The impact of access policies in the development of a national GDI

Within the context of Geodata- and Service Infrastructures (GDI) access-to-government data policies are important the existence and successful use of the data, and the success of the GDI itself. Two access doctrines are dominant in the literature: open access policies and cost recovery policies. Many researches have attempted to compare open access policies with the cost recovery model. Most compare the open access approach of the United States (US) federal government with the cost recovery models in other countries, and conclude that the open access policy is more successful. As a consequence most research recommend nations to convert cost recovery policies into open access policies.
Although at first sight the accomplished researches provide convincing evidence for the success of the open access model, they appear to have some significant deficiencies.
This paper will provide the foundation of a research project to investigate the impact of access policies on the development of national GDIs from a user point of view. The research framework uses the technical and non-technical value of four framework spatial datasets as a measure of success. Together, the non-technical and technical value of a dataset may decide whether a potential user is going to use a dataset. Together with the user satisfaction with the characteristics of the dataset, and the number and variety of products on the spatial market, it is believed that the use value of a dataset results in more reliable research results than current research has provided.