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Letter from the Low Lands, first published at Directions Magazine

October 14th 2009

The end of Geo-innovation in the Netherlands

The governmental run "Space for Geo-Information (RGI)" program ended recently with an

impressive farewell event that included awards, great speakers and an enthusiastic crowd.

Clear mission

Initiated in 2003, RGI received a Euro 20 million grant from the Dutch national government in

March 2004. The funding initiative proceeded from the fact that geospatial research in the

Netherlands was, in general, too scattered and a wide gap existed between the supply of and

demand for knowledge.

RGI's mission was "the improvement and innovation of the National Geo-Information

Infrastructure and the geo field of knowledge in the Netherlands for satisfactory and efficient

administration and powerful industry."

In 2005, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) characterized

this gap between research and practical application as the Dutch paradox: "Although knowledge

creation is strong, innovation activity is only average." In other words: Business research and

development intensity, one of the most important indicators of innovation activity, is relatively

weak.

Setting up the network

How did RGI go about running the program? RGI established an office and created a network of

knowledge institutes, public authorities and companies. It then started to co-finance projects, so

total investment has been close to Euro 40 million. RGI also invested in communicating the

results through books, awards and events.

In order to focus, RGI co-financed projects around four major themes: National Geo-Information

Structure, Public Order and Safety, Spatial Planning and Design, and Consumer and Students.

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The most recent awards went to the following:

Society Category: Edugis, the educational GIS portal (headed up by Geonovum) - YouTube

clip in Dutch

Economy Category: Ice roads prevention (headed up by Meteo Consult) - YouTube clip in

Dutch

Science Category : Usable (and well scaled) mobile maps for consumers (headed up by

Technical University of Delft) - YouTube clip in English

Receiving recognition in the science category, Peter van Oosterom, professor at the Technical

University of Delft commented, "[I'm] delighted to accept this award; it is recognition of our work

at the GIS technology section, with all partners involved in this open innovation project. RGI

created a great platform for science, commercial companies and governmental science to work

together. Government, at executive levels, were also important contributors in describing the 'as

is' situation. The longer term interest of science and the shorter term interest of commercial

companies created a healthy challenging environment."

Next step

If the RGI approach has been so successful, why quit? Arnold Bregt, former science director at

RGI and professor at Wageningen University said, "For a next phase, we were up against a

series of other programs. RGI II did not make it on its own; it will be integrated into larger

research programs." That seems a bit odd, since innovation approaches really need more time

to be effective.

RGI's International Scientific Advisory Committee, Professor Dr. Philippe De Maeyer and Dr.

Keith Thomson, have commented on the new situation: "In our view this will generate a loss of

momentum across the Dutch geo-information community and will have an important negative

influence on the position of the Netherlands on the international scene. ... An additional

recommendation is that in any future proposals RGI should focus on scientific excellence,

international networking and strong commercial linkages."

So there will not be a next step, for now, although I expect the Dutch geo-community will step up

to the challenge and establish an integrated approach, re-confirming its international position.

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Point of view

From my point of view, as RGI - this project of all projects - comes to an end, it will be important

for all stakeholders to evaluate the progress made thus far. RGI served as a great networking

and communication platform for all those who were active with geospatial technology in the

Netherlands and has extended the technology beyond the traditional boundaries. RGI and its

enthusiastic proponents will be missed.

But the real value of RGI will be known in a few years' time when we are able to look back at the

results. Were the resulting innovation and the approach durable? What has become of all the

great initiatives and how do we look back at them? Assuming we use the same terminology and

perspectives, is there a worldwide index of geo-innovation by country or for any given part of the

world? Should we have an "innovation map"? Or has our progress been integrated into other,

larger innovation indices?

Certainly, there is a lot more "geo" and innovation going on in the Netherlands. I intend to report

on these developments in the coming years.