1. Geographic Information Metadata standard for Commission departments
Meeting of the Working Party
"Geographical Information Systems for Statistics"
P.C. Smits
Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Italy

2. Outline Introduction Metadata for Geographic Information
EC’s metadata activities
Current status and needed future steps

3. Introduction Joint Research Centre
The mission of the JRC is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies.
As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union.
Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national

4. COGI Commission inter-service group on Geographic Information
Mandate
COGI is to co-ordinate the use of GI and to assure the application of common technical GI standards within the Commission services to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of European policy monitoring that require an spatial analysis of the European territory at European and Global level.
Chairmanship:
Director General EUROSTAT
JRC providing the technical input and expertise

5. Actions list (2000)
Line 1: improve the availability of GI within the Commission services
Update the document “EC User needs in GI and GIS”, Market survey on the available sources of GI. Preparation of technical specifications for the Call for Tender or the regulation, Follow-up of the implementation of specific GI projects such as Image-CLC-2000,..
Line 2: improve the level of awareness within Commission
creation of a common GI//GIS web site, organise seminars, production of posters and newsletters at regular intervals,..
Line 3: project a coherent image of the EC GI activities to the outside world
European reference system (ETRS89), Set of European projection systems, European grid system in a statistical context, GI metadata standard (in liaison with ISO), ..
Line 4: develop a data policy applicable to all Commission services
for projects partly or totally funded by the Commission, to be used inside the Commission in Commission's funded projects, to give external users access to the Commission's data,..

6. What is the ESDI? European Spatial Data Infrastructure
Europe is moving 3cm/ year
Technical Support
to GI policy
development
Needs for a European Reference System
Different Policies and standards
GI Institutional
framework
GI technical
standards
Spatial Data Infrastructure
Different sea level in Europe
Catchments
GIS for Natura 2000
Meteo data
Fundamental GI data sets
Spatial
Information
Services
Land Cover
eEurope : eGovernement on line
Needs to create european spatial data sets
GIS to manage Natura2000 sites

7. The GI&GIS project - Overview
GI reference center. To support the European GI policy development as a part of new communication on eGovernment Information Strategies.
Formalisation of the user requirements for the EGII (European GI Infrastructure). GI core data and market. Creation of new thematic networks.
Standardisation (Reference systems, Metadata, projections, ..) Contribute to the set-up of an interoperable European GeoStatistical system.
Technology watch and Dissemination ( for EC.
Pan-European dbs development. To support and monitor the spatial component of EU policies (Natura2000, Image2000/CorineLC2000, Agro-Meteorology, Catchments, etc.).
Conception, creation and harmonisation of spatial layers
Set-up of spatial information services.
Applied Research. To investigate methods for integrated assessment and study the applicability of technology.
Geomatics, Spatial analysis, Interoperability.
GI & GIS:
Towards an Integrated
Spatial Framework
for European Policies
Pan-European data sets
(CORINE, NATURA2000,
IMAGE2000)
IT Support
Methodological Issue
for data analysis &
integration
Dissemination Strategy
&
Data policies

8. Geographic Information: Relevance to EU policies
Access to
Public
Sector
Information
Underpinning
EU policies
with a spatial
impact
European Geographic Information Infrastructure
Policies’ implementation
Developing harmonised databases
Standards
Methods

9. Metadata for Geographic Information Why is spatial so special?
Some ISO metadata elements
11. Geographic Location (by four coordinates or geographic identifier) (M)
14. Category (M) e.g. cadastral, cultural, demographic, etc.
16. Scale of the dataset (O)
17. Dataset Format Name(O): e.g. VPF
117. Topological consistency
118. Positional accuracy
122. Temporal accuracy
188. Reference System
191. Coordinate system
217. Projection system parameters

10. Metadata for Geographic Information How it will work
User
applications
Clients
Possible ways in which
metadata is delivered:
Paper catalog
(On-line) databases
Web pages
Text files …
Access to transformed
data, pictures, maps
Service
chaining
Metadata search and
retrieval
Middleware
Geo-processing
Services
Direct
data
access
Catalogs
Metadata update
Servers
Content
Repositories
Other data
Coverages
Features
Digital Earth reference model

11. Metadata for Geographic Information
Various initiatives to build GI metadata standards
All converting towards IS 19115
IS 19115
FGDC
CEN TC287
Input
CEN
IS endorsed by CEN
Future versions of FGDC metadata standards will become profile of IS 19115
OpenGIS
Consortium Ltd.
Consistency
ISO-OGC
metadata

12. EC’s GI metadata activities
The European Commission has an interest in standardizing metadata
As the initiator and promoter of initiatives like eContent, eGovernment
As a user of information residing at national and local levels
As a direct and indirect producer of information
Through the years, some European Institutions have developed their own metadata “standards”, or adopted draft standards (e.g., CEN 287)
e.g., Eurostat’s GISCO office, EEA, …
Time has come to agree on metadata standards
And to adopt and implement them!

13. EC’s GI metadata activities
Funding of projects through the Framework Programmes
CLEAR: Spatial Clearinghouse Saar-Lor-Lux
ESMI: European Spatial Multimedia Infrastructure
GEIXS: European multilingual metadata service for the geological surveys
GISEDI: Electronic Trade for Geographic Information
LaClef: Unlocking GI in the public sector though e-commerce
Madame: Methods for access to data and metadata in Europe
ETeMII: European Territorial Management Information Infrastructure
GINIE, GeoServe, Midas, GIPSIE, etc.
See also

14. EC’s GI metadata activities
JRC Institutional project
GI&GIS project
Work carried out by external contractors
Exploratory research
Implementation
Internal awareness raising
Commission Inter-service working group on GI (COGI)

15. EC’s GI metadata activities
Some approved COGI recommendations on GI metadata (based on results of ETeMII and Madame projects)
Metadata management to be integrated into "workflow" of all future EU funded projects
Information resource has a spatial component?
Use core elements of DIS 19115
AND Dublin Core for cross-IT searching so as to increase the visibility of the resource.
Much of the metadata management can be automated. Metadata acquisition and publication tools have to be used as they come available.
Recommend to ISO/TC 211 to arrange for IS to be made freely available as a "foundation" standard.

16. Current status and needed future steps
COGI adopted recommendations on IS 19115
Now, appropriate measures are expected from DG’s
….and metadata should become part of all EC funded projects!
Open issues
Continue awareness raising of importance of metadata
Without neglecting organizational and technical aspects
Fully support Dublin Core (DC) initiative
And CEN/ISSS MMI-DC
Adopt IS as soon as it comes available (Jan. 2002)
Introduce realistic plans for migration from current “standards” to DC and IS 19115
Offer practical, user-guide level support where necessary
Liaise with ISO and DC to ensure that guidelines on cross mapping are provided authoritatively.