Volunteered geographic information (VGI) primer

This guide is one in a series of Operational Policy documents being developed by GeoConnections. This guide is intended to inform CGDI stakeholders about the nature and scope of VGI and the realities, challenges and good practices of related operational policies. Volunteered geographic information, or VGI, is "the widespread engagement of large numbers of private citizens, often with little in the way of formal qualifications, in the creation of geographic information" (Goodchild M. F., 2007). Using volunteered geographic information to help create or maintain geospatial datasets is a rapidly growing trend. This guide introduces key issues in geospatial operational policy, imperative to the success of any venture into VGI. Operational policies are the guidelines, directives and policies that an organization employs to address the life cycle of geospatial data (i.e., collection, management, dissemination and use). This guide will be of interest to anyone seeking a better understanding of the emerging trend of VGI and areas of related operational policy, such as data quality, liability, privacy, security, licensing and copyright.