New York StateGIS Data Sharing Cooperative

Why The Cooperative?• Temporary GIS Council

recommended that data sharing be improved

• Technology Policy 96-18 charged Coordinating Body with developing policy to allow transfer of digital data at minimum or no cost

• Assigned to Data Coordination Work Group

Issues• Virtually no sharing of GIS data in NYS

– Fiefdoms (DOT, ORPS)– Fear of job loss (knowledge is power)

• Little trust between state agencies

• Virtually no trust between state agencies and county/municipal governments

• Fear of data being “stolen” by private sector

Issues (cont.)

• No consistent mechanism to all data sharing - various licensing agreements required to acquire data

• Huge conflict over the issue of data being free or for fee – major data producers at DOT and ORPS

charge significant amounts for data

• Little knowledge of who had what data• Little knowledge of who to contact to get

data or ask questions about it

Typical GIS Licensing

Local Government

DEC DOH

ORPS

OGS

DOS

DOTOther Agencies

Cooperative Model

New Members

DECDOH

ORPS

OGS

DOS

Other Agencies

DOT

CountyGovts.

Municipal

Govts.

Academia

Not-for-Profits

Cooperative

NYS GIS Data Sharing Cooperative

• A group of governmental agencies and not-for-profit corporations which have executed Data Sharing Agreements for the purpose of improving access to GIS data for members.

Rules of the CooperativeThere are no fees to join the Cooperative

You do not need GIS data to belong

You can borrow GIS data from any member

Owner of the data is free to distribute its data outside the Cooperative

You sign only one standard data sharing agreement (< 7 days to process)

Rules of the Cooperative

Members forward improvements to data owners

Unless required by law, you cannot redistribute another member’s data without permission

Not satisfied? Members can return data and terminate agreement

Closing the Loop!

Advantages of the Cooperative

• Avoids duplication of data development

• Improves existing datasets

• Saves money, reduces project time, and save limited staff resources

Growth in Membership

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Oct-97 Oct-98 Oct-99 Oct-00 Oct-01 Oct-02 Oct-03 Oct-04 Oct-05

Nu

mb

er

of

Me

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Local Govt.

Not-For-Profits

State Govt.

Academia

County Govt.

Federal Govt.

Other States

Sovereign Nations

Cooperative Breakdown

Membership• Currently More Than 507 Members

– 184 Local Governments– 98 Not-For-Profit’s – 79 State Agencies– 74 Academia– 52 County Governments– 16 Federal Agencies (USGS, FEMA, FHA, EPA,

Army Corps, National Parks Service, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Cancer Institute)

– 3 Other States (Vermont, New Jersey & Pennsylvania)

– 1 Sovereign Nation

Increases In Data Sharing

0

250,000

500,000

750,000

1,000,000

1,250,000

1,500,000

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Data Downloads

Members Providing Data Inventories

Sector

# of Members

Members w/Data

Local 184 24

NFP 98 11

State 79 21

Academia 74 1

County 52 24

Federal 16 7

Other States 3 3

Sovereigns 1 0

Where Should We Go From Here?