Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemToward e-land administration : Australian online land information services( 2005)Sustainable development (SD) is accepted as a central driver in countries world wide with land administration playing an important role in delivering SD objectives. Within this context the emerging use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) are increasingly being utilised by land administration organizations. These technologies provide opportunities for better service delivery and customer satisfaction and a reduction in operating costs. However establishment of these systems as part of e-land administration and in the context of e-government has to date not been fully realised and is often problematic.E-land administration includes the coordination among various parts of land administration businesses including front office operations like online customer services and private partnership services, and also back office operations like internal work flow and central data base management. The first step in improving the current systems within a particular jurisdiction is assessing the current performance of online land information services as part of e-land administration.There are various initiatives to deliver land related information over the Internet for the public in the different Australian states. Analysing these experiences and determining good practice will assist in proposing effective and innovative solutions to improve or re-engineer the existing services as a key infrastructure for implementing e-land administration services.This paper first introduces and discusses various quality of service criteria for the assessment of an online land information system. The criteria include popularity, performance, functionality and user requirements of services. The paper then reviews and presents current land administration services in Australian states including a statistical analysis to better understand the advantages and deficiencies of current services. The results are assessed and suggestions are proposed for improving on
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ItemTransferring our knowledge and systems: tenure formalisation( 2005)Land administration systems are key infrastructure for national growth. They deliver macroeconomic growth, allow greater market integration, provide security of tenure and investments, and increase the capacity to deliver welfare. However, land administration systems supporting these activities are complicated and limited. While advanced tools and principles may be borrowed by countries building local land markets, every situation requires innovative solutions in response to the unique and dynamic land administration environment. Project designs must capture a wide range of people to land relationships and different socio-environmental circumstances. An investigation of different people to land and natural resource arrangements was conducted in a development scenario. Case study investigations took place in three rural villages in Cambodia undergoing different stages of land administration project implementation. These studies revealed a wide set of indispensable informal tenure arrangements outside the design scope for providing formal tenure security. From 1990 to now, land projects design emphasis has moved from technological to institutional criteria. Further design change is still required, especially to deliver sustainability and social development. In particular land administration systems used in development scenarios must approach formalization of land tenure with more innovative approaches. This may also require an expansion of tenure security options beyond those currently included in formal systems. Formalised Western skills may be advantageous for delivering some services, but they must be complimented by a holistic understanding of local culture and capacity.
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ItemWhat will motivate local governments to share spatial information( 2005)Local government is a rich source of accurate and detailed spatial information which is utilised not only at the local level but increasingly at other levels of government. To build the spatial data infrastructure (SDI) at a state and national level, the role of local governments and their motivation to participate in the sharing of spatial information must be better understood. Although institutional problems still present some of the greatest challenges in building multi-jurisdictional SDIs, the technical and physical capacity of the smaller jurisdictions can impact on their ability to participate with larger and usually better resourced jurisdictions.In recent years partnerships have emerged as a useful mechanism for establishing a framework and environment conducive to data sharing. However, unless the partnership arrangements are carefully designed and managed to meet the business objectives of each partner, then it is unlikely that they will be sustainable in the longer term. This paper outlines research being conducted on the factors that contribute to the success of local-state government partnerships initiatives in Australia. The research methodology, which consists of mixed method approach utilising case studies and a qualitative survey of local government experiences in partnerships arrangements will be discussed. The case studies based in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania focus on the arrangements to share property related information and reflect a variety of collaborative approaches. Some initial findings of the research will be presented and their possible implication to future partnership initiatives will be discussed.
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ItemCreating an enabling platform for the delivery of spatial information( 2005)The ability of single organisations or government agencies to deliver services and tools that meet user needs withinthe spatial information market is shrinking. Users now require precise spatial information in real-time about realworldobjects. This requires governments and industry to work together to create such products and services. Theproblem in Australia however, is that much of the spatial information needed to create these services resides withingovernment agencies which is often difficult for industry to access.Governments are moving forward in relation to creating policies and initiatives which open up some of thisinformation to the public. They are also creating whole-of-government initiatives such as Western Australia’sShared Land Information Platform (SLIP) and Information Queensland which aim to make governmental spatialinformation accessible across all government agencies. What is lacking however is the ability for industry to engagedirectly with these whole-of-government/cross-agency initiatives. There is a need to create an infrastructure orenabling platform linking government and private industry from which applications and services can be leveragedand value added, providing the ability to grow the private sector and spatial information industry as a whole.This paper aims to describe the issues surrounding the creation of an enabling platform linking governments spatialinformation initiatives and the private sector. It also explores the relationship between top-down research required tospecify strategic goals and vision, prioritize plans, resolve policy issues and build enabling framework and thebottom-up commercialisation required to promote various local initiatives and build application-specific andenterprise-wide databases and services. This is done through an analysis of the concept of a virtual jurisdiction,outcomes of case studies undertaken within five Australian jurisdictions on spatial data infrastructure and spatialinformation initia
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ItemWhat Will Motivate Local Governments to Share Spatial Information?(Spatial Sciences Institute, 2005)
