New Zealand - NSDI

New Zealand SDI State of Play
Report 2012
2012 NZSDI Benchmark Exercise

New Zealand Geospatial Office
December 2012
Version 1.2
Contents
1 Purpose of this document ......................................................... 1
2 Introduction............................................................................ 1
3 Approach................................................................................ 2
4 Summary of results and findings ............................................... 4
5 Conclusions ...........................................................................12
Appendix A – NZSDI Assessment ................................................13

1 Purpose of this document
This document presents an assessment of the “State of Play” of New Zealand’s
national-level Spatial Data Infrastructure (NZSDI). This assessment allows the
NZSDI to be characterised in a way that will enable comparisons to its future
state and other SDIs. The approach is based on that undertaken in Europe to
compare SDI maturity between those nations working towards compliance with
the EU INSPIRE Directive 1.
The baseline date for the assessment is September 2012.
2 Introduction
“Spatial Data Infrastructure” is a term used to describe a group of components that operate
together to enable the use of geospatial information. These components range from readily
identifiable assets (such as datasets and software tools), to governing rules (such as policies
and protocols) and less tangible assets such as skills and knowledge.
The following definitions summarise in a little more detail what a spatial data infrastructure is:
Definition of SDI
“The term “Spatial Data Infrastructure” (SDI) is often used to denote the relevant base
collection of technologies, policies and institutional arrangements that facilitate the
availability of and access to spatial data. The SDI provides a basis for spatial data
discovery, evaluation, and application for users and providers within all levels of
government, the commercial sector, the non-profit sector, academia and by citizens in
general.
The word infrastructure is used to promote the concept of a reliable, supporting

environment, analogous to a road or telecommunications network, that, in this case,
facilitates the access to geographically-related information using a minimum set of
standard practices, protocols, and specifications.”
Spatial Data Infrastructure Cookbook (GSDI, 2009)
http://www.gsdi.org/gsdicookbookindex
“A national SDI represents a comprehensive system of inter-related elements involving

governance structures, policy, standards, data, hardware, software, and people across
all levels of their organisations.”
Spatial Data Infrastructure Cookbook (NZGO, 2011)
http://www.geospatial.govt.nz/sdi-cookbook-v1-1-home
Any approach to measuring the strength or maturity of an SDI therefore needs to

accommodate a broad range of factors.
1
Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament, http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.cfm
(Last visited 27/9/2012)
1
3 Approach
Since 2001 a number of “State of Play” reports have been published that audit the maturity
and growth of national SDIs in the countries of the European Union (EU). These have been
supported by country-level INSPIRE Monitoring and Reporting submissions that quantify the
availability of datasets, related metadata and services and the degree of compliance of these
with INSIPRE standards.
The latest European State of Play report was published in 2011, describing the situation as of
quarter 1, 2011 2.
This report for New Zealand applies the same method of assessment, directly referencing
many of the same criteria used in the EU’s reporting. Some criteria are adapted to fit within
the context of New Zealand, while other New Zealand specific criteria have been added to the
assessment.
The assessment uses 46 criteria to characterise the state of the NZSDI. These align to the 6
“Building Blocks” of an SDI plus indicators that look at the fit of the NZSDI with other related
government initiatives. The number of criteria within each building block and what they relate
to are as follows:
o Organisational issues (8) – the scale, operation, participation, and coordination of

the SDI.
o Legal issues and funding (9) – the legal and funding frameworks within which the
SDI operates.
o Data (13) – the availability, quality and interoperability of data within the SDI.
o Metadata (7) – the availability, implementation and use of metadata within the SDI.
o Access and other services for data and their metadata (5) – the availability of
services that support the discovery and use of data and related services.
o Standards (2) – the approach taken to the use of standards within the SDI to support
interoperability.
o Cross-government coordination (2) – how integrated the implementation of the SDI
is with other related government initiatives.
Each criterion is given as a statement e.g. “The approach and territorial coverage of the SDI is
truly national”. An assessor reviews the available evidence and then classifies the statement
depending on whether it can be:
o agreed with,
o only partially agreed with,
o not agreed with, or
o it is unknown as to whether or not its can be agreed with.
By looking at each SDI building block and the degree of agreement with the statements that
relate to them it is possible to characterise and benchmark the overall SDI.
The relevance of individual criteria, the approach to assessing the level of agreement for each,
the evidence used to support the assessment and the results of the assessment are detailed
Appendix A. A summary of findings from these results is provided in section 4.
2
Spatial Data Infrastructures in Europe: State of play spring 2011, D4.2 – Summary report regarding the
results of the European Assessment of 34 NSDI (second year),
http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reports/stateofplay2011/INSPIRE__NSDI_SoP_-_Summary_Report_2011_-
_v6.2.pdf
2
The assessment has been undertaken by the New Zealand Geospatial Office (NZGO) with
support from other staff at Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and independently reviewed
by the national Geospatial Steering Committee which represents the interests of a cross-
sectoral range of users of and contributors to the SDI.
3.1 An example of the assessment

One of the eight statements within the “Organisational issues” criteria reads:
“The approach and territorial coverage of the SDI is truly national”.
As New Zealand’s National Government has a published Geospatial Strategy that aims to
establish governance and data availability, accessibility and interoperability at a national level,
and have specifically tasked LINZ (through the New Zealand Geospatial Office) to establish a
more formal SDI, there is clear evidence that this statement can be agreed with, so it falls in
to the “agreed with” category.
The other seven statements (and their categorisations) within the organisational issues
category are:
“One or more components of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) have
reached a significant level of successful operation” (partially agreed with)
“The officially recognised or de facto coordinating body of the NSDI is a National

