To provide a better insight into the process of adding value to GI, several authors have introduced and applied the information value chain approach. A value chain can be defined as the set of value-adding activities that one or more organizations perform in creating and distributing goods and services. The value chain concept originally was developed for the manufacturing sector, as a tool to evaluate the competitive advantage of firms. More recently, the value chain concept has been applied to other sectors, including information technology where the good or service, and the benefits it provides, is less tangible in nature. A value chain involves the progress of goods from raw materials to finished products through a number of stages, during each of which a new value is added to the original input by various activities. The value chain concept was extended into the information market, with the information value chain referring to the set of activities adding value to information and turning raw data into new information products or services. Especially important in this context is the role of information and communication technologies (ICT), which have an impact on all activities in the information value chain, such as information collection, processing, dissemination, and use. In the context of GI, the value chain relates to the series of value- adding activities to transform raw geographic data into new products that are used by certain end users. Although there are slightly different descriptions of the various steps of the GI value chain, in general, the essential steps in the value chain are: acquisition of raw data, the application of a data model, quality control, and integration with other sources, presentation, and distribution. In recent years, particular attention has been paid to different steps between the process of distributing data and the actual end use of an end product of GI. In addition, after the publication of the data, value can be added to the data in many different ways. Value can be added by making data from different sources easily accessible through repositories and data portals, by building and selling tailored solutions using the data to end users or by using geographic data to improve existing products and services delivered to an end user. In certain cases, this end product will be the first step of a next value chain.
Explain the different steps in the geo-information value chain
Apply the geo-information value chain approach to an existing geo-information process
Identify and explain the different actors and their roles in the geo-information value chain
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