Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE)

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in GIS, Management Information | 0 Comments

What is INSPIRE?

INSPIRE stands for Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe, and is a European Directive that came into force on 15th May 2007. INSPIRE aims to create a European Union (EU) spatial data infrastructure (SDI). This inititative will enable the sharing of spatial information among public sector organisations, and help to better facilitate public access to spatial information across Europe.

There are a series of milestones to full implementation, with final completion in 2019. This may sound a long way off, but there are earlier milestones which need to be met, along with planning, development and delivery of the overall directive.

To ensure compatability and usability of INSPIRE, there are a series of implementing rules covering the following elements:

• Metadata
• Interoperability
• Network services
• Data sharing
• Monitoring and reporting

For further information, see the European Commission INSPIRE website.