Data Provider” (agreed with)
“The officially recognised or de facto coordinating body for the NSDI is an

organisation controlled by data users” (not agreed with)
“An organisation of the type ‘national GI-association’ is involved in the coordination

of the NSDI” (agreed with)
“The coordinating body is controlled by both users and producers” (partially agreed
with)
“Producers and users of spatial data are participating in the NSDI” (agreed with)
“Not only public service actors are participating in the NSDI” (agreed with)
So, the organisational state of play of the SDI can be characterised by having 5 agreed with
criteria and 3 partially agreed with criteria.
Figures 1 – 3 in the following section show the level of agreement with the assessment criteria
across each of the SDI building blocks.
Generally, the higher the proportion of criteria falling in to the “agreed with” category indicates
a higher level of development or maturity of the SDI. However, in some instances the criteria
are not value statements but describe the nature of the SDI rather than its maturity. In these
categories getting 100% agreement is not necessarily desired outcome.
For example the statements “The officially recognised or de facto coordinating body of the
NSDI is a National Data Provider” and “The officially recognised or de facto coordinating body
for the NSDI is an organisation controlled by data users” are likely to be exclusive of each
other and they are not value statements i.e. one approach is not necessarily better than
another, but understanding which is true helps to characterise the nature of the SDI.
3
4 Summary of results and findings
The results of the assessment are summarised in the following figures which compare the
proportion of criteria in agreement, or otherwise, with the indicator statements. Figure 1 shows
the combined results for both the common and New Zealand specific assessment criteria.
Figures 2 and 3 show these separated out from each other.
Figure 1 - Combined (common + New Zealand specific) SDI Indicator Assessment
100%
90%
80%
70%
Criteria assessed
60% Unknown
Not in Agreement
50%
Partial Agreement
40%
In Agreeement
30%
20%
10%
0%
Organisation Legal and Data Metadata Access and Standards Cross-
funding services government
coordination
Figure 2 - Common SDI Indicator Assessment
100%
90%
80%
70%
Criteria assessed
Unknown
60%
Not in Agreement
50%
Partial Agreement
40%
In Agreeement
30%
20%
10%
0%
coordination
Figure 3 - New Zealand Specific SDI Indicator Assessment
100%
90%
80%
70%
Criteria assessed
60% Unknown
Not in Agreement
50%
Partial Agreement
40% In Agreeement
30%
20%
10%
0%
coordination
4
Figure 4 gives an overall picture, combining the results for all the assessment criteria for all of
the components of the SDI.
Figure 4 - Summary of all assessed SDI indicators
100%
90%
80%
70%
Criteria assessed
60% Unknown
Not in Agreement
50%
Partial Agreement
40% In Agreeement
30%
20%
10%
0%
Common indicators NZ specific indicators All indicators combined
The graphs in figures 1 to 4 are drawn from the summary results presented in tables 1 to 3
which in turn are based on the detailed assessment in Appendix A.
5
SDI Component Common New Zealand Total
criteria specific score
criteria
Organisation * 4/5 N/A 4/5
Legal and funding 4/9 N/A 4/9
Data ** 1/4 0/7 1/11
Metadata 1/3 0/4 1/7
Access and services *** 2/5 N/A 2/5
Standards 0/1 0/1 0/2
Cross-government coordination N/A 0/2 0/2
Totals 12/27 0/14 12/41
Table 1 – Summary scores for criteria found to be “in agreement” with assessment
statements relating to the operation of the NZSDI

criteria
Data ** 2/4 0/7 2/11
Totals 7/27 4/14 11/41
Table 2 – Summary scores for criteria found to be “in partial agreement” with
assessment statements relating to the operation of the NZSDI
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criteria
Data ** 1/4 7/7 8/11
Totals 7/27 10/14 17/41
Table 3 – Summary scores for criteria found to be “not in agreement” with

assessment statements relating to the operation of the NZSDI
Individual assessment criteria can be found in Appendix A.
* Criteria 3, 4 and NZ1 are excluded from the figures in the tables. They help to characterise
how the SDI is organised but do not judge whether any one model is best or more mature.
** Criteria 21 and 22 are not included in the assessment or figures in the tables. They relate
to multi-lingual aspects of the SDI more relevant to the European context than to that of New
Zealand.
*** Criteria 30 (the presence of middleware services) is unknown.
Overall, for the 41 criteria accounted for in tables 1 – 3:
o 12 are in agreement
o 11 in partial agreement
o 17 are not in agreement, and
o 1 is currently an “unknown”.
The following sections summarise the findings within each of the seven indicator groups for the
NZSDI.
4.1 Organisation
The existing governance framework for the NZSDI provides a strong base to support its
development. Its creation is being led by the public sector and its governance reflects this, but
there is clear direction from Government that all sectors should be involved. There is an
increasing level of cross-sector participation e.g. the representation of the Spatial Industry
Business Association (SIBA) on the Geospatial Executive Group (GEG) and Geospatial Steering
Committee (GSC). Its governance is not fully inclusive of all potential participants e.g. there is
no representation of 3rd sector organisations (such as charities and other non-government
organisations) in its governance, and input from end-users of the NZSDI in to its development
is currently limited.
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4.2 Legal issues and funding
There is no direct legal mandate for the creation of the NZSDI but there is clear direction from
Cabinet for its development.
There is no specific legislation or licensing governing the use and ownership of geospatial
information, but there is a mature and comprehensive legal framework within which these
issues can be managed.
There is no dedicated long-term funding to support the NZDSI development. Current activities
are supported mainly out of Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) baseline funding or specific,
time-bound projects. This may be a limiting factor to NZSDI development in future years as
policy and funding priorities shift focus.
There are no Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) arrangements or long-term supply contracts in