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ItemCreating an enabling platform for the delivery of spatial information( 2005)The ability of single organisations or government agencies to deliver services and tools that meet user needs withinthe spatial information market is shrinking. Users now require precise spatial information in real-time about realworldobjects. This requires governments and industry to work together to create such products and services. Theproblem in Australia however, is that much of the spatial information needed to create these services resides withingovernment agencies which is often difficult for industry to access.Governments are moving forward in relation to creating policies and initiatives which open up some of thisinformation to the public. They are also creating whole-of-government initiatives such as Western Australia'sShared Land Information Platform (SLIP) and Information Queensland which aim to make governmental spatialinformation accessible across all government agencies. What is lacking however is the ability for industry to engagedirectly with these whole-of-government/cross-agency initiatives. There is a need to create an infrastructure orenabling platform linking government and private industry from which applications and services can be leveragedand value added, providing the ability to grow the private sector and spatial information industry as a whole.This paper aims to describe the issues surrounding the creation of an enabling platform linking governments spatialinformation initiatives and the private sector. It also explores the relationship between top-down research required tospecify strategic goals and vision, prioritize plans, resolve policy issues and build enabling framework and thebottom-up commercialisation required to promote various local initiatives and build application-specific andenterprise-wide databases and services. This is done through an analysis of the concept of a virtual jurisdiction,outcomes of case studies undertaken within five Australian jurisdictions on spatial data infrastructure and spatialinformation ini
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ItemSnapshot of SDI Development in Australia: Models, Partnerships and Lead Agencies Advancing Implementation( 2002)Australia is entering a new era for spatial data infrastructure (SDI) demonstrated by the unification of prime sectors of the spatial information industry and a renewed Government focus on spatial information. A spatial information stock take is required to review progress to date and evaluate current directions. SDI is deemed essential for the provision of services to support modern society's information needs and can be considered in the same manner as other public service infrastructure such as roads and utilities.This paper will evaluate progress since the release of ANZLIC's (1996) model for a SDI for Australia and New Zealand, identify the agencies driving SDI in Australia and will highlight key initiatives contributing to the ASDI development. Selected countries with advanced National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) programs will also be discussed in relation to developments of the SDI model within Australia. The paper contributes to research conducted by the Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructures and Land Administration at the University of Melbourne on SDI and to a new project being undertaken to develop a methodology to map the complex nature of the institutional arrangements and partnerships that support NSDI with particular focus on the ASDI.
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ItemFrom Little Things Big Things Grow: Building the SDI from Local Government Up( 2002)The successful building of a multi-jurisdictional SDI has the potential to deliver significant benefits to the community, business and government through improved access to a range of relevant geospatial data. An effective National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) requires the vertical integration of spatial data at all levels of government. With local government being a custodian of a number of key SDI data sets, its role is now recognised as crucial to the development of the State and National Spatial Data Infrastructures. This paper will investigate some of the technical and institutional impediments that must be addressed within local and state jurisdictions in order to realise these benefits. An overview of the current status of local-state SDI arrangements in Australia will be presented as a basis for discussion. A framework for the further investigation and research into these issues will be outlined and some suggestions for progress put forward.
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ItemAre SDIs serving the needs of local planning?: case studies of Victoria, Australia and Illinois, USA( 2001)National spatial data infrastructures (SDI) have been initiated and built throughout 1990s in both Australia and the U.S., initiated and coordinated by the Australia New Zealand Land Information Council (ANZLIC) and the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), respectively. Numerous SDI-related activities at the national, state, and local level in both countries share similar core objectives, which are to stimulate coordinated collection, dissemination, and use of spatial data by public and private entities. This coordination is to result in digital databases that would be easily accessible and seamless across administrative and organizational boundaries and that would help secure social, environmental, and economic benefits to the involved communities. The improved information resources at the local level in particular are expected to contribute to sustainable urban development and to enhance the cooperation between government and nongovernment sectors. This paper raises the question about the actual effectiveness of the existing SDI developments and about the outcomes of the related interactions between the local, state, and national levels. Case study of local governments in Victoria, Australia and Illinois, U.S. are used to evaluate the utility of existing SDIs to local planning activities and to offer recommendations for increasing their effectiveness in supporting sustainable development.
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ItemSpatial data infrastructures: concept, SDI hierarchy and future directions( 2001)The world as we know it is changing. Economies world wide are undergoing a process ofprofound and continuing structural change, and the global village is becoming a reality driven byIT and communication technologies. With this in mind, many countries believe that they canbenefit both economically and environmentally from better management of their spatial data assetsby taking a perspective that starts at a local level and proceeds through state, national and regionallevels to global level. This has resulted in the development of the Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI)concept at these levels.SDI is fundamentally about facilitation and coordination of the exchange and sharing ofspatial data between stakeholders from different jurisdictional levels in the spatial datacommunity. Understanding of its role and nature are important to the acceptance of the conceptand its alignment with spatial industry objectives.The aim of this paper is to present the nature and concept of spatial data infrastructures,including the SDI hierarchy, which have helped to build understanding about the importance ofthe relationships within different levels of SDIs to support the interactions and partnerships of thespatial data communities. Moreover, the paper will highlight the importance of sharing andunderstanding its special social system, followed by a discussion of the future direction of SDIs. Itis argued that by better understanding the future direction of SDIs, any SDI development can gainsupport from a wider community of both government and non-government data users andproviders.