Provision of Open Geospatial Data (GR0017)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Greece Second Action Plan for 2014-2016
Action Plan Cycle: 2014
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: Ministry of Environment and Energy
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
Access to Information, Land and Spatial Planning, Legislation, Open DataIRM Review
IRM Report: Greece End-of-Term Report 2014-2016, Greece 2014-2015 Progress Report
Early Results: Did Not Change
Design i
Verifiable: No
Relevant to OGP Values: Yes
Ambition (see definition): Low
Implementation i
Description
The Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change will be responsible for the coordination of the provision of geospatial data from all public administration bodies. The providers will produce and manage their geospatial data and then provide the data to the Ministry, who in turn will make it available in designated format (e.g., oversized paper maps or data sets). Therefore, it is especially important to tag the geospatial data records with appropriate metadata, so that the records can be easily accessed, retrieved and combined with other data sources.
For this purpose, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change will prepare all the necessary legislative acts and it will define a specific business process for the provision of data. The provided geospatial data will be publicized through the website of the National Geospatial Information Infrastructure following technical standards and procedures to be established. Also the data will be posted on the Central Governmental registry data.gov.gr.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
Commitment 2.4. Open geospatial data
Commitment Text:
The Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change will be responsible for the coordination of the provision of geospatial data from all public administration bodies. The providers will produce and manage their geospatial data and then provide the data to the Ministry, who in turn will make it available in designated format (e.g., oversized paper maps or data sets). Therefore, it is especially important to tag the geospatial data records with appropriate metadata, so that the records can be easily accessed, retrieved and combined with other data sources. For this purpose, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change will prepare all the necessary legislative acts and it will define a specific business process for the provision of data. The provided geospatial data will be publicized through the website of the National Geospatial Information Infrastructure following technical standards and procedures to be established. Also the data will be posted on the Central Governmental registry data.gov.gr.
Milestones –Timescales The exact Action Plan depends on the roadmap of Directive 2007/2/EC implementation and it will have to be completed by June 2016. During the consultation processes for the development of the current Action Plan, critical geospatial data sets have been identified. Indicative list: Provide geospatial registry the set of ortho-photos and any other cartographic backgrounds of EKCHA SA (formerly Casadstre SA) Convert and provide OKXE SA archive in digital format Provide data on environmental protection areas (Natura, etc) Editorial Notes:
• The terms "National Geospatial Information Infrastructure (NGII)" and "National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)" are used interchangeably to refer to the central database of spatial data to be maintained and publicized by the Greek authorities
• OKXE SA refers to the former “Hellenic Mapping and Cadaster Organization SA” or HEMCO SA
• The names "EKCHA SA" and "EKXA SA" refer to the "National Cadaster and Mapping Agency SA", abbreviated as "NCMA SA"
2.4.1. Geospatial registry and EKCHA SA
2.4.2. OKXE SA archive in digital format
2.4.3. Environmental protection areas data
Responsible institution: Ministry of Environment and Energy
Supporting institution(s): None
Start date: Not Specified End date: June 2016
Commitment Aim:
This commitment aims to open geospatial datasets within the context of the Greek government’s policy to increase access to government-held information. The goal is to streamline public access to a series of geospatial datasets in the appropriate format and with the correct licenses. This will facilitate a series of possible data uses, such as reporting on environmental protection issues.
Status
Midterm: Limited
Until the midterm report, there was no evidence to prove the fulfilment of Milestone 2.4.1 (Geospatial registry and EKCHA SA) and the Ministry had shown only limited progress in implementing Milestones 2.4.2 (OKXE SA archive in digital format) and 2.4.3 (Environmental protection areas data). Furthermore, there was no specific indication of how the government would fully implement these Milestones.
The Organisation of National Infrastructure of Geospatial Information (OKXE) is mandated to provide direct and free access to geospatial information for citizens and public administration. By the midterm review, the Ministry had provided the datasets, by September 2014, in .pdf format, which does not support open data uses and applications. Additionally, as of September 2015, The Openwise IRM research team found that the Ministry had not updated the website since March 2013. At the end of the first year of implementation, the government had not indicated how or when it would release new data.
End of term: Limited
Officials from the Ministry of Environment reported during the interministerial OGP group meeting that implementation of this commitment has stalled. The officials attribute the outstanding status of this commitment to the fact that there is no available team of experts within the Ministry to undertake the task of simplifying the complex regulatory framework established with the law 3882/2010 concerning geospatial information.[Note 16: “In te ] Further, according to information gathered at the aforementioned interministerial OGP group meeting, the new organisational chart of the Ministry does not address the corresponding competency or responsibility for this commitment.
Did it open government?
Access to information: Did not change
The goal of providing open geospatial public data is to streamline a regular process to obtain this information with the appropriate licensing framework and format. Since the government has not yet resolved the issues regarding the simplification of the legal framework that supports the provision of the data, there was no progress during this action plan to justify change in the status quo.
Carried forward?
The next action plan includes a commitment concerning open provision of geodata. Commitment 23 (Open provision of Geo-data) includes a milestone regarding the “Fully-fledged operation of the website of the National Geospatial Information". According to the text, the Ministry of Environment will oversee the adjustment of current legislative framework and undertake all necessary actions to gradually implement this policy and complete the commitment.