The Open Geospatial Consortium is pushing for action on the adoption of Spatial Data Infrastructure systems across the globe.

According to the OGC, Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) comprises the “systems that underpin how location-based data is collected, shared, and used”.

The organisation has recently launched an SDI Modernization Gateway that showcases the current state of play of SDI adoption, particularly in the US.

The OGC has been working with its members and the US Federal Geographic Data Committee on the initiative.

The SDI Modernization Project accords with a US national 10-year spatial data strategy led by the FGDC, as outlined in the ‘Building the Geospatial Future Together — The NSDI Strategic Plan 2025–2035’ report published last year and updated in February 2025.

That Strategic Plan aims to draw on public and private expertise to deliver responsive, integrated and interoperable geospatial services, and has three focus areas: Governance, data and technology, and people.

It is also influenced by the UN Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF), a globally endorsed model for national geospatial governance.

According to the OGC, extant SDIs are often siloed and underused; they “must evolve into dynamic knowledge infrastructures”.

The OGC says the move to modernised SDIs needs more than technology… it needs “cross-sector collaboration, the integration of emerging technologies, efficient data stewardship, and timely delivery of actionable information”.

The organisation has issued an invitation to the entire geospatial community, not just its own members, to get involved with SDI and the SDI Modernization Gateway and contribute their ideas.