooperation, particularly through our Knowledge Exchange Network on Cadastre and Land Registration which provides a valuable forum for sharing best practice and experiences.”

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration:  833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together members from 46 countries, covering the whole of geographical Europe.

EuroGeographics pledges support for UN-GGIM focus on authoritative geospatial data

EuroGeographics has welcomed the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management's (UN-GGIM) intention to focus on issues concerning authority, custodianship and legal issues for data for the public good.

The Association, which represents Europe’s National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities, has pledged to support the UN-GGIM Working Group on Legal and Policy Frameworks in its aim to better understand the definition and importance of authoritative data. It is also offering access to its extensive network to help gather examples of best practice and to facilitate information sharing.

Mick Cory, Secretary General and Executive Director, EuroGeographics says: “The critical importance of trusted geospatial information to support decision-making at all levels and many areas of national and international concern is demonstrated by the current Covid-19 pandemic. However, there remains insufficient awareness of the importance of good quality data to addressing global challenges and addressing national and global economic and social goals.”

“A clear policy for geospatial information management, backed up by a robust legislative framework with appropriate resource, are significant enablers to effective and efficient geospatial information management, as envisaged as part of the Inetgrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF).  We warmly welcome, and stand ready to assist the Working Group in this work which will help the implementation of the IGIF and is a significant contribution to the global geospatial community.” 

EuroGeographics is an observer on the Working Group, which was formally renamed at the tenth session of UN-GGIM and is now known as the Working Group on Policy and Legal Frameworks for Geospatial Information Management to align with IGIF Strategic Pathway 2 – Policy and Legal.

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration:  833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together members from 46 countries, covering the whole of geographical Europe.

Online directory points way to national map, land registration & cadastral data from official sources

National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities (NMCAs) have launched an online directory to help users find official geospatial, land registration and cadastral information and maps from Europe.

Available via the website of EuroGeographics, the not-for-profit membership association for European NMCAs, users select their country of interest via the online map, and then click on a quick link to the national cadastre portal or geoportal.

Mick Cory, Secretary General and Executive Director, EuroGeographics says: “Our members’ data is important because it supports a range of legal, fiscal, security and other public administrative purposes, and provides reliable, consistent context and clarity to information about people and places. This takes users beyond the national map to a rich information resource used by governments, public authorities and citizens for important decisions and official purposes.”

“By providing links to the data available, our membership map is a simple way to signpost users to national maps, cadastral and land registration information across geographical Europe. It is just one of the ways we are facilitating access to our members’ data, services and expertise.”

Further information about each authority, including the latest case studies, can be found by clicking on the member name. The case studies are taken from EuroGeographics annual reviews and demonstrate the value and breadth of NMCA activities. Topics include open data, digital transformation, quality, interoperability and national spatial data infrastructures.

Please visit https://eurogeographics.org/our-members/ for more information.

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration:  833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together members from 46 countries, covering the whole of geographical Europe.

EuroGeographics highlights role of high value, authoritative, geospatial information in European Strategy for Data 

High value, authoritative, geospatial data from official national sources has a significant role to play in the European Strategy for Data.   

EuroGeographics, the not-for-profit membership association for Europe’s National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities, has highlighted that such data is ubiquitous across all the dataspaces and one of the the basic building blocks for digital transformation. 

Mick Cory, Secretary General and Executive Director, EuroGeographics said: “The value of data lies in its use and re-use. Making their information available for use and re-use by others is at the core of our members’public task and they are committed to this principle.” 

“Geospatial is one of the five High Value Datasets themes expected to be available free of charge in machine-readable format via suitable APIs. With sustainable funding, our members can ensure a continued supply, indeed an increase, in the provision of high value authoritative geospatial data for use and re-use.” 

“Their authoritative information can underpin and be used across all the dataspaces set out in the Strategy. For example, public administration relies on trusted authoritative sources to inform policy, transport needs authoritative geospatial datasets for cross-border requirements, and NMCA data forms an important component of the land parcel identification system, which supports the common agricultural policy. Furthermore, Cadastre and land registry data provide a basis for property tax in many countries, helping to combat national and international fraud and tax evasion.” 

Mick Cory continues: “Technical and policy duplication hinders progress, is costly and should be avoided. A horizontal, cross-sectorial governance framework for data, regardless of data theme or sector of origin, is therefore an appropriate step forward to the alignment of the different actions.” 

“Within EuroGeographics, our way of working is built upon the success of our enduring collaborative effort with our members to avoid gaps, eradicate duplications and contradictions, and avoid missed opportunities. We warmly welcome the important development of this overarching data strategy and we look forward to contributing to its success by using our experience in facilitating cross border data sharing and re-use of geospatial public sector data.”  

EuroGeographics full information paper is available here. 

