Instructions: Each Monday a "Week case" will be presented to students. The "Week case" related to "The Utopian SDI setting (see below). Students are asked to work in groups to solve case problem. Each Friday groups will make a presentation in which they present and defend their own solution to the case problem.

The Utopian SDI plan - setting

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Last May, the Utopian government decided to allocate 30 Mio Utopian Mark for the implementation of a national spatial data infrastructure (SDI) over a period of 5 years. The parliament will commit the necessary budget after approval of a "master plan".

You are a member of the SDI-project team instated to advise the Minister of State  for the Interior who is responsible for the implementation of the Utopian SDI. Part  of the team's job is to draft that "master plan". To get the money granted that plan must comprise a  detailed overview of the utility and necessity of a national SDI. In addition a time schedule is required for the implementation phase over the next 5 years, including an annual cumulative estimate of the required budget for that period. All three aspects (utility & necessity, time schedule and budget) have to be reported into a single document.

After reviewing the final document with the Minister of State, he will present and defend the proposed action plan in the parliament. This presentation is to happen on the (to be determined). Afterwards the parliament will vote for approval the proposed plan and the required budget.

This idea of a 'master plan' and the background information related to it (see below at Facts & Figures) form the ‘meta’-case for the 6 weekly cases:

Week 1 case - SDI concept

Week 2 case - Spatial Data

Week 3 case - Technology & Standards

Week 4 case - Technology & Standards

Week 5 case - Policy

Week 6 case - People
   

UTOPIA Facts and figures

  • Area: 43 069 km˛, including the Walhalla Islands. A large portion of the area is volcanic and only 10 % of the land is cultivated.
  • Population: 5 180 640; density per sq km: 96.
  • Population growth: 1.2 %
  • Number of households: 2 276 126
  • Language: Utopian + Topy language. Utopian is spoken by the majority of society. Topy is spoken by a minority (especially by immigrants).
  • Religion: Paradise Church (over 90 %)
  • Currency: 1 Utopian Mark = 100 pence = € 0.53
  • Gross National Product (per person): € 32 000
  • Economy: agriculture, forestry, mining of iron and uranium ore, metallurgic processing, automotive, chemical and electrical industries, international trade
  • Telephone connections: 2 980 214
  • Stand alone PCs: 250 000 (declining)
  • www-connected PC's: 1 800 000 (increasing)
  • Employees active in a GI-environment: ± 25 000
  • GI-industry related companies: 120 (forest inventories and mining exploration mainly)
  • A national mapping and a cadastral agency exist
  • No nation-wide digital spatial datasets available. However, local and provincial datasets are available. Several ministries manage these datasets.