Geographic Information Standardization in Africa

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Geographic Information Standardization in Africa

• Based on the survey conducted by EIS-AFRICA and
  USGS/EDC
• Pre-ICC Workshop, Durban, South Africa
• 10 August 2003

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The survey

• Questionnaire distributed at CODI 3, via e-mail
  and available through the EIS-AFRICA web-site
• As at 3 August 2003, 35 responses received
• Thanks to
• Fashae Olutoyin Adeola, Dr E Amamoo-Otchere, AYB
  Anifowose, Joel Arumadri, Dr Jaishree Beedasy,
  Jane Bemigisha, Sean Canavan, Tabitha Chima,
  Enias Chinjekure, Bwalya N Chuba, Tadele Gemechu,
  Patrick Gordon, Jemal Kedir, Jeanne de Klerk,
  Faustin Gwacha, Cyprien Hakizimana, Anna Ahmed
  Hamid, Alex Held, Jelle U Hielkema, Najet
  Karaborni, Sharthi Laldaparsad, Christopher Legg,
  Edwin Mugerezi, Evaristo Musonda, Demeke
  Nigussie, Emma Noongo, Uzo Okafor, Dr Ademole
  Omjola, Dennis A Osanwuta, Samuel Osei, José
  Eduardo Rafael, Paul Strydom, Michele Schilling,
  Dr Rejoice Tsheko, Cornelis Van der Post, Rombout
  Verwimp

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Responses from

• The following African countries
• Botswana (2), Burundi, Ethiopia (5), Ghana,
  Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia (2), Nigeria (5),
  Rwanda, South Africa (4), Sudan, Tanzania (2),
  Uganda (2), Zambia, Zimbabwe
• International organisations
• FAO, Global Fire Monitoring Center, UN Department
  of Economic and Social Affairs

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Responding African countries
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Note on the analysis

• The intention was that the survey would provide
  qualitative rather than rigorously quantitative
  information
• Often the responses from the same country did not
  reflect a consensus view
• But people were encouraged to provide the
  information they could, even if they felt it was
  incomplete (and we thank them for doing this!),
• So, we have assumed that e.g. where someone says
  no working group here, and a compatriot says
  there is a working group here, that there is a
  working group!

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Standardization activity Working groups

• Roughly two thirds of the countries respond that
  there is a working group addressing standards
• About half of these working groups focus
  primarily on standards development (others appear
  to be more oriented to information management in
  general/SDI )
• Working groups typically involve between 5 and 20
  government agencies

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Standardization activity Working groups

• Linkages
• Few report linkages with international efforts
  (e.g. OGC, ISO/TC 211)
• Few linkages with National Standards Bodies some
  countries have begun discussions (Botswana,
  Zambia, Zimbabwe), but it appears that there are
  firm links to a standards body only in South
  Africa
• Linkages to Africover

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Standardization activity Working groups

• Most activity relates to metadata, followed by
• formulating standards for data content,
• data definitions,
• spatial referencing,
• symbology (portrayal)
• The impact of working groups not clear it
  appears that it is difficult to sustain their
  activity over a long period

9
Standardization activity through externally
funded projects

• Standardization appears to be incidental to most
  of the projects described in the completed
  questionnaires
• Exceptions
• land-cover projects
• development of standards in Zimbabwe

10
Standards under development/implementation

• A wide range of activity
• Most activity described as being in the
  consultative or early development phase
• Some standards described as having been adopted
  by all relevant agencies, e.g
• Place names (Uganda, Burundi)
• Coding for administrative districts (Burundi)
• Coding for rivers (Namibia)
• Geodetic referencing (South Africa, Tanzania,
  Uganda, Burundi)

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Standards under development/implementation

• Under discussion/in early stages of development
  (in descending order)
• Land cover classification
• Metadata
• Coding for roads
• Geodetic network
• Coding of administrative districts

• Implementation progress (in descending order)
• Geodetic network
• Coding of administrative districts
• Coding for roads
• Land cover classification

Note Biggest discrepancy between under
discussion and implementation for a data
dictionary and data quality
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Barriers to information integration

• Lack of standardization of
• Data quality
• Data definitions and feature classification
• Co-ordinate systems
• Note
• Respondents mention the lack of digital data as
  an inhibiting factor in information integration
• Experiences are different in different countries,
  e.g. in some countries there appears to be very
  little difficulty with a lack of standardization
  of co-ordinate systems

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Priority standards

• Metadata
• Data quality
• Co-ordinate systems
• Land cover classification
• Coding for administrative districts
• Note several respondents did not prioritise, but
  accorded high priority to many standards

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General observations

• Lack of common understanding of terminology
• Generality of responses many people speak of SDI
  in totality, rather than focussing on the
  standards development component

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Challenges identified to development and
implemention of standards

• Co-operation and leadership
• Institutional co-operation
• co-operation between data custodians and users
• Clarity on roles of stakeholders
• A clearly mandated lead agency to drive standards
  development
• Capacity building and training
• Insufficient expertise
• Lack of funding for training

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Challenges identified to development and
implementation of standards (contd)

• Lack of resources
• For development of standards
• For implementing standards
• For maintaining standards
• Lack of allocation of resources to standards
  development and implementation, or geo-spatial
  database improvement
• Lack of awareness and understanding of the
  importance of standards
• Lack of vision and planning

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What could help?

• Raising awareness
• Sensitising decision-makers to the importance of
  standards
• Continuous awareness creation, to engender
  ongoing support and activity
• Research
• research and disseminate findings on resources
  and development opportunities being lost, due to
  the absence of national geospatial data standards
• Research success stories with respect to
  standardization

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What could help? (contd)

• Basic training, on e.g. data exchange protocols
  and transfer formats, transformation of
  co-ordinates
• Implementation strategies
• For implementing standards in the public and
  private sectors
• For metadata
• Supporting the private sector to participate in
  standardization
• Addressing the issue of standards across borders
  (e.g. drainage basins)

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What now?

• The survey continues please contribute your your
  insights
• This workshop!

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Geographic Information Standardization in Africa

• Based on the survey conducted by EIS-AFRICA and
  USGS/EDC
• Pre-ICC Workshop, Durban, South Africa
• 10 August 2003

22
What now?

• Function nounDate 15621 a small
  establishment where manufacturing or handicrafts
  are carried on2 WORKROOM3 a usually brief
  intensive educational program for a relatively
  small group of people that focuses especially on
  techniques and skills in a particular field