The national mapping and cadastral authorities have provided maps for several hundred years. However, an interoperability map is a new kind of map and a key factor in making the digital transformation possible. Between different public administrations (and particularly different domains) small differences in semantic structures may result in difficulties sharing data or loss of information. According to the third edition of the UN-GGIM Future trends in geospatial information management, this is likely to be one of the most crucial challenges working towards for example smart cities and digital twins, all parts of the wider ecosystem.
In GeoE3 this is taken seriously by describing an interoperability map that gives guidelines for the project in order to ensure the best possible interoperability. It is based on the European Interoperability Framework (EIF) describing the four levels of interoperability: /Legal-, organizational-, semantic- and technical interoperability. EIF is a common denominator for interoperability initiatives with European Union. In GeoE3 this is taken further by introducing the Blueprint recommendations from European Location Interoperability (EULF), providing recommendations within five focus areas: Policy and strategy alignment, Digital government integration, Standardization and reuse, Return on investments, Governance, partnerships, and capabilities.
In addition to this we apply the reference model for enterprise interoperability from ISO 11354 Advanced automation technologies and their applications – Requirements for establishing manufacturing enterprise process interoperability – Part 1: Framework for enterprise interoperability“ specifies a Framework for Enterprise Interoperability (FEI), which establishes dimensions and viewpoints to address interoperability barriers, their potential solutions, and the relationships between them. Particularly the interoperability approaches (Integrated, unified, or federated) are an additional dimension to interoperability.
Aligning this with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and reusable) principles, a fundament for interoperability is established,
In addition, the interoperability map includes a maturity model that identified data can be evaluated against. This will provide good guidance to the data providers. The interoperability map will be further evaluated in the further work in GEOE3 project Action 4, 5 and revised based upon these experiences.