Regional GI cluster in support to the SDI development

Ostman, Anders & Jan Bjerkman

Cluster development has received political interest due to its contribution to regional development. This is also visible in the EU policies for research as well as regional development. Future Position X (FPX) is a GIS cluster based in GGvle Sweden. Its aim is to promote regional development by supporting the growth of GIS businesses. Spatial Data Infrastructure at the local level is mainly possible to larger cities. In order to provide equal opportunities also to smaller cities, some kind of coordinated actions are required. Regional GIS cluster initiatives may here play a substantial role in fulfilling these political ambitions, by taking a leading role in the development of regional SDIIs. During recent years, the FPX cluster has achieved substantial results in terms of business development in the region. The annual turnover among the GIS SMEEs have for instance increase by 98 % during the last two years, according to independent audits. The employment rate has also increased. During the past two years, FPX has been the leading actor in implementing a regional SDI. By doing this, GI services are available also to citizens and companies in rural areas and small municipalities. The regional SDI have substanially decreased the operation costs for the parties involved. In the coming years, the cluster development will be focussed on the commercialisation of R&D results, the spread of GI technologies to other sectors and international cooperation. The regional SDI is still in development phase, but it is expected that its financing will be sustainable and that new applications will be introduced in large as well as small municipalities.

Event: International Conference on Spatial Data Infrastructure 2010

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Document type:Regional GI cluster in support to the SDI development (165 kB - pdf)