P2: Geographic data sources

29 Oct, 2012

Plenary #2 – Geographic data sources: providers, business model, quality?

Tuesday November 5^th, 11:45AM-1PM, Conference amphitheater

Relief agencies are confronted with many data providers, from mapping solutions to geographical information systems or business data. All of those providers present several operating modes, philosophies, and economical models, all distinct from each other. Facing this diversity, humanitarian organizations may encounter problems to find and particularly to share their data, because of the lack of a common license model specific to humanitarian use. This meeting will therefore aim to debate the following questions:

What are the existing data providers (background maps and humanitarian data), their operating characteristics, and their positive/negative aspects?
What are the possible economical models and (possibly specific?) licenses for humanitarian data? What are the possibilities to integrate different models?
How to build a quick & efficient data sharing system, while at the same time avoiding commercial appropriation?
How to guarantee data safety and quality?
At what stage is the current use of State-based shared data (opensource model), is a transfer of skills possible and worth considering?