The initial sectors are listed in Table 2. GDA will be an enabling organization, providing a trustworthy context in which members can come together in new ways to undertake activities, resolve problems, form new enterprises, address critical issues, and develop new products and services that realize the purpose in accord with the principles. GeoData Alliance belongs to its members. It is carefully designed to ensure that participants can organize themselves at any scale, up to the global scale, while keeping power, authority, and decision making at the smallest or most local level that includes all relevant and affected parties. This is not just an ideal-it is a fundamental feature of the organization that is protected in its constitution.
Members govern themselves and the parts of the network in which they participate.
A council of trustees, elected by members, is responsible only for those few deliberations and decisions that concern the whole of the GeoData Alliance. There is no self-perpetuating board that governs the organization or controls the activity of members. The council of trustees will be elected in conjunction with the National GeoData Forum in November 2001. We encourage you to let others know about the GeoData Alliance. You are welcome to copy and distribute this material to anyone interested in working collaboratively with others to improve the health of our communities, our economies, and the Earth.