Crowdsourced Geographic Information Use in Government
The acceptance of volunteered geographic information (VGI) as a valued and useful source of information for governments is growing at all levels. The aim of this report is to review governmental projects that incorporate voluntary and crowd-sourced data collection and to provide information that can be used to support the wider adoption of VGI (the terms crowd-sourced information and VGI are used interchangeably). To this end, the report compiles and distributes lessons learned and successful models from existing efforts by governments at different sectors and scales. This report explores different aspects of government use of VGI, including the maintenance of public space (streets, public buildings, and parks), education, health, tourism, and civil safety. It includes a set of case studies with a common structure, which are presented at the end of the report. This report provides background on the use of geographical information by government, which has a long history and should be taken into account. It turns to the methodology of the research and explains how it developed. A detailed explanation for the case study structure and overview of the case studies is also provided. This is followed by analysis of the findings and recommendations for improving the use of VGI in government.