Workshop on Access and Participatory Approaches Associated with the Use of Geographic Information, Rome, Italy, Fall 2001

University Of Maine, Orono ME

Investigators

Abstract

The continuing rapid diffusion of geographic information technologies throughout societal applications and the growing use of geographic and location data use has spawned diverse notions in the scientific community regarding priorities for research and the nature of appropriate research. This divergence in thinking is particularly noticeable when comparing "GIS and Society" research agendas in the U.S. and Europe. European nations are responding to the expanded use of geographic information by individuals, businesses, government agencies, and scientists in a manner quite different from the responses witnessed in the U.S. Laws and policies regarding the handling of scientific, technical, business, personal, and government data are very different on either side of the Atlantic, and these differences have influenced technical and social science research directions in the field. The growing gaps between U.S. and European approaches to data handling and the divergence in "GIS and Society" research priorities highlights the need to reestablish links among U.S. and European researchers in order to enable researchers in these communities to inform each other about the underlying influences affecting the directions of research and the different paths they are taking. This award will support the involvement of U.S. and European researchers in a joint workshop to be held in Rome, Italy, during Fall 2001. The objectives of the workshop will be (1) to assess the current state of research on access to geographic information and on geographic access theory, (2) to evaluate the impact of evolving policy and legal trends in the U.S. and Europe on access to scientific and technical data generally and to geographic data specifically, (3) to assess the current state of research on participatory approaches surrounding the use of geographic information, (4) to explore commonalities and differences in U.S. and European directions of research within these arenas, and (5) to develop a joint U.S.-European research agenda on geographic information access and participatory issues. The workshop arises from recent research discussions among members of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) and the Association of Geographic Information Laboratories in Europe (AGILE). The workshop will be structured as a series of plenary presentations, breakout small group discussions, and plenary discussions, a model successfully used by the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis in the U.S. and by the European GISDATA program for more than a decade. over the years. Findings will be issued in a workshop report, and several print and electronic means will be exploited to distribute additional workshop results. This workshop should facilitate communications among U.S. and European scientists examining the dissemination and use of geographic information systems as well as the barriers to more complete and effective use of GISs and related technologies within and across different nations. Through publication of the results of this workshop, the broader research community will benefit from the focus attention given to this issue in Rome. The workshop will contribute to a number of major activities in which the U.S. government is engaged, including the work by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) to develop an institutional framework for allowing individuals and organizations to share and exchange geographic data and services while retaining substantial public access rights for much of the data. It also will contribute toward comparable international efforts, such as the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure effort, which is promoting mechanisms to allow cross-national collaboration in the sharing and exchange of geographic information as well as more open access to geographic data.