DCC Briefing Paper: Curating Geospatial Data

Abstract

Geospatial data relate to the location of geographical features and the relationships between those features. They are vital for a wide range of business and government functions including defence, transportation, education, engineering, and recreation; in fact, almost all activities rely on geospatial data to some extent. It is widely accepted that the majority of all data held in corporate and government databases include some kind of geospatial characteristics. Such data are important not only for contemporary purposes but are also essential for long-term analyses. Active data management is therefore required to curate, preserve, and provide access to reliable geospatial data over time