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Availability: National map

The following indicator is under consideration for this pilot edition of the Barometer: To what extent is a digital national map available as structured open data?

Feedback on draft Global Data Barometer Indicators

You are looking at a draft indicator to be included in the expert survey of the Global Data Barometer. Between now and May 10th we are inviting your feedback on this indicator and the elements it contains. You can provide your feedback by (a) completing the feedback form below; or (b) adding in-line annotations.

Feedback form

You can share your feedback on the Availability: National Map indicator here, or make use of Hypothes.is annotations

Show/hide supporting questions

Existence

  • Is this data available online in any form?
    • Data is not available online
      Supporting questions: Are there other offline ways to access this data in the country? (e.g. attending an office to inspect it)
    • Data is available, but not as a result of government action
      Supporting questions: If government is not providing access to data, how is this data available? Please provide a URL for where this data can be found
    • Data is available from government, or because of government actions
      Supporting questions: Please provide a URL for where this data can be found

Elements

Part 1: Data structure and openness.

  • Data is timely and updated. (No, Partially, Yes)

    Supporting questions (conditional)

    When was the most recent update to this dataset?

  • Dataset is available free of charge. (No, Partially, Yes)

  • Data is openly licensed. (No, Partially, Yes)

    Supporting questions (conditional)

    If No: If there are explicit restrictions placed on re-use of the dataset, briefly describe those here.

    If Partially or Yes: If the data is provided with an explicit open license, please provide the name of the license, or a link to it here.

  • Data is available in all the country’s official or national languages. If the country has no official or national languages, data is available in the major languages of the country. (No, Partially, Yes)

    Supporting questions (conditional)

    If Partially or Yes: Please briefly describe the language coverage available.

  • Data is provided in machine-readable format(s) (No, Partially, Yes)

    Supporting questions (conditional)

    If Partially or Yes: Please provide a URL where this machine-readable data can be found. (Additional URLs can be included in the justification and supporting evidence)

    If Partially or Yes: Please provide a comma separated list of the formats available? (E.g. csv, json)

    If Partially: What prevents you from assessing this data as fully machine-readable?

  • The machine-readable dataset is available as a whole (No, Partially, Yes) Answer no if it's only possible to access individual records; Answer partially if it's possible to export extracts of the data; Answer yes if there are bulk downloads or APIs providing access to the whole dataset without financial, technical or legal barriers.

    Supporting questions (conditional)

    If Partially or Yes: Please provide a URL where bulk download access is available or described.

    If Partially or Yes: If bulk access is provided through an API, please provide a link to where the API is described.

Part 2: Map Availability.

  • Maps and their features ara accesible through Geoservices ann or other APIs. (No, Partially, Yes)

    Supporting questions (conditional)

    If Partially or Yes: Please provide urls of those services or APIs.

  • There are accessible and open official tools available to help users locate and explore individual records. (No, Partialy , Yes) Answer 'partially' if tools make it possible to get at extracts of data without having to download a full dataset. Answer 'yes' if there is an interactive tool that displays user-filtered extracts of the data to answer simple questions without downloading data at all.

    Supporting questions (conditional)

    If Partialy or Yes: Please provide URL

    If Partialy : What are the main barriers to accessibility and usability?

  • National map is available for download as structured data in different file formats to open locally. (No, Partially, Yes) Look for evidence of formats such as ShapeFile (.shp), WKT, .geoJSON, KML, Geopackages or Geodatabases. Answer partially if only some of the digital features available can be downloaded as structured data or if they are available in only one file format.

    Supporting questions (conditional)

    If Partially: 2: In which file formats is it available?

Part 3: Data features.

  • Historical data is available, to track change over time. (No, Partially, Yes)

  • Datasets have clear metadata explanations that help users understand the sources of the data and the meaning of the data fields. (No, Partially, Yes)

  • S: Map features (No, Partially, Yes)

  • Available national maps has layers with features such as official national borders, sub-national or administrative borders, rivers, forests, transport information and other relevant information. (No, Partially, Yes)

  • Available national map has a layer with official national borders. (No, Partially, Yes)

  • Available national map has a layer with sub-national or administrative borders. (No, Partially, Yes)

  • Available national map has layers with rivers and waterways. (No, Partially, Yes)

  • Available national maps has a layer with forests. (No, Partially, Yes)

  • Available national maps has layers with transport information (No, Partially, Yes)

  • Available national map has layers with human settlements. ()

Extent

  • S: Geographic Extent of National Map

  • How comprehensive is the data assessed for this question?

    • The data assessed covers one or more localities, but there are many other localities without available data, or with data of a lesser quality.
      Supporting questions: Which locality does this data cover?
    • The data assessed covers one or more localities, and is a representative example of the kind of data that can be found for all, or most, localities.
    • The data assessed provides national coverage.

Definitions and Identification

This indicator is focused on the availability of an official national map in digital format provided by the authoritative national mapping or geographic institution. A digital map will have key features, such as boundaries, rivers, forests, roads, human settlements, and other important infrastructure represented as distinct data points or layers that can be turned on or off (either in an online viewer, or in the exported bulk data), as opposed to showing this information through a simple scanned drawing or image.

Whilst most countries have an authoritative national map provider, the nature of these organisations can vary from country to country, and some mapping responsibilities may exist at a sub-national level.

Access to digital mapping data can be provided by mapping agencies through different means. For this indicator we have classified them into three categories:

  • Bulk downloads (often in formats such as Shapefiles (.shp), Well Known Text (WKT), GeoJSON (.geoJSON), KML, Geopackages or Geodatabases);
  • Geoservices and other APIs: this includes Web Map Services, Web Feature Services and other services and APIs that allow request for geographical layers and features using platform-independent calls;
  • Online viewers

Note: Web Mapping Services (WMS) provide access to tile images from a map, but generally do not provide access to structured data on map features.

Start by identifying the national agency in charge of producing the official maps of the country. On their website look for a digital national map with relevant features, such as official administrative borders, roads, and other important infrastructure. The Existence component of this indicator, will assess whether the digital map is available online or not. In the Elements component, you will assess ways of accessing this map data, as well as the layers available.

Starting points

What to look for?

Look for evidence that can answer the following questions:

  • Is there a digital national map provided by a national mapping agency that shows official and updated borders?
  • Does this map have other relevant features, such as rivers, forests, roads, human settlements, and other important infrastructure represented as distinct data points or layers? Or can they be found in the same website?

National and sub-national considerations

If there is no digital national map provided as structured data by a national agency, look for sub-national mapping agencies that may also have mapping responsibilities. Assess the most complete one, and then indicate whether this is an outlier, or an example of widespread practice.

National Mapping Agencies and or National Geographic Institutes are responsible for providing official, updated and reliable topographic information about a country, including:

  • Official borders;
  • Natural landscapes;
  • Man made landscape, infrastructure and built elements.

Publicly provided mapping data plays an important role across many sectors—including business, defence, environmental action and spatial planning—and underpins many forms of data use and analysis. In many countries, national mapping data is the foundation for a significant market in private sector products and services.

This indicator provides continuity with the Open Data Barometer indicator D1 which looked for "detailed digital political map of the country provided by a national mapping agency with key features such as official administrative borders, roads and other important infrastructure".