Doug Specht contributes to UN report on future trends in geospatial information management

Doug Specht, Senior Lecturer and chartered geographer of the Royal Geographical Society has contributed his views to the latest United Nations report on future trends in geospatial information management. The report, produced by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) marks the beginning of a highly important decade for both sustainable development and geospatial information management. It is characterised by three significant global milestones, namely the beginning of the ‘decade of action’ for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the start of the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).

Specht drew upon his research in geospatial technology, ethics, and international development, to provide insights that have been used to form the report. The report provides a consensus view of the developments and future direction for geospatial information management over the next decade.  The first chapter of the report provides a high-level analysis of the top global geospatial drivers and trends that are predicted to have the greatest impact on geospatial information management over the next five to ten years. Recognising that change in the industry is driven by a set of diverse drivers and trends, the report sets out five top forces: Technological advances, the rise of new data sources, the changing user requirements, industry changes, and the regulatory and policy environment. The chapters that follow provide updates, where relevant, on the trends identified in the previous two editions, to which Specht has also contributed. The report concludes by producing a brief overview of the topics covered by all Future Trends reports.

Download the report from UN-GGIM or read below.

Photo by Jonathan Ansel Moy de Vitry on Unsplash