Yet, they still do not have the information they need to solve critical problems. Frequently, large amounts of money are spent on basic geographic data, leaving little for applications data and development. Some organizations cannot afford to collect base information at all. Organizations often need data outside their jurisdictions or operational areas. They do not collect these data themselves, but other organizations do.
Data collected by different organizations are often incompatible.
The data may cover the same geographic area but use different geographic bases and standards. In addition, information needed to solve cross-jurisdictional problems is often unavailable. The same geographic data themes for an area are collected again and again, at great expense. We cannot afford to continue to operate this way. The framework will greatly improve this situation by leveraging individual geographic data efforts so data can be shared.