place to engage private sector resources in the development of the NZSDI (e.g. in terms of
national fundamental data provision).
4.3 Data
Some elements of national topographic, bathymetric and thematic data supply are in place
(e.g. via the LINZ Data Service (LDS) and Crown Research Institute web-portals). Work is
ongoing to formalise national stewardship and custodian roles with organisations that have the
potential to supply the “Fundamental Data” sets that will act as key reference information for
NZSDI users and service providers.
Only once these agreements are in place can programmes for the publication of the
fundamental data be planned. No plan or programme has been considered for the publication
of non-fundamental data. This is taking place in an ad hoc manner. The same steward and
custodianship framework could be applied to some non-fundamental data sets if required.
The 10 themes of fundamental data are listed Figure 5.
It is anticipated that action following the Declaration on Open and Transparent Government 3
will lead to the release of significant volumes of geospatial data (along with other types of
data) that will form an important part of the NZSDI. Work is ongoing to consider how the
release of open data will be supported and how this will contribute to the NZSDI e.g. in terms
of data, metadata, access and services.
Currently the management of the Open Data Secretariat and the New Zealand Geospatial
Office (NZGO) are combined within the same unit at LINZ.
3
Declaration on Open and Transparent Government, http://ict.govt.nz/programme/opening-government-
data-and-information/declaration-open-and-transparent-government

8
Fundamental Data Theme Sub-theme
Figure 5 – New Zealand’s fundamental geospatial data themes
4.4 Metadata
The adoption of a standard format of metadata for geospatial data and services has been
recognised as being critical to enabling the effective publication and sharing of these resources
for a number of years.
9
New Zealand and Australia have worked jointly to create the Australia and New Zealand Land
Information Council (ANZLIC) metadata profile, based on International Standards Organisation
(ISO) standard 19115. This profile was first published in 2006. An associated XML schema
(ISO 19139 compliant), used to store and exchange information in this profile format, has also
been developed and is in use.
A number of metadata catalogues exist that provide access to discovery level and detailed
metadata for a large number of national and local data sets. Some are federated i.e. records
are shared across catalogues. For example www.geodata.govt.nz/ was established by the
NZGO as a catalogue for metadata for publicly funded geospatial data and related web-
services. Work was undertaken to federate its records with the New Zealand government data
catalogue, www.data.govt.nz (which also references non-geospatial data).
Though catalogues exist, their content is created and maintained by a few specialists. Work is
needed to support a range of other organisations; to help them create, maintain and publish
metadata in a well managed way that presents them with no a significant overhead.
Future work in this area also needs to be aligned to the creation and publication of metadata
for more general (non-geospatial) data as part of the open data initiative. This should aim to
agree a core set of metadata elements common to data sets from different domains (e.g.
geospatial, statistics, library services, education, etc.) which each have their own specialised
metadata standards.
4.5 Access and other services

Data discovery, view and download services are available through a number of metadata
catalogues (see above) and thematic geo-portals e.g. the National Land Resource Centre
http://www.nlrc.org.nz/home.
Related web-services (e.g. WMS or WFS data feeds) are less easily discovered and there is no
widely recognised or comprehensive service catalogue. There is no evidence of middleware
services being run that invoke such services to create new outputs or add value to the
available data feeds.
Automated transformation services are not a feature of the NZSDI though some data download
utilities do provide a choice of coordinate systems to users e.g. data transformation can be
undertaken prior to download within the LDS.
The introduction of transformation services may be of benefit to enable integration of data held
in different projection and coordinate systems e.g. off-shore territories, New Zealand map grid
etc.
4.6 Standards
The importance of the use of standards in achieving cross-organisation interoperability is well
recognised by the bodies coordinating the development of the NZSDI. NZGO are active
participants in regional and international geospatial standards organisations (e.g. ISO, the
Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and ANZLIC).
Practical use of these standards is still relatively limited. Promoting the importance and
adoption of common standards by participants in the NZSDI, particularly system and data
providers, is an important area of work that will lead to the growth of data use and its
associated benefits.
4.7 Cross-government coordination

Connections exist at a high-level between the development of the NZSDI and the Government
ICT Capabilities Roadmap. The formal link between the two was made relatively recently so
achieving practical outcomes from this is an area that will require further work, particularly in
10
terms of cross-agency engagement, influencing and support regarding the development or
implementation of geospatial data sets and technologies.
There is clear direction from Cabinet that NZGO should be consulted by government agencies
involved is procuring “location-based” information or services. Currently evidence that this is
occurring effectively is limited. LINZ and NZGO are contributing to new government
procurement rules that should help to improve this situation.
11
5 Conclusions
In reviewing the indicators used for this study it is encouraging that the NZSDI is developing
across each of its components. In terms of the assessment criteria there are substantial areas
of agreement, particularly around the organisational and legal components, and for many
areas where there is currently no agreement work is already ongoing or planned to address
these gaps.
The framework for the development of the NZSDI is in place. There is a national geospatial
strategy in place that recognises the importance of growing the NZSDI, and strong governance
arrangements in place regarding its implementation. Cabinet have given clear direction to LINZ
to more formally develop the NZSDI, and this task is appointed to the New Zealand Geospatial
Office.
The degree to which the NZSDI is formalised differs across its components; the organisational
and legal frameworks are well defined; fundamental data stewardship and custodian roles and
responsibilities have been formalised, though are yet to be put in to practice; the governance
of other (non-fundamental) data sets is not directly influenced by GEG; ISO and OGC
standards are in use but not enforced; the publishing of services is not centrally managed or
directed; data catalogues and discovery portals exists but none are recognised as being
definitive or totally comprehensive.
Ultimately ownership of different parts of the infrastructure will be vested in different

organisations. A key challenge is how to coordinate this and foster participation to create an
NZSDI that is effective and sustainable. This activity needs to be aligned with, and provide
support to, other information-related government policies and initiatives.
4.1 Future use of this report

