SDI APPROACH IN THE IMPROVED USE OF GEOSPATIAL DATA IN GOVERNMENT

Geospatial data and GIS technology are increasingly fitting and rightfully used as widespread tools because of the capability to improve development and planning of a nation. Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) is a notion within the idea of making geospatial data be shared and accessed using the advanced geo-information technologies. Many nations around the world are developing national SDI to help facilitating cooperative production, use and sharing of geospatial data. National SDI (NSDI), which for Malaysia is called Malaysian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (MyGDI), provides a basis for spatial data exploration, evaluation, and application for users and providers within all levels of government. MyGDI has provided intelligent access to spatial data, which is crucial to knowledge-based economy besides showing wide uses of GIS in the government sector. This paper brings up and explores the development, experience and achievement of MyGDI in supporting access and encouraging greater collaboration, governance and coordination in the creation and use of geospatial data among government parties. The initiative of data collection and dissemination as well as capacity building programs ha