Fit for Use

摘要

The basic notion of establishing a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) is to collect geo-data once and then use it many, many times for a wide variety of applications, thus saving massive amounts of taxpayers' money. Is an SDI a success story when the data is downloadable from the internet by the millions, either free of charge or according to the revenue-generation model? Many may be inclined to respond with a firm 'Yes' and a conceding nod. However, the nod probably belongs to the producer and does not touch on the issue of fitness for use. The crucial question from the user's perspective is: to what degree can this geo-dataset be of help in solving the problem at hand?'