Foreword
Geospatial information is information about objects, events and conditions where the position is an integral part of the information. The terms location data, geodata, spatial data or geographic information are often used with almost the same meaning.
Many activities are dependent on access to geospatial information. Navigation at sea, flood and landslide protection, construction and civil engineering activities, and emergency service responses are just a few examples. Ever-increasing amounts of data and the ability to collate this data entail additional areas of application and greater practical value. Often we do not even think about the fact that we are using geospatial information; its use is interwoven in virtually all sectors and at all levels. Systems and data are linked together and become part of a comprehensive decision-making basis.
Norway has an extensive and advanced foundation for access to geospatial information. This is our geospatial data infrastructure. It covers many needs in society and consists of various shared solutions for the management, distribution and use of geospatial information. This infrastructure has been developed to a great extent through the agreement-based administrative cooperation Norway Digital.
With this strategy, the Government will continue to develop this infrastructure. This strategy is based on the fact that “everything happens somewhere”, and it shows the direction of the work ahead. The strategy complements Report no. 27 to the Storting (2015–2016), Digital Agenda for Norway – ICT for Simpler Everyday Life and Increased Productivity. This strategy essentially builds on a draft from the Coordination Group for Geospatial Information and the National Geodata Council. The strategy addresses the sectoral authorities at various administrative levels, data producers, technology providers, innovators and users in all sectors – and the Norwegian Mapping Authority as the national geospatial coordinator. The responsibility for implementing measures in the strategy’s action plan will essentially lie with the public sector in accordance with the Act on an infrastructure for geospatial information (the Spatial Data Act).
Oslo, 1 November 2018