Evolving Spatial Data Infrastructures and the Role of Adaptive Governance
1
Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
2
Public Governance Institute, KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2017, 6(8), 254; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi6080254
Received: 9 June 2017 / Revised: 2 August 2017 / Accepted: 10 August 2017 / Published: 16 August 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Geo-Information Tools for Governance)
Spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) are becoming more mature worldwide. However, despite this growing maturity, longitudinal research on the governance of SDIs is rare. The current research examines the governance history of two SDIs in the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium). Both represent decades-long undertakings to create a large-scale base map. During these processes, SDI governance changed, often quite radically. We analyse written accounts from geo-information industry magazines to determine if the SDI governance of these two base maps can be considered adaptive. We conclude that SDI governance was adaptive, as it changed considerably during the evolution of the two SDIs. However, we also find that most governance models did not hold up very long, as they were either not meeting their goals, were not satisfying all stakeholders or were not in alignment with new visions and ideas. In recent years, the policy instruments governing these base maps became increasingly diverse. In particular, more hierarchical instruments were introduced. Indeed, governance scholars increasingly agree that governance can better respond to changes when a broader mix of policy instruments is applied. Alas, this does not make SDI governance any less complex.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
spatial data infrastructure (SDI); governance; SDI development; self-organisation; complex adaptive systems; longitudinal analysis; large-scale base map; the Netherlands; Flanders
▼
Show Figures
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Sjoukema, J.-W.; Bregt, A.; Crompvoets, J. Evolving Spatial Data Infrastructures and the Role of Adaptive Governance. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2017, 6, 254. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi6080254
AMA Style
Sjoukema J-W, Bregt A, Crompvoets J. Evolving Spatial Data Infrastructures and the Role of Adaptive Governance. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information. 2017; 6(8):254. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi6080254
Chicago/Turabian StyleSjoukema, Jaap-Willem; Bregt, Arnold; Crompvoets, Joep. 2017. "Evolving Spatial Data Infrastructures and the Role of Adaptive Governance" ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 6, no. 8: 254. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi6080254
Find Other Styles
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
Search more from Scilit