## 4 Conclusions  
The chief strength of the WikiGIS, compared to other existing applications, is its efficiency in keeping documented track of the geometric and descriptive components of the entities on the map. Be it a point, a polyline, a polygon or a comment, each action (moving an object, modifying the geometry, adding descriptive information, _etc._) is stored in the WikiGIS database, and associated with an author and a date. The dynamic archival of all actions provides a comprehensive picture of the way objects are created and evolve on the map from contributor to contributor, just like a Wikipedia article. The notion of time being taken into account in the collaborative creation of objects, the spatio-temporal evolution of the layout of a bus route or an area can be visualized. Combining the principles of iteration and traceability that are specific to Wikis with that of geo-referenced argumentation of Argumaps, the WikiGIS has become a comprehensive tool providing real-time or _ex-post_ dynamic access to the process of collaborative geo-referenced knowledge creation, while keeping track of every action. The research on WikiGIS should provide also advanced contributions for sciences, and especially geographical information sciences. WikiGIS system represents an innovative direction to improve the existing research topics, such as public participation GIS (PPGIS) or geodata crowdsourcing in the new field of VGI (e.g., the French mapping agency does research in order to use the \"deltification\" management functions to deal with differentiated crowdsourced contributions and updates). In the following research projects we particularly think about using the tracking log to analyze user's behavior and motivations, and to identify what trends that specific user/group will be (that is precisely one of the main issues identified during the last Vespucci Summer Institute in VGI). The analyzed result could become an additional benefit (as a feedback) to the improvement of our user-interface or could also be proposed as a better way for PPGIS practices. The prototype presented here is a first version of a work-in-progress Therefore, the prospects for further technical improvements are promising. In particular, we plan to focus on:  
* Management and dynamic traceability capacities of the graphic component. Other characteristics could be added such as style or weight of a line, transparency, _etc._,
* Adding screen tips on markers,
* Adding complementary characteristics regarding the contributors (technical level, dependability, personal information, history, as well as a level of confidence in their own contributions),
* Expanding the current metadata fields in order to ensure compliance with international spatial data metadata standards (e.g., ISO 19115),
* Capacities to integrate multimedia items into comments,
* A system for the collective assessment of the contributions, based on a voting system or a consensus-building mechanism (such as Delphi for instance),
* Formal project management capabilities to efficiently support authoritative projects,
* Creating of a hierarchy of users (with the possibility to change level depending on the contributions, as in forums or Wikimapia for example),
* The possibility to modify a contribution (such as deletion),
* Displaying users' contributions,* The possibility to import (and export) GIS files (interoperability between standard formats and GeoWeb formats),
* Replacement of the linear temporal slider by a temporal query tool that takes into account a non-linear conception of time (system of temporal trees for example). In order to achieve these technical enhancements, a few preliminary research steps should be undertook. First, a validation survey-of the conceptual framework on which the WikiGIS has been designed and developed- is already scheduled and will be carried out by the end of spring 2012.