Assessing the organisational aspects of SDI: metaphors matter

It is often mentioned that organisational aspects should be incorporated in SDI assessments, yet an assessment instrument is still lacking. In this chapter an approach for assessing organisational aspects of a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) will be developed and used on literature covering management aspects of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and SDIs. Organisational aspects will be analysed by using a multi-view approach that is based on organising metaphors. The implicitly underlying metaphors and paradigms of organisational theory are categorised and provide both a framework for analysis and a basis for intervention.