Frequently asked Questions
concerning Geographic Information in DG XIII/E

1. What are Geographic Information (GI) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)?

Geographic Information (GI) is "information which can be related to a location on the Earth, particularly information on natural phenomena, cultural and human resources". Geographic Information Systems (GIS) permit all information traditionally held on conventional paper maps to be handled and stored in digital form and enable it to be linked to all other kinds of Geographic Information.

If you want more detailed information about GI/GIS, see A GIS Dictionary compiled by AGI, or Introduction to GIS by the University of York.

2. Is GI 2000 a programme ?

GI 2000 is not a programme. It is an initiative by the Commission to establish a policy framework for a stable, European-wide set of agreed standards, procedures, guidelines and incentives for creating, updating, changing, accessing and using geographic information. Some GI2000 fact-finding activities have been enacted within the umbrella both the IMPACT and INFO2000 programmes (studies and projects), but "GI2000" has no separate resources of its own.

Through the GI 2000 initiative, DGXIII-E created an initial draft policy document (Nov. 1996) - GI2000: Towards a European Policy Framework for Geographic Information - for wide discussion, after sponsoring numerous meetings attended by government, GI experts, academics, users and GI/GIS vendors and suppliers. These meetings produced valuable information for the Commission to use in drafting an intended Communication to the Council of Ministers and European Parliament. The Communication is expected be adopted by the Commission sometime in 1998.

There is also the EGII Policy Document - an early consultation document from November 1995 for browsing only, not download. An update to this document will appear shortly, as will pointers to related consultative documents - so be sure to check the GI2000 section on our Web site regularly in the future.

3. What is the place of GI in INFO2000 ?

GI is becoming a key area for the content industry. That is why GI-related actions can find their place in virtually every part of the programme, from producing new multimedia content to metadata to means of protecting digital IPR. In addition, it is a specific subject area under Action Line 3.1 "Catalysing high-quality European multimedia content" of the INFO2000 Programme.

4. Will there be any call for proposals concerning GI ?

There were no Calls for Proposals dedicated specifically to GI or GIS under INFO2000. Support for GI related projects is provided through the normal INFO2000 Calls for Proposals, where GI is considered to be an important sector of the wider European Information Market. From the first Call for Proposals under INFO2000, 13 GI projects were selected, and from these, in September 1997, five GI-related projects were selected for 2nd level (implementation phase) funding. The second INFO2000 Call for Proposals was published mid-December 1997. Two separate Calls focused on "Multimedia Rights Clearing Systems (MMRCS" and "Exploiting Public Sector Information" - both areas in which GI/GIS-related proposals were expected. See 2nd INFO2000 CfP explanation text for more information and access the official Call text for MMRCS and the official Call text for Exploiting Public Sector Information. No GI-related projects were proposed under MMRCS, but six were selected for part-funding in the area of exploiting public sector information.

5. What about the GI studies commissioned by DG XIII-E ?

DG XIII-E commissioned three GI related studies in 1996: GI-BASE, GI-META, GI-POLICY. These studies provide essential input to the discussion surrounding the European Policy Framework for Geographic Information.

GI-BASE was commissioned in January 96 for 12 months with the objective of collecting demand and supply figures for geographic information in Europe and to determine a precise definition for European geographic information base data.

GI-POLICY was commissioned in February 96 for 12 months. The goal of the study was to identify GI-specific elements of major European data policy issues and to clarify these issues in order to permit market growth for GI in both the private and public use sector. Senior officials and experts from across Europe were interviewed in preparing this report.

The following issues were examined :

  • Privacy;
  • Copyright and protection of databases,
  • Data Quality,
  • Liability and security of data
  • Data Access policy
  • Minimum EU-wide GI base data
  • Public domain data.

GI-META was commissioned in January 96 to examine the situation in Europe regarding metadata services for geographic information including :

  • an inventory of existing or planned products and services,
  • an analysis of the cost to create such services,
  • a review of best practise,
  • the determination of the barriers to making metadata available Europe-wide,
  • suggestions on how to overcome these barriers,
  • recommendations on issues such as interconnectivity, metadata quality and asset trading.

6. How will GI/GIS be addressed in the Fifth RTD Framework Programme?

The history of 5FP development (to date) and programme structure and content are briefly reviewed elsewhere on this site. GI was initially mentioned in the " Multimedia Content and Tools" Key Action of Thematic Programme 2 - "Creating a user friendly Information Society" in the 5FP Main Activity 1 - "Thematic Programmes".

7. What other GI documents are available from DG XIII-E ?

The following documents can be downloaded or obtained from the INFO2000 central office :

8. Where else can I learn about GI/GIS at the Commission or in Europe?

There are other Commission maintained Web sites from which you can find out more about how GI is used either by Commission services or in numerous GI/GIS related projects which have received part-funding from various EU support actions. There are also excellent sites maintained by national and pan-European GI associations. You can access sites related to EU and CEC projects from elsewhere in this GI section, as well as follow numerous links to other GI sites and lists.

Last updated 22.06.1999