Visit to KMS 10 September 2012 - Denmark releases its digital raw material

Denmark releases its digital raw material

Meeting with The Danish National Survey and Cadaster 11 September 2012

The Danish National Survey and Cadaster, KMS, is the Danish national authority for Spatial Data Infrastructure, surveying, mapping, and cadastral and chartered surveyor administration. When FIG President CheeHai Teo was in Denmark, September 2012, he met with Deputy Managing Director Søren Reeberg Nielsen and Manager Søren Faurholm Christensen, KMS. During the meeting, the entire KMS organisation was called together to celebrate the settlement of an agreement between the Local Government Denmark and the Danish Government, initiated by KMS. This agreement improves and links public registers of basic data and makes data available to the private sector. The news was published on 8 October 2012.

President Teo visits Soren Reeberg (right) and Soren Fauerholm Christensen (left) at KMS Denmark

Once the public authorities have tidied up, merged all data and stopped parallel registration, annual savings in administration is estimated to amount to DKK 260 mio (35 Mio EUR) in 2020. Basic data includes private addresses, companies' business registration numbers, or the cadastral numbers of real properties. That is, data which is used again and again, across the entire public sector, to collect land tax, pay social benefits, or prevent flooding. Businesses too can look forward to large savings when they no longer have to buy their basic data from the public authorities. This gives new opportunities for innovation and growth, for example in the real estate sector, insurance sector and in the telecommunications sector. Smaller companies will also be able to test new ideas without first having to invest huge sums in the data required to create their product.

The European Commission has been monitoring the work on basic data in Denmark closely and Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission has much praise for the lead taken by Denmark: “Denmark is setting the pace by unlocking a treasure trove of information. The release of so much of its core datasets used on a regular basis by both public administrations and private business is fantastic,” says Neelie Kroes.

Especially Soren Fauerholm Christensen has been deeply involved in the development of this project.
After this highly interesting interruption of the meeting, President Teo, Søren Reeberg Nielsen and Soren Fauerholm Christensen continued their meeting and discussed among other things the cooperation between KMS and FIG in securing the future development of the profession. Furthermore it was discussed how KMS can contribute to the fruitful cooperation between FIG and UN on improvements on Land Information system of the developing countries, and the STDM model.

30 October 2012