Czech Association for Geoinformation

Policy Statement

Geoinformation as the basis and the component of spatial information systems is more and more required at all areas of recognitory, interpretative and decisionary activities.

Rapid and successful development of corresponding informational technologies plays at the same time a decisive role.

Their immediate use will further rise by setting off the spatial standpoints of development, change of arrangement of economic and other activities and their optimal position, rationalization of utilization of budgetary means for the activity of the public sector and so on.

Already nowadays there is a straight connection of many subjects: the sources of geoinformation, the makers and distributors of informational technologies, the university and academic workplaces, the processers of concrete user oriented spatial information systems and the users themselves. In other words mutual connection of public administration subjects, entrepreneurial sphere, university workplaces, the professional associations as well as the public.

At the present several umbrella organizations exist in all European countries as well as in the U.S.A. working in the area of spatial information systems and informational technologies. In particular:

• support and realize the mutual contact and effective cooperation of all the subjects latter at the national level,
• provide the solution of basic conceptional, standardizational and other decisive tasks of national geoinformation infrastructure development,
• are the partners of public and other official authorities which have competency of state administration,
• are the partners and the members of all-European umbrella organization EUROGI (European Umbrella Organization for Geographical Information), which represents the European geoinformational community towards the authorities of European Union and provides the basic tasks and cooperation at the European level.

The mission and the aims of CAGI

in the conditions of the Czech Republic are particularly seen as the following:

• to create the conditions for universal development of spatial information systems and for wide utilization of geoinformation in all areas,
• to support and provide a tight working contact of all involved subjects, to exchange information, knowledge and experiences among the members (in the form of meetings, seminars, conferences, special publications) and to word common interests and standpoints,
• to participate in the solution of concrete tasks of common interests which can be the initiation and processing of projects, suggestions and studies of the chosen subjects which condition development of spatial information systems and utilization of appropriate informational technologies (comparative and evaluative studies, pilot projects, national geoinformational infrastructure project, geoinformational standards and so on),
• to represent the Czech geoinformational community before the supreme public authorities, to support activities of public authorities in the areas of subject matter and to provide effective cooperation with them in the development of spatial information systems and the utilization of appropriate informational technologies in the public sector (participation in the coordinative and working groups, standpoints to the key questions, suggestions and measures, presentation of own initiatives and so on),
• in consultancy and expert advice for the bodies of the State information system,
• in consultancy and expert advice for the members of CAGI,
• to arrange and to spread the experiences from abroad,
• to create the conditions for the universal accessibility of the basic infrastructural data of geoinformational character,
• to create and to run metainformational system about the sources of geoinformation,
• to provide international contacts with European and international associations in area of subject matter - in particular with European Umbrella Organization for Geographical Information (EUROGI) - and to support their activities and representation of national interests in these societies.

CAGI will work as a civil professional association according to The Association of Citizens Act. The members of CAGI can be considered as the legal persons or the natural persons - entrepreneurs (collective membership) including

• firms - producers and distributors of informational technologies, designers and processers of applicational spatial information systems,
• organizations - managers of technical, transport and other infrastructure and networks,
• professional associations,
• university, research and other academic workplaces,
• other organizations, workplaces and groups,

as well as natural persons - citizens (individual membership) including

• specialists of public administration

specialists working in the areas of subject matter .