The indicators detailed in Appendix A and the resulting assessments made against each can be
used:
1. to draw attention to areas of the NZSDI where work is needed to further develop and
improve it, and to help plan out how this is done.
2. to benchmark the current state of play for the NZSDI so that we can re-assess the
situation at a future date and gauge whether improvements have been made and help
us understand our successes and failures.
3. to compare New Zealand’s national SDI with others and support a collaborative
dialogue with those working towards similar goals.
This report purposely does not make specific recommendations about activities or initiatives
that need to be undertaken to further develop and strengthen the NZSDI. It is intended to
provide a benchmark that will be used to support planning activities to be carried out by NZGO
in 2013. These activities will roadmap the further development of the NZSDI and identify the
initiatives required to move it forward.
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Appendix A - NZSDI Assessment
The assessment presented in the following tables is based on those in the “INSPIRE & NSDI
State of Play – D4.2 – Summary Report (Spring 2011)” (K.U. Leuven, 2011).
It assesses the status of the NZSDI according to the response to individual statements about a
range of indicators. For each indicator one or more criteria are assessed, and the statement
about each criterion can be judged to be:
• “A” – in agreement,
• “N” – not in agreement,
• “P” – in partial agreement, or
• “U” - Unknown
The indictors relates to one of the six building blocks of a national SDI:
1. Organisational framework
2. Legal and funding framework
3. Data
4. Metadata
5. Access and services
6. Standards
A seventh theme has been introduced that relates to cross-government coordination i.e. how
well the NZSDI initiative fits with other related government activities.
Compared to the original work by K.U. Leuven some assessment criteria have been modified to
better reflect the New Zealand context. However, the numbering of the original indicators has
been kept to enable comparison back to that report (should it be required).
Additional criteria have also been introduced specific to New Zealand to provide a more
detailed and relevant assessment. These are identified through the criteria ID number in Table
A.1 by the prefix “NZ”.
Table A.1 shows the result of the assessment. For each criterion it presents a rating and
supporting evidence and/or comment as to why that rating has been given. The table also
explains the relevance of each indicator. The overall results of the assessment are summarised
in section 4 of this report.
13
Table A.1 NSDI Assessment for New Zealand, September 2012
A - Organisational issues
Indicator ID Criteria and relevance Rating Comment / Evidence
Level of SDI 1 The approach and territorial coverage of the SDI A The strategy for the development of an national SDI is outlined here:
is truly national http://www.geospatial.govt.nz/geospatial-strategy
“The Strategy is a national strategy and it aims to benefit all New Zealanders. However, because
government is such a significant player in the geospatial sector, the initial focus of the Strategy and the
work programme developed to implement the Strategy will be on government.” (A New Zealand
Geospatial Strategy, January 2007)
The strategy is Government led but inclusive of other sectors.

Relevance: the indicator reflects the existence (or not) of a national initiative to create a NSDI.
Assessment:
A - If there is a clear initiative with a name, structure or organisation responsible and or legislation/strategy at the national level
N - If no such initiative can be detected - e.g. if only national GI organisations exist but no clear coordination amongst them, or if regions develop their initiatives
independently.
P - If there are efforts to bring together stakeholders, but it has not (yet) been formalised.
Degree of operational 2 One or more components of the NSDI have P No one component in sections B to F has a majority of indicators “in agreement” with the qualifying
maturity reached a significant level of successful operation criteria.
Relevance: the indicator gives an overall idea of the degree of development and ability of the NDSI to function effectively.
Assessment:
Following indicators are taken into account: I8-I16; I17-I22; I23-I25; I26-I30; I31; I32 (1 point for each)
A - when for at least one of the building blocks the majority of the indicators are agreed with; for I31 the indicator should have a score "in agreement".
P - when for several building blocks several (but less than half) indicators' score is "in agreement"; for I31 and I32 the indicators should be with a score "partially in
agreement"
N - in all other cases
Coordination 3 The officially recognised or de facto coordinating A Cabinet have endorsed Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) “as the lead agency to develop a more
body of the NSDI is a National Data Provider, i.e. formalised spatial data infrastructure, in collaboration with other significant holders of location-based
a National Mapping Agency or a comparable information, including local government, Crown agents, academia and the private sector” (Cabinet
organisation (Cadastral or Land Survey Agency, Economic Growth and Infrastructure Committee minute of decision (10) 30/14 (8 Dec. 2010)).
i.e. a major producer of GI)
The New Zealand Geospatial Office (N ZGO) within LINZ has the responsibility for taking this forward.
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-recognises-importance-location-based-information
http://www.linz.govt.nz/geospatial-office/about/projects-and-news/spatial-data-
infrastructure/index.aspx
NZGO are supported by the Geospatial Executive Group (GEG) and Geospatial Steering Committee (GSC),
which provide direction to, and stewardship of the Geospatial Strategy.
4 The officially recognised or de facto coordinating N See above.
14
body for the NSDI is an organisation controlled
by data users
5 An organisation of the type ‘national GI- A The GEG and GSC include members from government agencies, Crown Research Institutes and the
association’ is involved in the coordination of the private sector Spatial Industry Business Association (SIBA). No national associations other than SIBA are
NSDI represented e.g. The Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) may have individual members on GEG
and GEC but is not formally represented.
NZ1 The coordinating body is controlled by both users P These types of organisations have an input to the steer of the geospatial strategy through GEG and GSC.
and producers.
Relevance: who is currently taking the lead and how (if at all) will this change over time (e.g. a shift to a more participatory and user focused and led NSDI)? This
information is used mainly for the typology of the NSDI, and does not aim to 'evaluate' the way the coordination is done. I5 explicitly asks for the involvement in the
rd
coordination of an association (which could include universities, private sector and 3 sector).
Assessment:
A - It is a simple “Yes”
N - It is a simple “No”
P - is applied when it is not so clear
I3 and I4 can't be Y at the same time, but one can be Y and the other P since the indicators are assessed separately.
Participants 6 Producers and users of spatial data are A Yes, e.g. LINZ, GNS, DOC, Landcare Research and NIWA are data providers and some are also participant
participating in the NSDI users.
Data discovery, viewing, download, content delivery via web services and other related services can be
found through a range of geoportals and other websites. Examples include:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/about-doc/role/maps-and-statistics/docgis/
http://data.linz.govt.nz/
http://www.geodata.govt.nz/
http://lris.scinfo.org.nz/
http://www.nlrc.org.nz/home
http://wrenz.niwa.co.nz/webmodel/
http://maps.gns.cri.nz/
NZGO is preparing illustrative summaries specific user cases. More formal work on benefits realisation
associated with the growth and use of the NSDI should be considered.
7 Not only public service actors are participating in A The private sector, state sector universities and Crown Research Institutes are engaged and cooperating
the NSDI in the NSDI development in a number of significant ways e.g. via cross-sector CRC-SI collaborative
research programme; SIBA representation on the GEG and GSC, the development of Masters and
Postgraduate Diploma in Geographic Information Science and the in Geographic Information Science at
the University of Canterbury and Victoria University of Wellington.
Private sector service providers are supporting public sector organisations’ SDI creation and developing
commercial services that that draw on public sector geodata.
Relevance: I6 is meant to capture whether the SDI initiative actively involves (= participation, not necessarily coordination) the users (e.g. Ministries) or not;
I7 tries to capture if also private sector, universities, or other stakeholders are involved. This information is not used in the assessment itself, nor in the typology but
15
provides a perspective on the level of cross-sector involvement and engagement in NSDI development.
A - If answer is Y
N - if answer is N
P - if unclear, if there are elements that hints to agreement, others to no agreement.
B – Legal issues and funding

