System design and organization, access to data
Organizational commitment is key. Commitment to the partnership
is demonstrated by its flexibility to adjust its requirements to meet the
needs of the other partners and the organization’s willingness to change
its methodologies, standards, etc.
New uses of data often require the reevaluation of the quality assurance
procedures and standards used by the organization. This reevaluation
can often be triggered by use of the data by partners or clients for new
purposes.
Copyright and licensing restrictions are impediments but realities.
They can be overcome by the development of formal agreements or by
finding alternative sources of data and information.
Restriction on the release of some types of information for conservation,
commercial propriety, privacy or other sensitivity is another reality and
needs to be accommodated.
The use of common definitions and classification systems encourages
the widest utilization of the information.
Conversions will be necessary for the foreseeable future. System to
system conversions are common place. Data structure conversions are
possible especially if data structures are designed with careful systems
analysis and data modeling. Datum conversions are becoming easier.
Conversions from hard copy to cligital formats are still expensive and
time consuming, which is a good reason to develop partnerships to
share the cost.
The development of a coastal zone information infrastructure requires
the organizational commitment to a new type of multilateral partnership. Its implementation at a basic level is prevented primarily by the
absence of organizational will. There are however technological limits
in data delivery mechanisms (e.g. immature Internet technologies).
There is the limited availability of effective data management tools for
data from a dynamic coastal environment. These factors prevent a full
implementation of an information infrastructure and make the assembly
of the puzzle incomplete.
Acknowledgments
Tlus paper is Geological Survey of Canada contribution number 1999 144.
Bibliographic references
Bishr Y., 1998. Overcoming the semantic and other barriers to GIS
interoperability. Intern. J. Geogr. Inform. Sci., 12, 299-314.
El-Sabh M., Demers S., Lafontaine D., 1998. Coastal management and
sustainable development: From Stockholm to Rimouski. Ocean
Coast. Manage., 39, 1-24.
91
Organizational commitment is key. Commitment to the partnership
is demonstrated by its flexibility to adjust its requirements to meet the
needs of the other partners and the organization’s willingness to change
its methodologies, standards, etc.
New uses of data often require the reevaluation of the quality assurance
procedures and standards used by the organization. This reevaluation
can often be triggered by use of the data by partners or clients for new
purposes.
Copyright and licensing restrictions are impediments but realities.
They can be overcome by the development of formal agreements or by
finding alternative sources of data and information.
Restriction on the release of some types of information for conservation,
commercial propriety, privacy or other sensitivity is another reality and
needs to be accommodated.
The use of common definitions and classification systems encourages
the widest utilization of the information.
Conversions will be necessary for the foreseeable future. System to
system conversions are common place. Data structure conversions are
possible especially if data structures are designed with careful systems
analysis and data modeling. Datum conversions are becoming easier.
Conversions from hard copy to cligital formats are still expensive and
time consuming, which is a good reason to develop partnerships to
share the cost.
The development of a coastal zone information infrastructure requires
the organizational commitment to a new type of multilateral partnership. Its implementation at a basic level is prevented primarily by the
absence of organizational will. There are however technological limits
in data delivery mechanisms (e.g. immature Internet technologies).
There is the limited availability of effective data management tools for
data from a dynamic coastal environment. These factors prevent a full
implementation of an information infrastructure and make the assembly
of the puzzle incomplete.
Acknowledgments
Tlus paper is Geological Survey of Canada contribution number 1999 144.
Bibliographic references
Bishr Y., 1998. Overcoming the semantic and other barriers to GIS
interoperability. Intern. J. Geogr. Inform. Sci., 12, 299-314.
El-Sabh M., Demers S., Lafontaine D., 1998. Coastal management and
sustainable development: From Stockholm to Rimouski. Ocean
Coast. Manage., 39, 1-24.
91