Geospatial sharing as an effective governance tool for policy decision: Comparative analysis and implication to Saudi Arabia

Geospatial data is an essential component of various activities in local communities and government agencies. The efficiency of planning and decision-making processes in many government activities are based on the availability of geospatial data. This data need to be easily and quickly accessed and analyzed to support a wide variety of decisions related to social, economic, and environmental problems at all levels. Geospatial data is available at different levels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but it is difficult for geospatial users to exploit it for a variety of reasons. Geospatial data exists in varied formats and locations across government agencies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The increased volume and use of this data call for the development of a Geospatial Sharing System (GSS). The GSS proposed by this research establishes mechanisms for sharing and accessing distributed geospatial data residing on an interoperability system across the Internet. The proposed GSS would be an effective governance tool for better planning, policy- and decision-making. The final product of this dissertation depicts a conceptual framework of the proposed model that includes strategies and elements dealing with institutional and technical requirements for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia based on investigating the sharing systems in other countries.