Legal framework 8 There is a legal instrument or framework A The Geospatial Strategy is owned and promoted by Government.
determining the NSDI-strategy or -development
There is no legal framework, but a mature governance framework around the ownership and direction of
the Geospatial Strategy exists.
The Cabinet Economic Growth and Infrastructure Committee recognises the potential benefit that a NSDI
would bring to improving revenues, efficiency and meeting policy objectives and endorses “LINZ as the
lead agency to [collaboratively] develop a more formalised spatial data infrastructure”:
http://www.linz.govt.nz/sites/default/files/docs/geospatial-office/cabinet-minute-capturing-benefits-of-
location-based-information.pdf
http://www.linz.govt.nz/geospatial-office/about/projects-and-news/spatial-data-
infrastructure/index.aspx
Relevance: This indicator captures whether there is a clear document defining the status of the SDI strategy.
Assessment:
A: when the document could be verified
P: when it is said that such strategy exists but there is no proof; or when the document does not really provide a strategy; or when legislation or such a document is
under preparation
N: in all other cases
Public-private 9 There are true PPP’s or other co-financing N There are no formalised PPP or co-financing arrangements in place.
partnerships (PPP) mechanisms between public and private sector
bodies with respect to the development and Private sector supply of data and services is typically on a project-by-project / contract-by-contract basis
operation of the NSDI-related projects (e.g. NZGO funded projects in Canterbury and Auckland), with no strategic or long-term contribution to
the NSDI being contracted-out to the private sector.
There are examples of syndicated procurement (e.g. data for the emergency services) and club funding
of procurement (e.g. for Kiwi Image) but no true PPP.
Relevance:
This is one of the mechanisms to solve the problem of funding for the SDI.
A: if Yes
N: if No
P: if not so clear
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Policy and legislation 10 There is a freedom of information (FOI) act which N Legislation is in place covering access to public sector information e.g. Official Information Act; Public
on access to public contains specific FOI legislation for the GI-sector Records Act; Local Government Information and Meetings Act;
sector information
(PSI) Legislation is inclusive of GI but not specific to it.
The New Zealand Data and Information Management Principles (NZDIMP), endorsed by Cabinet in 2011,
provides guidance governing public sector information provision:
“government data and information should be open, readily available, well managed, reasonably priced
and re-usable unless there are necessary reasons for its protection. Personal and classified information
will remain protected. Government data and information should also be trusted and authoritative”
(http://ict.govt.nz/programme/opening-government-data-and-information/new-zealand-data-and-
information-management-princi )
These principles support the 2011 Declaration on open and transparent government which also provides
clear direction the release of public information for re-use.
Other References:
REVIEW OF THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION LEGISLATION, Law Commission, 2012
http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/2C8C72CA-6F09-45C0-AC8A-
6CB63B16A227/227447/DBHOH_PAP_23261_LawCommissionTeAkaMatuaoTeTureRepo.pdf
Relevance: not directly for NSDI; but useful information on related legislation.
A: if Yes
N: if No
P: if in preparation
Legal protection of GI 11 GI can specifically be protected by copyright N The Copyright Act is inclusive of GI but not specific to it.
by intellectual
property rights
A: if Yes
N: if No
Restricted access to GI 12 Privacy laws are actively being taken into account A Privacy laws exist and are taken into account by GI holders. E.g. Privacy Act; Open Public Data (private
further to the legal by the holders of GI data is protected); Privacy (Information Sharing) Bill;
protection of privacy NZ Government Open Access Licensing framework (NZGOAL) licenses are a key mechanism for the
release of public “materials” for reuse. NZGOAL licenses can be varied to enable privacy restrictions e.g.
to protect the identity of land title holders.
A: if Yes
N: if No
Data licensing 13 There is a framework or policy for sharing GI A Yes, this is not limited to public institutions; see Declaration on open and transparent government; NZ
17
between public institutions Government Open Access Licensing framework
14 There are simplified and standardised licenses for A Yes; the Copyright Act allows personal use; NZGOAL licenses reuse by any individual or organisation.
personal use “Quick guides” are available for both publishers and users of NZGOAL.
Relevance: these indicators say something on whether there is a data policy or not and whether there is a simple licensing mechanism for use other than in public or
private sector (citizen).
A: if Yes
N: if No
Funding model for the 15 The long-term financial security of the NSDI- N There is no specific long-term funding to support the NSDI. Base funding from LINZ supports the activities
NSDI and pricing initiative is secured of the NZGO for the medium term. Specific short term project funding has to be bid for to support other
policy key initiatives e.g. the Open Data Service and Canterbury SDI Acceleration.
16 There is a pricing framework for trading, using P For public data the principles within NZDIMP are to be applied:
and/or commercialising GI
“Use and re-use of government held data and information is expected to be free. Charging for access is
discouraged.
Pricing to cover the costs of dissemination is only appropriate where it can be clearly demonstrated that
this pricing will not act as a barrier to the use or re-use of the data. If a charge is applied for access to
data, it should be transparent, consistent, reasonable and the same cost to all requestors.” (NZDIMP)
No standard framework is in place relating to the trading or sale of GI with or from the private sector.
Relevance: funding is seen as a key issue for a sustainable NSDI; I16 shows whether there is a pricing policy or not.
A: if Yes; it means e.g. that there are specific budgets foreseen for the NSDI, and they are coming back annually
N: if No
P: if in preparation or partially in place e.g. if the NSDI can rely systematically on funding from large projects.
C – Data
Fundamental data 17 Geodatasets exist which provide a basis for P Yes; but these do not necessarily provide full national coverage, nor have they been assessed in detail as
availability contributing to the national coverage of to their content and use.
Fundamental Data sets
Relevance: geo-datasets are the core for any NSDI; they are necessary to realise the aspirational benefits outlined in the Geospatial Strategy
A: For almost all themes, data sets are identified.
P: There are many data sets, but important themes are missing (e.g. addresses, cadastral parcels)
N: If only a few data themes are covered.
Geodetic reference 18 The geodetic reference system and projection A Yes; these exist so that transformations between systems can take place. However this reference
systems and systems are standardised, documented and information is not indentified formally as part of the NSDI.
projections publicly available so that data transformation
18
between them is possible.
Relevance: standardisation is important at the national level, and territorial level (data should be transformable, i.e. all necessary parameters should be known).
A: If the answer on all sub-questions is yes: i.e. all the necessary parameters are known, documented (and publicly available).
P: if there exist such systems, but the parameters are not publicly known.
N: In all other cases.
Quality of reference 19 There is a documented data quality control N This has not been formally addressed but should form part of the stewards’ responsibilities.
data & core procedure applied at the level of the NSDI
thematic data NZDIMP defines the concept of “well managed” that is incorporated in the stewardship responsibilities.
This requires good practice is applied to data and information management. It does not address issues
such as accuracy, precision, logical consistency etc. that will need to be defined for fundamental data.
Relevance: data quality is a key issue in any NSDI. It is not enough to have data and data access; data should match to certain quality standards. Quality is referring to
positional accuracy/precision, logical consistency, completeness, etc.; the inclusion of user perspective/feedback; testing procedures for quality (QC); update cycles, and
other such quality assurance measures.
A: If there is a clearly described procedure (e.g. application of standard); and there is attention for almost all aspects in the QC process.
P: If there is attention for some aspects; or if QC procedures are only happening at the level of individual data providers.
N: If there is no such QC procedure; or if there is no attention given to this aspect.
Interoperability 20 Concern for interoperability goes beyond P Interoperability is recognised as a fundamental enabler of the NSDI.
