SDI – National to Global: perspectives from the UK academic sector

SDI – National to Global: perspectives from the UK academic sector

Conor G. Smyth, Ph.D., FRGS, C.Geog (GIS)

Head of Research and Geodata Services

SDI-Open 2015, IBGE, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Agenda SDI-Open 2015

I1. Introduction to the UK academic SDI2. SDI implementation3. Why the academic SDI matters4. Future strategic considerations

1. Introduction to the UK academic SDI

Iq The basis for UK a-SDI q The sectors that we serveq What we offer today

1a. Introduction to the UK academic SDI

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Basis:

§ EDINA national centre of digital expertise*§ Formed as part of Jisc (national acad. ICT)§ Policy level; Dpt. of Ed; funding councils § Portfolio of online digital services to sector§ Objective to: promote discovery, access,

exchange and sharing of GI/services tothe academic community, and beyond

§ Standards & interoperability are key§ Centre of international digital expertise*since 1995

1b. Introduction to the UK academic SDI

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Our Sectors (total numbers):

§ UK Higher Education (165)§ UK Further Education (390)§ GB Schools (28,681)§ UK (& Scottish) Government§ Also, EU/International (global SDI)§ …via Subscription and Open models

& Funded by Jisc, Grant awards, Contracts..

1c. Introduction to the UK academic SDI

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1d. Introduction to the UK academic SDI

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DISCOVER

ACCESS

SHARECREATEOur Offering:

2. SDI Implementation

Iq The Technical Platformq Open software, standards, dataq Case study, Digimap

2a. SDI Implementation

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Technical Platform:

§ Diverse technical componentsto support access, services & middleware

§ Desktop and Mobile (Apps) environment§ Subscription vs. Open modes§ Varied use of Open standards, OSS,

libraries & data ...& is service dependent§ Single development code base § Interoperability very important§ Proprietary software utilised (limited)

2b. SDI Implementation

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Open geospatial software, standards &data underpin our services

§ Authentication: Shibboleth§ OSS: Apache, PostGres/GIS, etc..§ Open Libraries: Spring framework/JQuery§ OGC: WMS; WFS; WTS; WCS; WPS§ Metadata: AGMAP/ UK Gemini 2.1§ UK Open data § OSM & open global gazetteers§ But also, licensed data providers too

2c. SDI Implementation

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GoGeo: Discover GIS resourcesFind DataCreate standards compliant metadataLearn about metadata standards

2d. SDI Implementation

UNLOCK provides an Application Programming Interface (API) for querying over 11 million geographic names across variety of gazetteers:

• GeoNames & Pleiades ancient place names (world coverage)• Natural Earth (world coverage)• OS products (UK coverage): 1:50,000 Placename Gazetteer, Meridian 2,

Boundary-Line, BN Grid references

Some more components...

http://openstream.edina.ac.uk/

Dspace Repository - ShareGeo

2e. SDI Implementation

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Digimap: map client and data download

22 million screen maps470k print maps145k data orders

2f. SDI Implementation

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Digimap: inc. training, support & OERCollection Active

usersSubscribing Institutions

Digimap OS Collection 58,000 116 *Geology Digimap 25,000 56Historic Digimap 27,000 83Marine Digimap 9,000 25Environment Digimap 22,000 54Digimap for Colleges No

individual registration

189 **

Digimap for FE (all Collections “bundle”)

- 23

* 16 out of 18 Scottish HEs** 12 out of 16 Scottish Colleges

3. Why the academic SDI matters

Iq Principal motivations & benefitsq Key barriersq Current challenges

3a. Why the academic SDI matters

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§ National SDI supports ecosystem development

§ Promotes discoverability & access, with focus on sectoral user needs

§ Key SM expertise developed§ Standards based§ Cost base (& role of Open)§ Support/Enhance research & teaching§ Eliminates duplication at institutional

level (data, infrastructure, licence)

Principal motivations & benefits:

3b. Why the academic SDI matters

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Principal Barriers:

§ Access to (some) services (subscriptions)§ Licensing requirements (cost/feasibility)§ Funding constraints§ Open technology - TRLs / maturity§ Effective monitoring - Open services§ Open demands new business models

3c. Why the academic SDI matters

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Key Challenges:

§ Sectoral/organisational change§ Sustainability & competitive edge§ Pace of Technology change§ Meeting User expectations§ Embracing ʻOpenʼ & new business models§ Resource implication of multi-platforms

...at local, national & international levels

4. Future Strategic considerations

Iq Changing environmentq Changing technology q Changing expectationsq New opportunitiesq Collaboration and partnerships

4. Future Strategic considerations

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§ Innovate further, beyond UK§ Embrace emerging Tech trends (cloud, IoT)§ Mobile ʻfirstʼ§ Migration - Proprietary to OSS§ Support T&L lifecycle in sector§ Consider impact of global open initiatives§ Leverage our expertise globally§ Evaluate new roles at local, national, &

global levels, inc. capacity building§ Seek new partnerships & collaborations

Obrigado – Thank you!

E-mail:conor.smyth@ed.ac.uk