Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/70379
3-D Standards and Public/ Private Partnership in The Netherlands OPENGEOSPATIAL CONNECTION T BY STEVEN RAMAGE he previous "Open Geospatial Connection" column discussed how Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards, such as OGC City Geography Markup Language (CityGML), enable information and communication technol- ogy (ICT) bridges (see "Open Standards Are Bridging the Indoor/Outdoor Location Divide," March 2012, page 30). Such infra- structure supports the activities of citizens, consumers, businesses, governments and nonprofit organizations. Infrastructure building often is accomplished through public/private partnerships, and such is the case with spatial data infrastructure. National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) policy makers can learn from the example of Geonovum, the NSDI executive committee in The Netherlands. Geonovum worked successfully on behalf of Dutch Kadaster, the Netherlands Geodetic Commission, and the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment to establish a national 3-D standard that aligns to existing national 2-D standards and OGC CityGML. This standard, being established through a national pilot project called the "3-D Pilot NL," is an important step for including 3-D information about the built and natural environment within the Dutch SDI. Steven Ramage is executive director, Marketing and Communications, Open Geospatial Consortium; e-mail: sramage@ opengeospatial.org. 30 Learning, then Leading Building on lessons learned in earlier NSDI efforts in The Netherlands and elsewhere, the first phase of 3-D Pilot NL enlisted more than 65 private, public and scientific organizations working together to advance 3-D developments in the country. The afore- mentioned national organizations recognized the importance of aligning the new Dutch national 3-D standards with relevant international standards as well as the existing national standard for large-scale topography, Information Model Geography (IMGeo). Much can be learned from Geonovum's approach in using policy and other measures to accelerate the implementation and uptake of open standards for data, interfaces and encodings. This example is useful GEO W ORLD / JUNE 2O12 The project was organized to promote tourism, civil security, high-tech innovation and business development. because The Netherlands is the first country to make the OGC CityGML Encoding Standard a national standard. For a variety of reasons, other nations will be extending their NSDIs in this direction. Unique Needs and Developments All regions can benefit from urban 3-D models, and all cities need elevation data, but accurate and comprehen- sive 3-D data are particularly important where terrain is flat, heavily built on and close to sea level. Considering the increased risk of flooding that comes with climate change, The Netherlands has a particularly acute need. In addition to planning and managing for flood control, however, many other benefits were derived from richer 3-D data. The project was organized to promote tourism, civil security, high-tech innovation and business development, and efficiencies through- out the building lifecycle. Leading organizations of the 3-D Pilot NL enlisted the support and cooperation of about 500 technology providers and users in the public, private, academic and research sectors. Frequent plenary sessions were convened, and educational workshops were held. Participants developed use cases and participated in testbeds and social-media networks, creating 3-D information and integrating it with 2-D data in applications. Policies were put in place. Government data and system procurements now spell out specific require- ments for standards in their requests for tenders. The Dutch government tells agencies and contractors to "comply or explain why not." The first phase of the 3-D Pilot NL has been successful in laying the organizational and policy groundwork for one of the world's most-comprehensive national 3-D geoinformation programs. Future phases will address remaining challenges, such as lifecycle management of standards, training and further integra- tion of open standards into business applications. Author's Note: More information about the 3-D Pilot NL is available at www.geonovum.nl/sites/default/files/3d_pilot_ artikel_engels_2.pdf and www.geonovum.nl/dossiers/3dpilot/ congres/english. Video demonstrations of use cases can be found at www.geonovum.nl/dossiers/3dpilot/bibliotheek/ presentaties#films.