Frequently Asked Questions

About Geodata


What are geodata?

As Geodata we can define every dataset that has a spatial aspect or component. Synonyms are "spatial data", "geographic data", "geographic data sets" or "GIS data". The syllable "Geo" implies that the dataset has a spatial component that allows to georeference the described phenomena to a location or region on the earth.


What are open geodata?

The idea of open data, and thus of open geodata, is that they should be freely accessible to the public in the sense of at no cost and without any restriction linked to patent or copyright. The following definition can be found on opendefinition.org:

A piece of data or content is open if anyone is free to use, reuse, and redistribute it — subject only, at most, to the requirement to attribute and/or share-alike


What is the political situation in Romania in regards to open (geo)data?

Thanks to its accession to the European Union in 2007, Romania has to implement EU initiatives like the Directive for an Infrastructure for Spatial InfoRmation in Europe (INSPIRE). Its purpose is the harmonization of geodata provided by the administrations of the member states. Furthermore it demands the implementation of a standardized interface for simplified exchange of geodata across borders. In Romania, INSPIRE started with the constitution of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure Council (INIS) based on a Government Ordinance in 2010. The INIS Council is responsible for the coordination and implementation of the INSPIRE Directive in Romania. The Romanian Government also signed the Open Governemnt Partnership in 2011 and launched an open data portal that include open data with a spatial component.

For more information about the legal and political situation, as well as the actual conditions, regarding open geodata in Romania, please visit the project website, and more specifically the Results page.


Contact

Institute of Cartography and Geoinformation (IKG) at ETH Zürich

Contact person: Nadia Panchaud

E-mail: geoidea@ethz.ch