The role of CGIA related to data sharing is to promote, inspire, and be a catalyst for policy formulation, policy design on metadata creation, metadata maintenance, data sharing partnerships, and use of the California GIS library resources.

Data Sharing Policy

CGIA is uniquely constituted, as the statewide organization of GIS professionals from all public and private sectors, to help the State of California formulate a consensus-based data sharing policy that can serve the needs of California's public, private, and non-profit sectors. Such data policy coordination must address the concerns of local governments that assert a proprietary ownership over their geodata, as well as the public's need for government accountability which requires local, regional, and state geodata to be available in the public domain.

Framework Data: CGIA continues to partner with CERES and California GIS Council to implement the California Geospatial Framework Data Plan. CGIA is encouraging regions, counties, and cities to develop and maintain framework data. Download the Geospatial Framework Data Report here

With support from an FGDC CAP grant, your CGIA has been working with the Open Data Consortium to explain and promote the model data distribution policy for use in local governments. Many government agencies support the ODC model policy principles. Some organizations are concerned about financing the maintenance of their geodata repositories, and therefore do not support them. CGIA and the ODC project have been working to formulate strategies for tracking the benefits derived from governmental use of its geodata in order to fund geodata maintenance operations from its usage. People interested in contributing their feedback are encouraged to contact Bruce Joffe, ODC Project Manager, .

CGIA is also supporting the California Geospatial Coordinating Council to organize a Digital Land Records Information (DLRI) workshop on October 19, to consider recommendations for State funding incentives to local governments to assist their geodata maintenance in return for placing local geodata into the public domain.

CGIA works in partnership with the California Geospatial Coordinating Council in its support of regional data sharing collaborations. These regional efforts are encouraging local governments to compile and access their agencies' geodata for emergency response and security purposes, and in some cases, for the general public.

CGIA members are encouraged to actively participate in these initiatives. Please contact Mary Cook-Hurley to volunteer at .