38th NSDI workshop

On May 27, 2024, the 38th NSDI workshop was held as part of the SDI Days 2024 conference, and it was opened by Mr. Antonio Šustić, General Director of the State Geodetic Administration. The workshop was intended primarily for users, but also for advanced-level NSDI subjects who had already fulfilled most of their legal obligations, and was divided into two parts. The first part contained two lectures and covered the introduction and basics of NSDI for those who are encountering NSDI for the first time.

The first lecture, held by Tomislav Ciceli, MsC, covered the development of NSDI and its products from the beginnings of NSDI in the Republic of Croatia to the current state. Legal regulations at the national and European level are explained, and the current results of the Republic of Croatia in fulfilling obligations are clearly presented. At the same time, it was emphasized that today the emphasis is on the quality of all products and the elements they include. The procedure for the inclusion of NSDI subjects and the obligations arising for NSDI subjects in accordance with the NSDI Act (OG 56/13, 52/18, 50/20) are explained. The second lecture, held by Ana Geceg, presented the basic products of NSDI - the Geoportal of NSDI and the browser GeoHrvatska - from the user's perspective. This is how the legal basis of the NSDI Geoportal, its constituent parts and possibilities are explained. The lecture was focused on presenting the use of the NSDI Geoportal for professional users through access to the necessary data through the metadata catalog and determining the suitability of the found data for the user's purpose through information obtained from metadata and a visual review of the data in the browser. The online browser and online application GeoHrvatska, which, unlike the NSDI Geoportal, is intended for citizens, was also presented. The capabilities of the web browser and GeoHrvatska application and the possibilities of using them in everyday life are shown, since the goal of GeoHrvatska is to bring spatial data closer and put them at the service of citizens.

The second part of the workshop was intended for advanced-level NSDI subjects who have already fulfilled most of their legal obligations. Two lectures were also held, which focused on changes in technical specifications. The first lecture entitled "Improving the quality of NSDI metadata" was held by Iva Gašparović, PhD. This lecture included a brief overview of the basics of metadata and metadata management in accordance with the NSDI Act. This was followed by the presentation of the latest changes in metadata elements in the new version of the metadata Specification v.3.1. through the introduction of Conformance Class 8 which introduces new metadata elements. The topic of improving the quality of metadata records is covered in detail, including problems that arise when entering metadata, and general recommendations for improving the quality of metadata are given. The last lecture was given by Tanja Rodin, MsC. This lecture presents the basic network services used in NSDI - online browsing, download and retrieval services, their purpose and methods of use. It details how the network view services (WMS) and download services (WFS) work. Finally, the topic of simplification of data - service linking in the context of new technical guidelines was specially addressed.

The workshop was held in the premises of the State Geodetic Administration, and attended by about 40 participants.