2014 GSDI Small Grants Awarded

The Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) Association is pleased to announce that four proposals have received awards from the 2014 Small Grants Program.

The GSDI Association has allocated resources from the Geoconnections Program of Natural Resources Canada to fund the program to support national or sub-national activities that foster partnerships, develop in-country technical capacity, improve data compatibility and access, and increase political support for spatial data infrastructure. The U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee Office of the Secretariat and the GISCorps of The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) also support the program.

A Call for Proposals was issued in March 2014, resulting in 40 proposals, which were reviewed by volunteers from six continents from organizations in over 20 countries. The proposals selected for funding, from Ghana, Uganda, Belize and Armenia, are listed below.

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Title: Establishing standards-based web mapping and data access services using open source geospatial software technologies for CERSGIS

Institution: Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services (CERSGIS), University of Ghana, Legon.

Project summary: The project is focused on the development of a clearinghouse for spatial data for CERSGIS and is a case study for the full-scale implementation of recommendations and activities for the National Spatial Development Framework for Ghana. Project activities include:

  • Develop data policies and standards.
  •  Develop metadata for the datasets based on the defined standards.
  • Implement web-based spatial data infrastructure portal for public access to the datasets.
  • Workshop to present the SDI portal to stakeholders.

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Title: Towards GIS Interoperability For Environmental Protection And Sustainable Development

Institution: Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Project summary: Develop a structured organization of geodata and geographic information based on internationally accepted OGC and ISO standards to guarantee interoperability in Uganda. Planned activities include:

  • Evaluate the existing spatial datasets and value of geoinformation.
  • Document spatial data according to the ISO 19115 standard.
  • Develop a one-stop gateway to discover, access and evaluate spatial data.

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Title: Developing a reliable agriculture GIS database for Belize through partnership with key stakeholder

Institution: Land Information Center, Ministry of Natural Resources and Agriculture, Belmopan, Belize.

Project summary: Develop a reliable agriculture GIS database in collaboration with agriculture stakeholders in the country:

  • Establish an Agriculture GIS data integration working group consisting of key stakeholders from governmental, private sector, and other relevant stakeholders.
  • Identify the types of agriculture related data and data gaps that exist for large farms (and commercial farms) within the country.
  •  Establish standards for data integration exercises based on identified needs of stakeholders, best practices, and international standards.
  • Develop and provide accessibility of the final database through the Belize NSDI geoportal to enable improved decision-making within this sector.

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Title: Introducing EnviroSDI for Armenia: Piloting publicly accessible online platform

Institution: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Armenia.

Project summary: The proposed project will create an online SDI open-source based platform (Ushahidi may be one option), enabling the non-profit sector and the wider public to access a wide range of geographic data including base maps and sector specific thematic maps. The main components of the project are:

  • Designing the concept of the online SDI platform, with the specifics of it use (users) in mind;
  • Developing (customizing an existing open-source platform) and rolling out the SDI (online);
  • Populating it with base maps; and
  •  Populating the platform with geographic (environmental, conservation) thematic data collected during the field fieldwork over a pilot area.

For more information please visit the GSDI Small Grants Program web page.