How to assess the success of national spatial data infrastructures

In the information age, information has become of vital importance to the economic and social development of a country. Especially geographic information is of increasing importance for the successful execution of (public) tasks. Spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) facilitate the collection, maintenance, dissemination, and use of spatial information. Due to the continuous change of the components of the SDI, the organisational component needs to change accordingly to enable the further development of an SDI. The authors used organisational theory to develop a means to assess the success of a National SDI’s organisational context. This paper works out indicators and key conditions enabling the further development of an NSDI, accounting for its stepwise development. Crucial aspects from an organisational perspective in NSDI development are the existence of a vision, leadership, communication strategy, coherence and intention of the geographic community to initiate new innovations. The extent to which these aspects are present in an SDI initiative determines its stage of development, and as a result the success of that SDI. The NSDI characteristics of The Netherlands and the United States are used to test the proposed framework.