Recommendation 1: Connect location information strategies and digital government strategies in all legal and policy instruments
| Implementation guidance | Related information |
|---|---|
Why
- Core location information (e.g. address data) is relevant to most digital public services and broader location-based information is important in many digital public services (e.g. land registration) and in public sector information provided to citizens and businesses (e.g. location of schools and hospitals).
- Optimising the use of location information helps to deliver innovative, authoritative and comprehensive digital public services.
- Silo thinking in policy development can lead to duplication and inefficiency, poor value for money, confusion for stakeholders, and overall reduction in policy effectiveness. The potential impacts are felt by businesses and citizens as well as across the public sector.
- A connected strategic approach will help align implementation actions for mutual benefit, contributing to achievement of goals around growth and better services.
- A cost efficient and effective public sector is a driver for growth in the data-driven economy.
- Many digital strategies come to a close in 2020. The new decade is an opportunity to rethink with more innovative, user focused, better aligned strategies.
- The COVID-19 pandemic and other disaster phenomena demonstrate the importance of understanding the data in helping to solve global problems.
How
Location and digital strategy alignment
- Digital government and ICT strategies include a key role for location information and technologies, to deliver better digital public services supported by an overall interoperable ICT framework.
- Location information strategies address the requirements of digital public services, supplying data for these digital public services and supporting links between the public sector and society. These strategies consider the broad requirements of digital public services and not just the restricted context for which location information might be collected in the first place.
- Location information strategies are aligned with ICT strategies, in terms of the architectures and technologies used.
Strategic engagement
- Location stakeholders should be involved in the development of digital government and ICT strategies.
- Stakeholders connected with digital public service provision should be involved in the development of location strategies.
- There is a clear and agreed allocation of tasks and responsibilities between the different parties involved in digital public service, ICT and location information policies.
Consistent thematic policies
- Different thematic policies should apply a consistent approach to the provision and use of location-related information, for example in their references to standards, use of codes, and reuse of authoritative data. The following aspects of policy alignment should be considered:
- Alignment across different policies in the same thematic area;
- Alignment with European (e.g. INSPIRE) and national location policies;
- Alignment with European (e.g. Open Data Directive, European Data Strategy, GDPR) and national data policies (see Recommendation 2 below);
- Alignment of thematic digital public service and ICT solutions with European (e.g. ISA2, DIGITAL) and national digital and ICT policies;
- Cross-sector alignment of data infrastructure frameworks.
Useful tools
- A useful tool for assessing alignment (and other factors) in the development of EU policy is the digital economy and society and ICT issues tool in the Better Regulation ‘Toolbox’, which contains a digital check to identify the digital aspects and ICT needs of new initiatives.
- ICT assessments may also be undertaken as part of the EU policy monitoring and evaluation phase. These take the form of ‘evaluations’ of particular policies (e.g. INSPIRE) and ‘fitness checks’ of particular policy domains (e.g. Environment).
- The EU Better Regulation ‘Toolbox’ provides a series of relevant best practice ‘policy’ tools, including those mentioned above.
- The EIF Toolbox provides online guidance on the European Interoperability Framework (EIF).
- The National Interoperability Framework Observatory (NIFO) monitors alignment with the recommendations in the EIF.
- The EULF Blueprint (this document) is available as a structured online resource
- The Location Interoperability Framework Observatory (LIFO) monitors alignment with the recommendations in the EULF Blueprint.
Challenges
- Lack of understanding by policy makers of the potential role of location information and how the information should be managed. For example, the EULF Marine pilot and the EULF Energy Efficiency of Buildings feasibility study highlighted requests from different directives related to the same location information without defining a common strategy for data sharing and management.
- Complexity in consultation and coordination involving all relevant stakeholders.
- Keeping pace with the changing political and policy landscape.
- Developing strategies that give an optimum balance to the digital public service and information needs of different stakeholders.
- Location information and digital strategies involve the private sector to an increasing extent. This presents challenges as well as opportunities that need to be handled consistently, e.g. the conditions for use of private sector data alongside public sector data.
Best Practices
- #1: A digital platform for location data in Flanders
- #6: Digital Exchange platform for spatial plans
- #18: Territorial Information System of Navarre: SITNA
- #43: The impact of open geodata - follow up study
- #64: Estonian catalogue of public sector information systems (RIHA)
- #91: Slovak Semantic Interoperability Framework
- #92: ESPUS (Effective management of spatial data and services)
LIFO Monitoring
The Location Information Framework Observatory (LIFO) monitors the implementation of EULF Blueprint recommendations in European countries. Read about the implementation of Recommendation 1 in the LIFO Country Factsheets or the LIFO European State of Play Report. Explore the results for selected countries at LIFO Interactive Dashboards - Recommendations.
