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government entities, because each agency became aware of what others were doing through their data. The era of SDI 3.0 represents a transformational leap to a time when SDI has a highly significant, direct influence on those outside of the core group of stakeholders traditionally involved in SDI projects. Entities now aim to establish spatially enabled societies by providing location-based services to the public. When planning an SDI, or any project for that matter, one must consider what "success" means. Success in the field of SDI continues to evolve with the communities of practice. Previously, these communities measured the success of an SDI development effort in terms of the number of stakeholders served as well as the amount and quality of authoritative and well-documented data available. But there's been a shift toward additional demand for application services and proof of demonstrable, measurable and compelling impacts on policies, decision making and operations on the ground. Such "demand-side" expectations bring a need to address institutional issues, opportunities and constraints that, if not addressed, can seriously constrain successful outcomes of an SDI initiative, even when the most elegant technical solution has been implemented. Resolving these institutional factors requires significantly different techniques and skill sets from "supply side" technical infrastructure matters, where much of the legacy SDI attention has been focused. Data collection has become ubiquitous; the NOAA'S NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE What Success Looks Like challenge for the next generation of SDI developers is in leveraging such data for societal gain. Keith Parker is outreach consultant, The GPC Group; e-mail: keith.parker@gpc-gis.ae. Inventing the Future "One may argue that the persons and organizations that have traditionally supported SDI development do not have the professional background and experience to guide such a transformative process, and should rather focus on establishing a solid infrastructure and let others tackle the macro societal and governance matters," notes Sorensen. "This has some truth, but it must also be acknowledged that there are significant gaps and deficiencies in understanding geospatial information and thinking among the planning, strategy and policy-making communities. "Perhaps a new kind of organization that comprises an interdisciplinary team to facilitate engagement and integrated strategic planning across the government, inclusive of SDI, is needed," he adds. "There may be many viable models, depending on the form and configuration of existing government and other factors, but it is clear we are on the cusp of a convergence of technologies and perspectives that are already changing the world around us." Author's Note: The content of this article was taken from a white paper collectively developed by GPC Group. Government Special Issue ADVERTISERINDEX ADVERTISER PAGE Esri www.esri.com/geowldagol 5 GeoWorld Emergency Management eBook www.geoplace.com/ebooks 9 GeoWorld on Facebook www.facebook.com/geoworldmag 32 GeoWorld Subscriptions www.geoplace.com/subscribe N O V E M B E R 2 O 1 2 / 31 W W W . G E O P L A C E . C O M 29