The effective development and implementation of spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) requires governance in order to avoid gaps, duplications, contradictions and missed opportunities in the implementation of different SDI components. Appropriate governance instruments should be established to coordinate the activities and contributions of different stakeholders. This article reviews the governance of national SDIs in Europe before, during and after the adoption of the European INSPIRE Directive, which aimed to establish an infrastructure for spatial information in the European community. The analysis is based on a governance instruments approach as introduced by public administration researchers to analyse coordination and governance in the public sector. The study shows that the instruments-based approach is a useful tool for analysing governance in the context of SDIs and contributes to a better understanding of SDI governance. Evidence was found for the adoption and use of each of six sets of governance instruments in the governance of national SDIs in Europe: collective decision-making structures, strategic management, allocation of tasks and responsibilities, creation of markets, inter-organizational culture and knowledge management, and regulation and formalization of the infrastructure.@en

This presentation reviews the ongoing governance efforts of the European Union and its National Member States to create a multinational infrastructure for spatial information in the European Community (INSPIRE)(Commission of the European Communities, 2007). In order to achieve this, it is necessary to establish a measure of governance between the users and providers of the information so that information and knowledge can be combined. The effective implementation of infrastructures for spatial information before 2021 requires governance by all those with an interest in the establishment of such infrastructures, whether as contributors or users. By governance we mean the structures, policies, actors and institutions by which INSPIRE is managed through decisions on accessing, sharing, exchanging and using the relevant available spatial information. Appropriate governance instruments (Verhoest and Bouckaert, 2005) which extend to the various levels of government and take account of the distribution of powers and responsibilities with the Member States should therefore be established (Masser and Crompvoets, 2015) This presentation systematically reviews the governance of INSPIRE at the European Commission as well as Member States levels based on the qualitative country reports. other implementation reports (Masser and Crompvoets, 2015), and the experiences of the INSPIRE Monitoring and Implementation groups and the Thematic Clusters. The review focuses on the different types of instruments used and how these instruments are used. The review outcomes could contribute to the creation of sustainable platforms that encourage different actors and institutions to participate, to discuss and argue various interests, and to strengthem the collaboration during policy making and implementation.@en

This presentation reviews the ongoing governance efforts of National Member States of the European Union to successfully implement INSPIRE. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to establish a measure of governance between the users and providers of the information so that information and knowledge can be combined. The effective implementation of infrastructures for spatial information before 2021 requires governance by all those with an interest in the establishment of such infrastructures, whether as contributors or users. By governance we mean the structures, policies, actors and institutions by which INSPIRE is managed through decisions on accessing, sharing, exchanging and using the relevant available spatial information. Appropriate governance instruments which extend to the various levels of government and take account of the distribution of powers and responsibilities within the Member States should therefore be established. This presentation systematically reviews the governance of INSPIRE at Member State level based on the qualitative country reports (2013 and 2016), and the experiences of the INSPIRE Monitoring and Implementation groups. The review includes the different types of instruments used and how these instruments are effectively used. The review outcomes could contribute to enhance the understanding of governing INSPIRE in the different EU member states.@en