Data Sharing Issues

Some common problems in the sharing of GIS data among individuals and organizations include:
·         Silo vs. Enterprise approaches
·         Free vs. Fee Base information sharing
·         Data Gatekeepers vs. Data Access Facilitators
·         Agency Needs vs. Surrounding Entities
·         Data Sharing Agreements vs. informal arrangements
·         Outsource GIS Data Sharing Functions vs. In-House
·         Data Standards
·         Quality of Shared Data

(These are all paraphrased from the URISA article here: http://www.urisa.org/files/Issues%20in%20GIS%20data%20sharing.pdf )

From a real world perspective, some of the problems I have witnessed when it comes to sharing data include:

·         Storage Issues – Some of the data can be very large and this requires external hard drives to be swapped by agencies.   Sometimes it is hard to remember whose drive you have sitting on your desk if you don’t label everything properly.

·         User Levels – We may work from everyone from the non GIS user all the way up to USGS experts in a single day.   You have to be able to deal with different skill levels from the people that you work with.

·         Tools – Not everyone has the same version of ESRI ArcGIS software that we have.   You have to be able to distribute the shared data in alternate formats (KML, XML, and even printed copies if that is all their skill set will allow)

·         Repeat Requests – Our GIS staff would repeatedly get requests for the same data from separate parties.   This called for the creation of a basic GIS library available from our web site which contains these files for download.   You can see this site here:   http://www.srwmd.state.fl.us/index.aspx?NID=319

·         Disclaimers – Whenever working with data that is shared with the public, it is important to provide disclaimers about how the data should (and should not be used).    For example there was some confusion with terms like (100 year flood event).   People thought that meant the event would only happen once every 100 years, so if an event happened 3 years ago, they were in the clear for 97 more years.   This simply wasn’t the case.    Like a lot of things, managing expectations is a priority.