Major environment-focused Crown Research Institutes GNS Science, Landcare Research, and NIWA are joining forces with the New Zealand Geospatial Office to harmonise systems for storing, categorising and accessing vital information on New Zealand's environment. The move will significantly lift the ability of scientists, research agencies, and other end users to access and share information, reducing duplication of effort and enhancing cooperation.
The partnership is based on an information sharing system known as Spatial Information Services Stack (SISS), developed by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). SISS enables information managed in local institutional archives to be accessed by other agencies, including those in other countries, using a common information access architecture based on open information standards. The system has been deployed successfully in Australia via AuScope, where many Australian agencies and research organisations share and deliver environmental information.

In New Zealand, environmental information is collected and used by a range of agencies including regional councils, district councils, government departments, State Owned Enterprises, and Crown Research Institutes. At present, data management and delivery methods vary significantly between agencies, making sharing of information and cooperation very difficult. Read More

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