Must-read for professionals dealing with SDI and spatial enablement Spatial data identifies the geographic location of natural and constructed features and boundaries on Earth, and has become increasingly important in various administrative practices. In order to facilitate access, use, and sharing of spatial data among organisations, information is brought together in clustered initiatives known as Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs). In Spatial Data Infrastructures at Work, Ezra Dessers introduces spatial enablement as a key concept to describe the realisation of SDI objectives in the context of individual public sector processes. Drawing on four years of research, Dessers argues that it has become essential, even unavoidable, to manage and (re)design inter-organisational process chains in order to further advance the role of SDIs as an enabling platform for a spatially enabled society. Detailed case studies illustrate that the process he describes is the setting in which one can see the SDI at work. This book is must-read material for academics, practitioners, and policymakers dealing with sdi and spatial enablement. By extension, the book will also be of great interest to anyone confronted with societal issues that call for an integrated approach, implying in-depth cooperation between multiple organisations. This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Table of Contents:
List of Figures List of Tables Foreword Acknowledgements General introduction Part 1 Research framework Introduction Chapter 1 Setting the scene: Spatial Data Infrastructures 1 Introduction 2 Background of SDI development 3 Definitions: charting the SDI landscape 4 What defines an SDI? 4.1 Objectives 4.2 Components 5 Conceiving SDI in systemic terms 5.1 The intermediate role of SDI 5.2 The objectives of SDI 5.3 The components of SDI 6 Conclusion Chapter 2 Spatial enablement of processes 1 Introduction 2 SDI and processes 3 Spatial enablement 4 Process structure 4.1 Concepts 4.2 Application to SDI 5 Effectiveness of process structures: a modern socio-technical systems approach 6 Positioning the current study in the MSTS research tradition 7 Changing demands 8 Process structures in SDI research 9 Research questions and propositions 9.1 Research questions 9.2 Propositions 10 Conclusion Chapter 3 Research design 1 Introduction 2 The study area 3 The unit of analysis: the process 4 Case selection 5 The embedded cases 6 Interviews 7 Qualitative analysis 8 Operationalisation 8.1 The inter-organisational level 8.2 The intra-organisational level 9 Evaluation of the research design 72 9.1 Validity and reliability 72 9.2 Strengths and limitations 74 10 Conclusion Part 2 Case studies Introduction Chapter 4 The Zoning Plans case 1 Case description 2 The inter-organisational process 2.1 Spatial enablement 2.2 Process structure 2.3 Demands for flexibility 3 The intra-organisational processes 3.1 RWO 3.2 Limburg 3.3 West-Vlaanderen 3.4 Genk 3.5 Kortrijk 3.6 Leuven 4 Comparative analysis 4.1 Process structure and spatial enablement 4.2 Demands and spatial enablement 4.3 Organisational structure, process structure and spatial enablement Chapter 5 The Addresses case 1 Case description 2 The inter-organisational process 2.1 Spatial enablement 2.2 Process structure 2.3 Demands for flexibility 3 The intra-organisational processes 3.1 Antwerpen 3.2 West-Vlaanderen 3.3 Leuven 3.4 Mechelen 3.5 Zwijndrecht 4 Comparative analysis 4.1 Process structure and spatial enablement 4.2 Demands and spatial enablement 4.3 Organisational structure, process structure and spatial enablement Chapter 6 The Traffic Accidents case 1 Case description 2 The inter-organisational process 2.1 Spatial enablement 2.2 Process structure 2.3 Demands for flexibility 3 The intra-organisational processes 3.1 PZ Het Houtsche 3.2 PZ VLAS 3.3 PZ Leuven 3.4 Federal Police 3.5 ADSEI 3.6 MOW 3.7 Vlaams-Brabant 3.8 West-Vlaanderen 4 Comparative analysis 4.1 Process structure and spatial enablement 4.2 Demands and spatial enablement 4.3 Organisational structure, process structure and spatial enablement Chapter 7 The Flood Maps case 1 Case description 2 The inter-organisational process 2.1 Spatial enablement 2.2 Process structure 2.3 Demands for flexibility 3 The intra-organisational processes 3.1 Flemish Environment Agency 3.2 Flanders Hydraulics Research 3.3 Limburg 3.4 Vlaams-Brabant 3.5 Leuven 3.6 Sint-Truiden Water Board 4 Comparative analysis 4.1 Process structure and spatial enablement 4.2 Demands and spatial enablement 4.3 Organisational structure, process structure and spatial enablement Chapter 8 Comparing the four inter-organisational processes 1 Overview of the variable values 2 Process structure and spatial enablement 3 Demands and spatial enablement 4 Conclusion Chapter 9 Discussion 1 Introduction 2 Research questions, propositions and conceptual framework 2.1 The inter-organisational level 2.2 The intra-organisational level 2.3 Conclusion 3 Inter-organisational chains of intra-organisational subsystems 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Spatial enablement as an aspectsystem 3.3 Combinations of multiple production structures 3.4 Aligning objectives: mind the gap! General conclusion Afterword by Joep Crompvoets Afterword by Geert Van Hootegem Annex 1: Collected definitions of SDI References of the collected definitions Annex 2: List of the interviews The Spatial Planning Case List of case study interviews List of explorative interviews The Addresses Case List of case study interviews List of supporting interviews List of explorative interviews The Traffic Accidents Case List of case study interviews List of explorative interviews The Flood Maps Case List of case study interviews List of explorative interviews References