New York State GIS Data Sharing Cooperative

Why The Cooperative? Temporary GIS Council recommended that data sharing be improved Technology Policy charged Coordinating Body with developing policy to allow transfer of digital data at minimum or no cost Assigned to Data Coordination Work Group

Issues Virtually no sharing of GIS data in NYS –Fiefdoms (DOT, ORPS) –Fear of job loss (knowledge is power) Little trust between state agencies Virtually no trust between state agencies and county/municipal governments Fear of data being “stolen” by private sector

Issues (cont.) No consistent mechanism to all data sharing - various licensing agreements required to acquire data Huge conflict over the issue of data being free or for fee –major data producers at DOT and ORPS charge significant amounts for data Little knowledge of who had what data Little knowledge of who to contact to get data or ask questions about it

Typical GIS Licensing Local Government DECDOH ORPS OGS DOS DOT Other Agencies

Cooperative Model New Members DEC DOH ORPS OGS DOS Other Agencies DOT County Govts. Municipal Govts. Academia Not-for-Profits Cooperative

NYS GIS Data Sharing Cooperative A group of governmental agencies and not-for- profit corporations which have executed Data Sharing Agreements for the purpose of improving access to GIS data for members.

Rules of the Cooperative There are no fees to join the Cooperative You do not need GIS data to belong You can borrow GIS data from any member Owner of the data is free to distribute its data outside the Cooperative You sign only one standard data sharing agreement (< 7 days to process)

Rules of the Cooperative Members forward improvements to data owners Unless required by law, you cannot redistribute another member’s data without permission Not satisfied? Members can return data and terminate agreement Closing the Loop!

Advantages of the Cooperative Avoids duplication of data development Improves existing datasets Saves money, reduces project time, and save limited staff resources

Growth in Membership

Cooperative Breakdown

Membership Currently More Than 507 Members –184 Local Governments –98 Not-For-Profit’s –79 State Agencies –74 Academia –52 County Governments –16 Federal Agencies (USGS, FEMA, FHA, EPA, Army Corps, National Parks Service, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Cancer Institute) –3 Other States (Vermont, New Jersey & Pennsylvania) –1 Sovereign Nation

Increases In Data Sharing

Members Providing Data Inventories Sector # of Members Members w/Data Local18424 NFP9811 State7921 Academia741 County5224 Federal167 Other States33 Sovereigns10

Where Should We Go From Here?