GSDI Association Announces Small Grants Program

The Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association has announced the GSDI Small Grants Program for the year 2005. The Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) Association is dedicated to international co-operation and collaboration in support of local, national and international spatial data infrastructure developments that would allow nations to better address social, economic, and environmental issues of pressing importance. They are committed to bringing about an infrastructure that will allow users globally to access spatial data at a variety of scales from multiple sources that ultimately will appear seamless to all users. The GSDI Association supports the work of organisations to develop their own SDI initiatives, nationally and regionally, and collaborates with local, national, and international organisations to ensure that geospatial data, services, and metadata are accessible through interoperable standards-based services, systems, software, and products that operate in a web-enabled environment. The success of the GSDI Association depends on the quality of its partnerships with public, private, academic, and non-governmental organisations. The GSDI is being advanced through the leadership of many nations and organisations represented by a GSDI association council and board of directors. The multi-national Board includes representatives from all continents, and all sectors: government, academia, and the private sector as well as regional SDI initiatives referred to as permanent committees:

• Africa: United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Committee on Development Information: Geo (CODI-GEO)- Americas: Pan-American Institue for Geography and History (PAIGH)
  
• Asia and Pacific: Permanent Committee for Geographic Information for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP)- Europe: European Umbrella Organisation for Geographic Information (EUROGI)

Please visit the GSDI Association website to familiarise yourself with the mission, goals, programs, accomplishments and priorities of the organisation.

The GSDI Association along with partners and participants has allocated resources from the U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee and the GISCorps of URISA, to fund a small grants program to support national or sub-national activities that foster partnerships, improve data compatibility and access, and increase political support for spatial data infrastructure development. The grants are limited to US$2,500 and up to an equivalent amount in SDI/GIS consulting and development services. The SDI/GIS consulting services will be coordinated by the GISCorps (www.giscorps.org), an international initiative that offers GIS consulting and development services by qualified volunteers to emerging economies. If consulting expertise is requested as part of a grant submission, proposal writers should be explicit about the external expertise desired or required, language requirements, and whether the tasks contemplated by the external experts may be accomplished off site or must be in country. Also indicate those tasks or results that may still be achieved if the request for GISCorps consulting resources is unable to be met.

Activities to receive support may focus on technical or institutional projects, as long as there are concrete/tangible outputs and several institutions collaborate. Sample activities include (these are not exhaustive):

• convening of national or sub-national SDI seminars or workshops
  
• producing SDI training manuals and modules (these materials must not duplicate existing SDI materials)- Establishing metadata and clearinghouse nodes
  
• establishing web mapping services and applications
  
• accomplishing SDI-relevant surveys or inventories
  
• producing and disseminating SDI-relevant newsletters and awareness-raising materials- Drafting policy and legislation enabling SDI development.

Priority will be given to projects in developing nations and countries with economies in transition. Grants can be awarded to SDI coordinating bodies (councils, committees) and GIS user groups, but the GSDI Association asks that one institution take responsibility for receiving/depositing the funds. Grants will not cover organisation overhead expenses.