Many data collectors do not have a remit to provide access to data. As a result there was a lack of publicity, infrastructure and documentation. Additional obstacles included legal restrictions, and pricing policies. Inability to integrate information due to inconsistencies. The UK has a myriad of spatial referencing systems, all developed for different applications.
Integration is difficult or impossible.
As a result questions asked of the data cannot be answered. Low levels of use of geographic information. As a result of the situation outlined above, there were low levels of use of GI, leading to duplication of effort and makeshift solutions to problems. These problems were recognised in 1995, and it was these that the NGDF initiative sought to address. See also Rhind s paper to this Workshop.