conversion between different data formats
Interoperability can be thought of in terms of the provision and use of services across heterogeneous IT
systems. It can also be considered at the data level and how one data set is able to interoperate with
others e.g. through the use of persistent and unique IDs; the development of linked data.
Though there is “concern” for these issues, operable solutions to them are not yet widely practiced
within the NSDI, though there are a growing number of examples of open data being published as web
services:
http://www.wellington.govt.nz/maps/gis/gis-data.html
http://maps.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/aucklandcouncilviewer/
http://data.linz.govt.nz/
http://koordinates.com/
Language and 21 The national language is the operational language These European-based indicators relating to language are less relevant to New Zealand where cross-
culture of the SDI national data sharing is less of an imperative for the success of the SDI.
The need for cultural inclusivity is recognised. LINZ is currently formulating its approach to supporting
“Business with Maori”. Once these requirements are better understood relevant indicators for the NZSDI
will be considered.
22 English is used as secondary language
Relevance: the national language is important for making access for local users easier; Mostly, we look to the language of the geo- and related portals.
A: If the answer is clearly yes
P: if unclear
N: if the answer is clearly no
Fundamental data NZ2 Fundamental data stewards have been appointed N Acceptance of the definition of the roles of stewards and custodians and the process governing their
19
appointment is currently on going.
Discussions with some potential stewards and custodians ahead of them potentially taking up these roles
is ongoing.
LINZ has committed to taking on Stewardship of the imagery theme but this agreement is still to be
formalised.
NZ3 Fundamental data custodians have been N
appointed
NZ4 A monitoring programme for stewards and N
custodians is in place
NZ5 Fundamental data sets that sit within each N
fundamental data theme are identified
NZ6 Standardised schemas are agreed for each of the N
fundamental data sets
NZ7 A programme for the publication of fundamental N
data is in place
NZ8 Programme for the publication of non- N
fundamental data in place
Relevance: Having stewards and custodians in place for each of the fundamental data sets is a prerequisite to being able to provide well managed and sustainable data
for the national data themes of underpinning importance to the NSDI. Providing these data sets in standard and consistent forms will enable the development of new
uses and ancillary data sets.
A: If the answer to the questions is yes for each of the fundamental data sets.
P: If the answer to the questions is yes for at least one of the fundamental data sets
N: If the answer to the questions is no for each of the fundamental data sets.
D - Metadata
Availability of 23 Metadata are produced for all fundamental N
metadata datasets and a significant fraction of the other
data sets in the NSDI.
NZ9 Metadata is compliant with ANZLIC standards for N
all fundamental datasets and a significant fraction
of the other data sets in the NSDI.
Relevance: metadata for data is essential in any NSDI in order to discover, evaluate and use the data.
A: If the answer is yes .
P: If the answer is yes for a significant fraction of the fundamental and non-fundamental data sets.
N: If there are no metadata (or only occasionally), or if the metadata are not following any standard (e.g. some descriptions in readme file).
Metadata catalogue 24 One or more standardised metadata catalogues A A number of web sites contain metadata catalogues published to ANZLIC and other metadata standards
20
availability + are available covering more than one data e.g. Geodata.govt.nz; data.goivt.nz; Koordinates.com; sites published by NIWA and Landcare.
standard producing agency
NZ10 A catalogue exists which references metadata for N Catalogues exist but fundamental data does not.
all fundamental data and these are managed
within a consistent framework.
NZ11 Web services are catalogued and provided P Web services can be found via searches on some catalogue nodes e.g. Geodata.govt.nz but are not easily
through one or more standardised registry service. or obviously discoverable.
Relevance: a metadata catalogue / clearinghouse is key for making data and services discoverable; the fact that it does not cover only the data and services from one
data provider but from several is even more important (bringing resources from different stakeholders together).
A: If at least one such catalogue could be identified / named and/or described that enables effective searching.
P: If there are one or more catalogues, but only from one data provider.
N: In all other cases
Metadata 25 There is a coordinating authority for metadata P There is no dedicated resource for metadata coordination within authorities such as ANZLIC and NZGO,
implementation implementation at the level of the NSDI though they do provide a level of coordination e.g. regarding standards development and use.
Relevance: I25) initial thinking on NSDI (INSPIRE) was that coordination / centralisation could help to trigger metadata creation and publication, a key issue (but often a
weak point) for NSDI. There is now a question if this still relevant; and especially if this is the only / best organisational model to guarantee high quality metadata (e.g.
why not a distributed model?). (Hence the criteria NZ 12.)
A: If there is clearly an authority indicated.
P: If it is not so clear or if several organisations are involved.
N: In all other cases (N.B. this could mean there is a well functioning (or otherwise) entirely distributed model)
NZ12 Standard-compliant metadata is being sourced P A few public organisations such as NIWA, LINZ, Landcare and GNS are independently publishing
from multiple entities and harvested by one or metadata that is harvested in to a number of searchable catalogues. These are examples of good
more publicly searchable catalogues. practice, but wider participation by other organisations is needed to strengthen the NSDI.
Relevance: a more participatory approach to metadata creation and publication (compared to I25) is illustrative of a sustainable approach to NSDI creation and
maintenance.
A: If well managed metadata is routinely being published from multiple sources and harvested by one or more national level catalogues.
P: If metadata is published from multiple sources and harvested by one or more national level catalogues but there is no evidence of widespread or routine well
managed participation.
N: Metadata is not being published for discovery.
21
E – Access and other services for data and their metadata
Discovery Services 26 There are one or more discovery services making it P There are a number of discovery services for data available e.g. Geodata.govt.nz; data.govt.nz, LDS;
possible to search for data and services through Landcare; but few effective resources relating to service discovery.
metadata
Relevance: discovery is a key NSDI function enabling reuse of data.
A: When at least one standard service is identified / described
P: When it is not so clear; or when there is a similar mechanism (but e.g. not using standards)
N: All other cases
View Services 27 There are one or more view services available to A View services do exist but are not managed as part of a formal national or cross-agency NSDI e.g. LDS
visualise data from the NSDI.
Relevance: view services support the evaluation of available data by potential users and can provide a reusable resource.
N: All other cases
Download Services 28 There are one ore more on-line download services A Download services do exist but are not managed as part of a formal national or cross-agency NSDI e.g.
enabling copies of datasets (or parts of) to be LDS
obtained.
Relevance: download services are a key means of data delivery that enable reuse (driving benefits of associated with NSDI creation).
N: All other cases
Note 2: this does not say anything about which part of the data can be downloaded.
Transformation 29 There are one or more transformation services for N Transformation services are not identified as a priority in the NSDI at the moment, but there are issues
Services geospatial datasets. that this would address e.g. transformation of data from off-shore territories and Antarctica;
bathymetry; historic / legacy data mapped using the NZ map grid.
Some portals (e.g. LDS and Koordinates) do allow download of data in a range of user selectable
geographic or transformed projections.
No live services have been identified that enable data from different themes to be re-projected and
combined on the fly.
Relevance: enables data from different coordinate systems to be combined for use, supporting interoperability.
N: All other cases
Middleware 30 There are one or more middleware services U There is no known evidence to support this statement e.g. an example of connection into LDS to provide
(invoking) Service allowing data services to be invoked value added services / applications.
Relevance: promise data reuse.

