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RICS Geomatics evening lecture series 2006 - Thursday 11th May 2006 GI policy light - towards a sustainable spatial data infrastructure Speakers : Dr Robert Barr, Manchester Geomatics / School of Environment and Development The University of Manchester Location RICS GGS, 12 Great George Street, SW1P 3AD Time 1745 for 1830, lecture scheduled to finish at 1930. The lecture is free of charge and open to all. The RICS bar is open afterwards Background: The pricing of geographical information produced by, and for government, by agencies and other organisations has been controversial since concepts of tradable information and cost recovery began to drive Treasury thinking in the 1980s. Recently this controversy has reached a crescendo with the Guardian newspaper weighing in with its "Free our data" campaign and the re-use of public information becoming a matter for debate across Europe. In this talk Bob Barr will explain the rationale behind cost recovery and the reason it is seen by some organisations as the only way in which geographic information can be funded sustainably. He will also suggest that there are flaws in this thinking and argue that this is really a policy matter rather than one of economics. He will then propose principles that should guide a government geographic information policy. Robert Barr is managing director of Manchester Geomatics a university spin-out company that specialises in projects involving the management and use of geographic information in the public sector. He is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Environment and Development at the University of Manchester, having retired from full-time academic life after a thirty year career. He is well known as a columnist in the geographic information press and a speaker at conferences and meetings around the world. This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure. It is strictly prohibited to disseminate, distribute or copy this communication if you are not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering the message. If you have received this communication in error, please accept our apology. Please telephone the sender on the above number, +44(0)20 7222 7000, or email them by return. ________________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star Internet. The service is powered by MessageLabs. For more information on a proactive anti-virus service working around the clock, around the globe, visit: http://www.star.net.uk ________________________________________________________________________