Recession: Time to Kick Into High Gear

Wisdom dictates that the most appropriate response to a financial crisis and impending recession is to become more competitive by enhancing your knowledge and improving your services. Since Hungary is one of the countries directly affected by the unfolding financial situation, the case of HUNAGI, the Hungarian NGIA, could provide valuable insights into how an NGIA can help to promote national economic growth. The HUNAGI actions outlined below are related to capacity-building, the use of promising and innovative technologies, and strengthening Public Sector Information (PSI) re-use at both local and global forums.

Promised applications

‘Let's kick into high gear, the fuel is the data!' is the theme of the next annual HUNAGI Conference (Budapest, 21^st and 22^nd March 2012). Devoted to Mobile GIS and related spatial data services, it is being organised jointly with partner organisations and will discuss at least two fields of applications in which location-based services are especially relevant for promoting more efficient operations and providing higher levels of user satisfaction. Both fields intensively use technologies based on Global Navigation Satellite System services, improved sensor-web networks, unique identifiers and advanced mobile communication. Over one trillion devices worldwide are predicted to be connected to the internet this year (the so-called ‘Internet of Things' or IoT), which will enable unprecedented systems-integration levels providing connectivity between humans, devices, and static and moving objects in all combinations. Firstly, the intelligent transportation and traffic management systems have to be mentioned; in line with the European Intelligent Transport Systems Directive and related documents, Hungary followed with the national transportation strategy-based implementation roadmap. Secondly, promising fields of application are related to purchasing, logistics and inventory management, where novel, multi-modal and interoperable technologies will pave the way for cost-effective and environmentally friendly solutions, from commerce to security and from disaster response to citizens' everyday lives. These technological challenges are likely to provide opportunities for SMEs and hence have a positive impact on employment levels, which is crucial during this time of slow economic growth and possible recession.

Data policy and VGI

The availability, accessibility and usability of geospatial data are important requirements of the spatial data infrastructure which would support mobile GIS solutions. The necessary legislative framework, data-sharing in line with INSPIRE, data protection, open source/open data and PSI re-use are the major topics to be discussed in the Data Session. The emerging area of Voluntary Geographic Information (VGI) will be highlighted by best practices presented by invited speakers from NGOs and the nature protection field.

In order to facilitate knowledge transfer, the 3^rd HUNAGI Conference will be free to attend for students, who will be also mobilised at the 2^nd Conference on GIS organised by the academic geographical community and hosted by Debrecen University in May 2012.

After the Mobile GIS conference, HUNAGI will host a thematic seminar on the EU FP7 LAPSI (Legal Aspects of Public Sector Information Re-use) project which will discuss how to reach legal interoperability and standardisation thanks to suitable re-use licences.