N: All other cases
22
F - Standards
Standards 31 The SDI-initiative is devoting significant attention to P Standardisation is recognised as a key issue and there is proactive engagement and advocacy of around
standardisation issues this by NZGO.
E.g. the publication of the SDI Cookbook by NZGO promotes standardisation and offers advice on the
issue; Standards NZ promote the use of OGC compliant web-services; the Government e-GIF initiative
recognises the use of geospatial standards.
NZ13 International and industry standards are being P There is only the beginning of signs of uptake and deployment of the standards (e.g. growing use of
effectively adopted by participants in the SDI ANZLIC metadata standards, WMS and WFS services being published, and investigatory work on WFS-T
deployment), and there are gaps in support and uptake of some standards e.g. data schema and
gazetteer development.
Relevance: this is also key to a good functioning SDI; standards are making it possible that the technological components work together and are the basis to reach
interoperability. Standards relate to the data (semantics), the metadata and the services.
A: when there is a standardisation policy/strategy document; when standards in both the fields of data (semantics, data exchange), metadata and services are applied.
P: when there is only attention for e.g. the metadata standard or a specific exchange format, or a suite of standards are promoted but not widely applied.
N: when there is only attention for the software used.
23
G – Cross-government coordination
ICT Coordination NZ14 The NSDI-initiative is contributing to and aligned P The Government Common ICT Capabilities Roadmap includes the capability specification for the NSDI,
with other major government-related information recognising it as a cross-sector initiative coordinated by the NZGO. Though this recognition exists
policies and strategies. more work is required to embed the implementation of the NSDI within the Directions and Priorities
for Government Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
The Open Data Secretariat and NZGO have jointly managed work programmes in recognition of
contribution that the development of the NSDI has to creating more open and transparent
government.
Though there is support from and engagement with the Government CIO work needs to be done to
raise awareness with other parts of government as to how the NSDI can positively support their work
and how they can assist its development.
Relevance: NSDI is only part of a larger data and information sharing framework. Geospatial data cannot be considered alone in the workings of government or needs of
the citizen, so for the NSDI to be able to fully contribute it needs to be recognised and considered as part of the bigger national ICT framework. This criterion indicates
the degree to which NSDI is linked in to this bigger picture thinking.
A: The NSDI is directly referenced in government ICT strategies and has effective linkages to other related data and information programmes.
P: The NSDI initiative is informally collaborating with other ICT related initiatives or work programmes, or is formally connected but with limited practical interaction.
N: There is no engagement between the NSDI programme and other potentially related ICT initiatives or work programmes.
NZ15 NZGO are routinely consulted on the procurement of N There are some instances where this does happen (e.g. NZTA) but there is no track record to
government agency SDI-related services. demonstrate that this is routine or normal. Current rules for NZ government procurement to be used
by agencies are being drafted and are intended to include specific rules on geographic information
and service provision.
Relevance: Indicates conformance with the direction given by Cabinet, ensuring early identification of opportunities to strengthen the NSDI and participation of
government agencies in its development.
A: Government procurement rules require consideration of engagement with NZGO and these rules are being followed.
P: There is an ad hoc engagement with NZGO over the procurement of SDI-related services.
N: It is rare that NZGO are approached for support or that engagement only comes later in the procurement process.
24

