イギリスの national mapping agency は、運営方針を真剣に考えてもらっている。
www.communities.gov.uk から "Policy options for geographic information from Ordnance Survey -- Consultation" がリリースされていたので、いくつかの文を抜き書きしてみます。
抜き書き
Foreword より
- Smarter Government is the Prime Minister's vision for how government will meet the rising expectations of citizens for better public services.
- An open data policy for the UK is a key part of this transformation.
- It is my desire that Ordnance Survey information is right at the heart of this revolution of underpinning the nation with greater access to data to improve decision-making and create innovation.
- These proposals open up Ordnance Survey data
- The Government is setting out here what it sees as the strategic options for Ordnance Survey to support Making Public Data Public and enable a thriving private sector market as well as sustainable provision in the public sector.
- We are minded to make available for free and without restriction on re-use certain Ordnance Survey datasets
知的政府のためのオープンデータ政策が進められており、その変革の中核として、Ordnance Survey のデータが捉えられています。Ordnance Survey が市場で生き残りつつも、いくつかのデータセットを無償かつ再利用制限なしに提供することを目指していくことになります。
Executive Summary より
- the Prime Minister asked Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Professor Nigel Shadbolt to lead an initiative called Making Public Data Public
- Location is a key reference tool by which other data is understood.
- Ordnance Survey is facing increasing competition in its core market as a result of changing technology.
- government has been working to develop and refine the strategic options for Ordnance Survey in the light of the Making Public Data Public project.
- Option 1: Current business strategy
- Ordnance Survey would remain an integrated data and product provider, charging users to license its products.
- This model does not propose a dataset funded by government to be free at the point of use.
- 現在のコスト回収モデルを保持する案で、利用者からみて情報は有償のままとなります。
- Option 2: Release of licensing constraints on large-scale data
- enable customers to use and re-use large- and smaller-scale data for free and without restriction
- fully subsidesed data collection and maintenance business.
- Product development and distribution would be separated from this entity and would operate in a fully competitive environment.
- would maximise access and re-use of data and welfare benefits from its use.
- The data collection business would lose incentives for further innovation and competition in data collection would be diminished.
- データ収集・編集部門と製品開発・販売部門を切り離し、前者を政府補助強化、後者を民営化する案で、情報のオープン化は最高に進むかわり、データ収集・編集に関するイノベーションや競争は死んでしまう、という案です。
- Option 3: Staged transition from current business strategy
- preserve the scale and infrastructure efficiencies of an integrate structure
- release, for free and with no restriction on re-use, a selection of mid- and small-scale products. Government would provide funding for the maintenance and delivery of these datasets.
- correct the existing substantial imbalance between public and private sector prices.
- An acceleration in the pace of organisational change and enhanced ownership function
- a shift towards government paying more.
- 無償・無制限公開を中小縮尺に絞り、対官と対民の価格格差を是正し、組織改編などを加速する代わりに政府からの支出を強化する案です。折衷案であるように見えます。
本文より
- This consultation opened on 23 December 2009. Responses are sought by 17 March 2010.
- イギリスの地理情報市場はB2Gが15%, B2Bが20%, B2Cが65%。
- Option 1 での無償化の検討対象は、1:10,000 scale raster, 1:25,000 scale colour raster, 1:50,000 scale colour raster, 1:50,000 scale gazetteer, 1:250,000 scale colour raster, 1:1,000,000 scale raster, code-point (post code data), boundary-line (1:10,000), meridian 2, strategi。
- 提供の方法の例として、online public viewing service, online download service, web based API service。
- "Ordnance Survey Free"
- called for the government to create a freely available single definitive address and postcode database available to the UK.
感想
Consultation というのはこういうものを言うのだなあと感じます。ところで、アメリカもイギリスも、geospatial information という用語を使わず、伝統的な geographic information という用語を使い続けています。
