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GENERIC STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH STEP TWO

ACTIVITY 5: SHARE THE SPATIAL DATA WITH OTHER
DEPARTMENTS

Once you have completed the exercise to control the quality of your spatial datasets and have made the
required improvements you should archive a standardised dataset. “Standardized” means that all the
data quality issues identified in your quality control exercise have been addressed.
Register your spatial data on the SASDI Electronic

Metadata Catalogue facility

Simultaneously you should register your spatial dataset with SASDI by recording the metadata on the
Spatial Metadata Discovery facility. The SASDI website provides a guideline providing Standard Operating
Procedures to assist users to contribute their metadata. Once registered, metadata can easily be added
manually, using a guided, wizard-style process. Metadata can link to a variety of web-based data, or data
can be deposited in the portal system if it meets simple criteria for size and format.

Your department might not have the institutional capacity to develop, archive or disseminate spatial
information. In such an instance you could make use of the services of the National Geo-spatial
Information component within the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, Statistics South
Africa and the Municipal Demarcation Board.

Include metadata with any datasets as correct decisions
cannot be made based on data of which the source,

currency, quality and content is not known.

Departments should always provide their spatial datasets together with metadata as per the requirements
of the Spatial Data Infrastructure Act. It is important to include metadata with any datasets as correct
decisions cannot be made based on data of which the source, currency, quality and content is not
known. In instances where service point data of departments are distributed in Excel or .csv format the
metadata should be included at the bottom of the worksheet or it could be attached as a simple text file.

Among others, metadata should include:

 The title of the dataset

 A description of each field in the dataset

 Process or method used to create the data

 The spatial reference and accuracy of the dataset

 The date on which the dataset was published

 Contact particulars of the data custodian in the department

 Information on how the data may be used and shared

 Possible limitations of the data

 Possible copyright related matters as defined in terms of the Copyright Act of South Africa

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