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New Zealand SDI State of Play

2012 NZSDI Benchmark Exercise

4 Summary of results and findings ............................................... 4

Appendix A – NZSDI Assessment ................................................13

The baseline date for the assessment is September 2012.

The word infrastructure is used to promote the concept of a reliable, supporting

Spatial Data Infrastructure Cookbook (GSDI, 2009)

“A national SDI represents a comprehensive system of inter-related elements involving

Spatial Data Infrastructure Cookbook (NZGO, 2011)

Any approach to measuring the strength or maturity of an SDI therefore needs to

o Organisational issues (8) – the scale, operation, participation, and coordination of

o only partially agreed with,

o not agreed with, or

o it is unknown as to whether or not its can be agreed with.

3.1 An example of the assessment

“The approach and territorial coverage of the SDI is truly national”.

“The officially recognised or de facto coordinating body of the NSDI is a National

“The officially recognised or de facto coordinating body for the NSDI is an

“An organisation of the type ‘national GI-association’ is involved in the coordination

Figure 1 - Combined (common + New Zealand specific) SDI Indicator Assessment

Figure 2 - Common SDI Indicator Assessment

Figure 3 - New Zealand Specific SDI Indicator Assessment

Figure 4 - Summary of all assessed SDI indicators

Organisation * 4/5 N/A 4/5

Legal and funding 4/9 N/A 4/9

Data ** 1/4 0/7 1/11

Metadata 1/3 0/4 1/7

Access and services *** 2/5 N/A 2/5

Standards 0/1 0/1 0/2

Cross-government coordination N/A 0/2 0/2

Totals 12/27 0/14 12/41

SDI Component Common New Zealand Total

Organisation * 1/5 N/A 1/5

Legal and funding 1/9 N/A 1/9

Data ** 2/4 0/7 2/11

Metadata 1/3 2/4 3/7

Access and services *** 1/5 N/A 1/5

Standards 1/1 1/1 2/2

Cross-government coordination N/A 1/2 1/2

Totals 7/27 4/14 11/41

Organisation * 0/5 N/A 0/5

Legal and funding 4/9 N/A 4/9

Data ** 1/4 7/7 8/11

Metadata 1/3 2/4 3/7

Access and services *** 1/5 N/A 1/5

Standards 0/1 0/1 0/2

Cross-government coordination N/A 1/2 1/2

Totals 7/27 10/14 17/41

Table 3 – Summary scores for criteria found to be “not in agreement” with

Individual assessment criteria can be found in Appendix A.

*** Criteria 30 (the presence of middleware services) is unknown.

Overall, for the 41 criteria accounted for in tables 1 – 3:

o 17 are not in agreement, and

There are no Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) arrangements or long-term supply contracts in

The 10 themes of fundamental data are listed Figure 5.

(Last visited 28/9/2012)

Figure 5 – New Zealand’s fundamental geospatial data themes

4.5 Access and other services

4.7 Cross-government coordination