Learning from Others – Capacity Building for Gis and Sdi in South East Europe

This paper addresses the need for capacity building for using GIS and building spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) in South-East Europe. This is a recognized need, which is dealt with, amongst others, by the European project eSDI-NET+ that has build a network of users and key European SDI stakeholders in Europe to share experiences and best practices. Using a detailed assessment methodology for SDIs, the project has collected and documented 135 regional and local SDIs in 26 countries in Europe. These SDIs were identified and analysed in twelve SDI Best Practice workshops with one in South-East Europe. All SDIs were presented in the International Conference “SDI Best Practice Award 2009”, November 2009 in Turin, Italy, which awarded the twelve best SDIs. This experience is now fed back to support SDIs in development that they can learn from successful SDI implementation. This proposed paper is part of this process in emphasizing the needs of the South-East European region. The SD in Croatia is presented in more detail as significant example of SDI development in the region.