Regional SDI & Land Administration, Capacity and ... - INSPIRATION

All the beneficiary countries of the Project INSPIRATION - Spatial Data Infrastructure
in the Western Balkans took part in this initiative, with addition of Slovenia.
The SDI concept, on the other hand, was introduced in the last five years, first by
including articles in the Croatian Law on State Survey and Real Estate Cadastre that
define the framework of the NSDI. Other countries of the region followed that
approach and gradually introduced NSDI sections / paragraphs, usually in their laws
on cadastre. In the case of Croatia, the first two NSDI working groups (for technical
standards and for data sharing) were formed in 2008 and they first received initial
education through consulting assistance and a study tour in Spain and Germany, all
in the frame of the PHARE programme. And even before that, a systematic series of
experience exchange events was organized by SGA where developed countries
presented their NSDI (Sweden, Canada, Germany, and Norway). However, to support
NSDI activities on a wider scale and on the long run, there is a need for capacity
building approach that:
- carefully watches and listens to the stakeholders to identify their needs;
- continuously follows the institutional and technical developments in NSDI;
- is capable of promptly converging the requirements from the two previous bullet
points;
- supports the Life Long Learning (LLL) and Continuous Professional Development
(CPD);
- creates conditions to involve universities as soon as possible;
- puts the capacity building in the mainstream focus instead of treating it as a side
ingredient of SDI.
Traditional approach targets the gap between the qualifications and skills of a person
and needed skills for a particular set of activities on individual level. The approach
needs to be upgraded to organizational level, or even more, to societal level.
Especially is that true in the situations of introducing rather new concepts such as
SDI, where individuals are not just trying to reach the level of their colleagues, but to
acquire competencies that their colleagues do not have yet and their managers are
only getting acquainted with the new paradigms. Not only individuals need to build
certain SDI skills, but they are needed for the society to reach the full effect of SDI, to
create a community where the new language is understood and to gain awareness as
the critical amount of communication with expert and general public is initiated. With
approach of targeting capacity building on the societal level the effect of capacity
building is more sustainable.
Each country in the region has its own needs regarding SDI capacity building and
education. But there sure is a great deal of overlapping among these need sets. The
most recent proof of that were the three Regional INSPIRE Trainings held in the
course of INSPIRATION Project. Despite the limited number of participants, these
have shown that there are many topics that could be targeted with capacity building
and education in all countries regardless of their stage in building the SDI.
In terms of progress in the process of setting up the NSDIs and adopting INSPIRE
principles, the Western Balkans region seemed very asymmetrical in the initiation of
the project; it still is, but the differences are decreasing because every country
recognizes the need and benefits of the approach, and because they all are in some
stage of accessing the EU and adopting the INSPIRE Directive.
INSPIRATION – Spatial Data Infrastructure in the Western Balkans
Regional SDI & Land Administration (LA) Capacity and
Education Study and Recommendations Report
(Act. 2.1 and Act. 2.2), March 2013
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