Related Frameworks: European Interoperability Framework (EIF)
| EIF Pillars | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Interoperability Layer 1: Interoperability Governance | Recommendation 20: Ensure holistic governance of interoperability activities across administrative levels and sectors. |
| Interoperability Layer 3: Legal Interoperability | Recommendation 27: Ensure that legislation is screened by means of ‘interoperability checks’, to identify any barriers to interoperability. When drafting legislation to establish a European public service, seek to make it consistent with relevant legislation, perform a ‘digital check’ and consider data protection requirements. |
| Interoperability Layer 5: Semantic Interoperability | Recommendation 31: Put in place an information management strategy at the highest possible level to avoid fragmentation and duplication. Management of metadata, master data and reference data should be prioritised. |
Related Frameworks: UN-GGIM Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF)
Strategic Pathway 1: Governance and Institutions
| Documentation | Elements |
|---|---|
|
Leadership Value Proposition Institutional Arrangements |
| Actions | Tools |
|---|---|
| 1. Forming the Leadership | |
| Governing Body | APP1.1: Steering Committee Charter |
| 2. Establishing Accountability | |
| Governance Model |
National Institutional Arrangements: Instruments, Principles and Guidelines National Institutional Arrangements: Compendium of Good Practices |
| 3. Defining Value | |
| Strategic Alignment Study | APP1.2: Strategic Alignment Template |
| Value Proposition Statement | FIG1.6: Value Proposition Canvas |
| 4. Setting Direction | |
| Geospatial Information Management Strategy |
APP1.3: Guidance for Mission, Vision and Goals Statements Future trends in geospatial information management: the five to ten year vision (third edition) Global Statistical Geospatial Framework Framework for Effective Land Administration Strategic Framework on Geospatial Information and Services for Disasters COVID-19: Ready to Respond - The role of the Geospatial Community in Responding to COVID-19 |
| Change Strategy | |
| 5. Creating a Plan of Action | |
| Country-level Action Plan | APP1.4: Country-level Action Plan Template |
Strategic Pathway 2: Policy and Legal
| Documentation | Elements |
|---|---|
|
Legislation Norms, Policies and Guides Governance and Accountability |
| Actions | Tools |
|---|---|
| 1. Providing Leadership | |
| Review Group | |
| 2. Assessing Needs | |
| Review and Assessment |
APP2.2: Review and Assessment – Considerations APP2.3: Review and Assessment – Questions |
| Gaps and Opportunities |
APP2.4: Legal and Policy Framework Use Case APP2.6: Gap Analysis Matrix |
| 3. Addressing Opportunities | |
| Design and Develop |
APP2.7: Policy and Legal Instruments - Advantages and Disadvantages APP2.8: Assessing Fitness for Purpose for a Policy Guidance and recommended actions aligned with Strategic Pathway 2: Policy and Legal |
| 4. Future Proofing | |
| Future Proofing | |
| 6. Delivering Compliance | |
| Impact Assessment | |
| Compliance Strategy |
Strategic Pathway 5: Innovation
| Documentation | Elements |
|---|---|
| Technological Advances |
| Actions | Tools |
|---|---|
| 1. Geospatial Landscape | |
| Technology Maturity Index | APP5.1: IGIF Technology Maturity Index |
| Strategic Alignment | APP5.2: Capability Framework Matrix |
ELISE Resources
Further Reading
- Directive 2007/2/EC establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE)
- UK Location Strategy
- UK Government Transformation Strategy
- UK Digital Strategy
- GIDEON: Key geo-information facility for the Netherlands
- Finnish National Spatial Data Strategy 2016
- The Swedish National Geodata Strategy - Well developed collaboration for open and usable geodata via services, 2016-2020
- A Stronger and More Secure Digital Denmark, Digital Strategy 2016-20 – an example of a merged strategy where location is integrated in a wider public sector strategy
- The Danish Basic Data Programme – A holistic programme transforming the Danish public sector, covering strategy, policy, standard web services, common data models, data quality improvements, and delivery through a digital platfor
- The impact of the open geographical data – follow up study, Agency for Data Supply and Efficiency, Denmark, 2017
- Better regulation: guidelines and toolbox
- European Interoperability Framework (EIF) toolbox
- National Interoperability Framework Observatory (NIFO)
- Towards a Spatial Knowledge Infrastructure, White Paper, Australia and New Zealand Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI), 2017
- The Power of Where: A Geospatial Knowledge Infrastructure to Enhance the World Economy, Society and Environment, White Paper, Geospatial World, 2021
- Sustainable Development Goals Connectivity Dilemma - Land and Geospatial Information for Urban and Rural Resilience, Rajabifard, A (Ed.), CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, 2019
- Geospatial Technology and Information for Development, World Bank, 2019
- Everything happens somewhere - National geospatial strategy towards 2025, Norway, 2018
- One digital public sector – Digital strategy for the public sector 2019-2025, Norway 2019
- A Europe fit for the digital age, the EU’s digital strategy, EU priorities, 2019-24
- A European Green Deal, the EU’s climate strategy, EU priorities 2019-24
- Unlocking the power of location - the UK's Geospatial Strategy 2020 to 2025
- Manual of Digital Earth, Springer, 2020
- National interoperability initiatives, NIFO – an overview of initiatives, such as the political communications, guidelines, and legislation, related to interoperability in 36 European countries namely, the EU’s 27 Member States, the EFTA countries, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom
- Green Deal and Data Strategy, Connect University, 2021