Friday 20 January 2006 at 16.00, Joep Crompvoets will defend his PhD-thesis, entitled: “National Spatial Data Clearinghouses, Worldwide Development and Impact”.
Over the last few years many countries have spent considerable resources on developing their own national spatial data clearinghouse. These clearinghouses can be regarded as the access network of a national spatial data infrastructure that facilitate access to a nation’s spatial data and related services via the Internet. Such a facility usually consists of a number of servers, which contain information (metadata) about available digital data. The main objective of this thesis is to analyse the development and impact of national spatial data clearinghouses worldwide as well as the impact of society on these facilities. The main results are critical success factors that affect positively national clearinghouses. Through the results obtained, clearinghouse coordinators and policy makers can be supported in the development of successful strategies for establishing and maintaining national clearinghouses. In this way, the results of this thesis can contribute to the enhancement of national clearinghouses and national spatial data infrastructures in many countries.
For more information, contact Joep Crompvoets: 0317-474399 of joep.crompvoets@wur.nl.