ACRP Research Report 278: Geospatial Data Governance Policies and Procedures: A Guide provides guidance to airport operators on how to create a data governance strategy for airports and stakeholders, including roles and responsibilities, policies, data collection standards, procedures, data exchange, security, and maintenance. The training tools provided with this guide include a sample geospatial data governance policy, best practices, metadata to serve as a template for documentation, and executive-level presentation materials. Airport operators of all sizes will find this guide and associated toolkit useful because it outlines the steps to create a data governance strategy.

Most airports, whether they realize it or not, use geospatial data. Traditionally, spatial data has been documented on paper to identify airport assets; as technology has progressed, information on spatial data has become more accurate. Today, geospatial software systems, such as geographic information systems, computer-aided design, and building information modeling, make acquiring and maintaining geospatial data easier. However, if an airport does not have a data governance policy to support the processes for collecting, updating, and maintaining the data, it can become susceptible to ineffective data management, leading to data quality and reliability issues and ultimately lack of trust in the data.

The research, conducted by Woolpert, Inc., focused on providing guidance to airports on how to create geospatial data governance policies and procedures. It included a literature review and outreach to stakeholders in data governance across industries and focus groups, including airports, a state aviation department, and non-aviation organizations. The objective of this research was to further identify relevant regulations and policies, security concerns and countermeasures, and effective practices. The guide and its accompanying tools provide information on tactics and strategies to guide airports when developing their geospatial data strategy.

In addition to the guide, published as ACRP Research Report 278, the following deliverables are available on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for ACRP Research Report 278: Geospatial Data Governance Policies and Procedures: A Guide:

• An informational poster on geospatial data governance;
• A toolkit, including three spreadsheets and metadata; and
• A video presentation of this project.