General
Some of the main principles are that data and metadata should not be managed centrally, but by the data originator and/or owner, and that tools and services connect via computer networks to the various sources. A GIS is often the platform for deploying an individual node within an SDI. To achieve these objectives, good coordination between all the actors is necessary and the definition of standards is very important.
Due to its nature (size, cost, number of interactors) an SDI is usually government-related. An example of an existing SDI is the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) in the United States. At the European side, INSPIRE is a European Commission initiative to build a European SDI beyond national boundaries and ultimately the United Nations Spatial Data Infrastructure UNSDI will do the same for over 30 UN Funds, Programmes, Specialized Agencies and member countries.
Read more about this topic: Spatial Data Infrastructure
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