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration:  833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together members from 46 countries, covering the whole of geographical Europe.  

Unique collaboration releases updated official boundary and geospatial data for Europe

National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration authorities across Europe have provided official data for the latest seamless administrative boundary and topographic datasets available from their membership association, EuroGeographics.

EuroBoundaryMap (EBM 2020) and EuroRegionalMap (ERM 2020) are created by the not-for-profit organisation using a unique data integration process which harmonises national data to standard specifications.

Angela Baker, Programme Manager, EuroGeographics says: “Our production system is a particularly important example of international collaboration in the geospatial area.  By working together to deliver pan-European data, our members are demonstrating not only what can be achieved through Europe-wide cooperation but also the benefits that result for the wider public good.”

EBM 2020 enables the exact matching of administrative areas in 55 European countries and territories using geospatial data from 39 EuroGeographics members. Available at 1:100 000 scale, it contains geometry, names and codes of administrative and statistical units, and links to the updated statistical LAU- and NUTS-codes for all local administrative units of the EU Member States.

Angela Baker adds: “EBM 2020 enables users to geo-reference statistical data. The Statistical Atlas published by the European statistical agency, Eurostat is a good example of how it can be used to link different datasets about people and places to visualise complex information. EBM 2020 also allows users to search the dataset using multilingual geographical names with information from our Regional Gazetteer.”

Working with Germany’s Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), which manages the production of both datasets, EuroGeographics has also updated the settlements, boundary and hydrography themes in ERM 2020, its 1:250 000 scale dataset covering 51 European countries and territories.

To improve accuracy and achieve a harmonised full European dataset, national data is validated against specifications using a tool developed by The Netherlands Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency. ERM 2020 focuses on edge-matching watercourse features along borders. The advantage for the end user is that the feature is linked across boundaries, so the physical feature is not stopped by a non-physical border.

As well as ERM 2020 and EBM 2020, EuroGeographics offers pan-European open data, EuroGlobalMap, which is supported by the National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information (IGN France), a digital elevation model and a Regional Gazetteer managed by BKG.

https://eurogeographics.org/maps-for-europe/

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration:  833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together members from 46 countries, covering the whole of geographical Europe.

New report identifies key components of authoritative geospatial data

Authoritative geospatial data is one of the basic building blocks for digital transformation and can be defined by seven characteristics that foster its trust across borders and between users, says a new report.

Researchers and practitioners in national mapping, cadastres and land registries (NMCAs) asked EuroGeographics, EuroSDR and KU Leuven what they believe makes their geospatial data authoritative. By identifying common characteristics, the aim was to gain a better and more comprehensive understanding of the definition, nature, governance and future of authoritative data and the links to spatial data quality in Europe. The research found that agreed rules of creation and use, a legal aspect, accountability, quality management, certification, traceability, and maintenance, were all recurring themes. 

Report co-author Mick Cory, Secretary General and Executive Director of EuroGeographics which represents European NMCAs said: “Our members are recognised as the official sources of national geospatial information and whilst their data is routinely described as authoritative, it was not fully clear how the term is applied and interpreted across Europe.”

"Official, authoritative data is important because it supports a range of legal, fiscal, security and other public administrative purposes​. For example, cadastral authorities and land registries fulfil an essential role providing official, detailed, secure and reliable information on property rights and registration.”

“In many countries, the process is enshrined in law with a public body given authority for the cadastral task. This makes the data authoritative according to our research which defines it as: Data that is provided by a public body (or authority) which has an official mandate to provide it, that is based on a set of criteria to ensure known quality, and that is required to be used and reused by the public sector and society as a whole.”

Mr Cory continued: “The importance of authoritative data has long been recognised at a national level and is increasingly recognised internationally, in particular in addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Other sources can supplement, but not replace, official data of known quality and reliability​.”

Co-author, Joep Crompvoets, KU Leuven and Secretary General of EuroSDR, which is the European Spatial Data Research network linking NMCAs with Research Institutes and Universities in Europe, added: “NMCAs told us that they valued being able to label their information as authoritative, not only because users give it greater credit but also because it helps secure government investment to ensure it is updated, supported and used by public services. They also underlined that there is a need for organisations within the public sector to take up a central role in the governance of authoritative data.”

“Our results demonstrate that there is a need for a systematic and harmonised approach towards authoritative data and that more effort should be put in making it available and recognisable by other public organisations as well as private actors.”

The full report is available here.

EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL/ IVZW under Belgian Law. BCE registration:  833 607 112) and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together members from 46 countries, covering the whole of geographical Europe.

EuroSDR is a not-for-profit organisation linking National Mapping and Cadastral Agencies with Research Institutes and Universities in Europe for the purpose of applied research in spatial data provision, management and delivery.
Find out more about EuroSDR.