Toward a geospatial data infrastructure for Northrhine-Westphalia

A better exploitation of existing geographic information through intelligent services for citizens, professionals, and decision-makers is urgently needed. The project for a Geospatial Data Infrastructure in Northrhine-Westphalia targets such an improvement by establishing the means for an expansion of markets for geographically related information products and services. This overall objective will be reached by an interdisciplinary approach of institutional, commercial, and research organizations in the GI-market. The Institute for Geoinformatics, University of Muenster, contributes the design of an overall service architecture and a systematic analysis of underlying research questions. A reference model provides the framework for design, communication, and a consensus process amongst the project partners. We present here a first overview of the chosen goals and strategies.