the SDI, the usage of the SDI, as well as the effectiveness of the SDI to the Arctic Community (Tables Ex 2). Table Ex 2: Priority Areas for the Arctic SDI Implementation Component Implementation Status Priority Areas Organizational Readiness Component actively implemented The development and implementation of a performance management framework; The development and implementation of an authoritative framework that includes polices, directives or regulations to guide the implementation, usage, and operation of the SDI ; Deployment of a full time management team to the implementation and manage the day-to-day operations. Capacity Building Early phase of implementation The development and publication of an Arctic SDI Manual; The development and publication of a Geoportal Users’ Guide; The development and publication of a document to the collection of interoperable data across the Arctic. Information Infrastructure Implementation completed The implementation of infrastructure (hardware and software) to support the linking of the Arctic SDI Geoportal to key Arctic Circle Geoportals and to facilitate automated data transfer. Arctic SDI Geoportal Major implementation completed The implementation of download and upload services for geospatial data; The linking of the geoportal to other Arctic Community geoportal; The implementation of a helpdesk to assist the users; The development and implementation of indicators to measure the performance of the portal. Arctic Circle Geoportals Early phase of implementation Perform a more detailed investigation on the Arctic related geoportals; Prioritize the national geoportals for linking to the Arctic SDI Geoportal; Prioritize the community geoportals for linking to the Arctic SDI Geoportal; Table Ex 2 Cont’d: Priority Areas for the Arctic SDI Implementation Data and Information Environment phase of implementation The definition of reference datasets; Policies for the sharing of data that will results in more datasets made available to the SDI by custodians; Definition of data and metadata policies to support interoperability; The definition of relevant thematic datasets (inclusive of hydrographic data). Standards Major implementations completed Document and publish all standards that have been agreed upon; Develop a standard document for the Arctic SDI
Funding Arrangements countries forming the Arctic. Contributions are in the form of services, software, and infrastructure. No structured budget or business plan implemented. Component actively being implemented Management Currently no management structure in place. management team is required to drive the implementation and maintenance of the SDI Early phase of implementation Current Implementation Status of the Organizational Readiness Component Component actively being implemented Capacity Building For the capacity building component, two sub-components were identified as key to the successful operation of the Arctic SDI. These sub-components are communication and outreach—one of the six objectives of the Arctic SDI Strategic Plan—and capacity strengthening. Although implementation has begun on this component the activities to-date are very limited (see Table 5 for details). Table 5: A Summary of the Implementation Activities of the Capacity Building Component Component Sub-Component Implementation Activities Implementation Level Capacity Building Communication and Outreach A communication and outreach program is currently being design by the Communication Working Group. A key communication and outreach tool implemented to-date is the Arctic SDI website. Early phase of implementation Capacity Strengthening No capacity strengthening program developed. However, the Arctic SDI has worked with CAFF on structuring their data collection techniques to support data sharing. Early phase of implementation Current Implementation Status of the Capacity Building Component Early phase of implementation Information Infrastructure For an SDI to operate successfully and achieve its goals there need to be in place modern and reliable infrastructure. The evaluation identified that significant efforts have been made to implement a modern information infrastructure to support the goals and objectives of the Arctic SDI (see Table 6 for details). The results of the evaluation show that the implementation of the information infrastructure component was completed for this phase of the SDI. Table 6: A Summary of the Implementation Activities of the Information Infrastructure Component Component Sub-Component Implementation Activities Implementation Level Reliable Infrastructure Reliable infrastructures that meets international standards are in place to support the functions of the Implementation completed