Glossary:Geographical information system of the Commission (GISCO)
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Source: Eurostat (demo_r_d3dens)
The Geographical information system at the Commission, abbreviated as GISCO, is a permanent Eurostat service that answers the needs of Eurostat and the European Commission for geographical information at the level of the European Union (EU), its Member States and regions.
A geographical information system (GIS) integrates hardware, software and data for capture, store, manipulate, analyse, manage and present all types of geo-referenced data. Geo-referenced means that data are associated to their geographical location. This is of course the case for topographic information (such as roads, rivers and administrative boundaries) which can be easily represented on maps. GISCO purchases and maintains geographic reference datasets and develops tools for analysing and mapping, and encourages the increasing geo-referencing of statistics produced by the Member States (see Map 1).
GISCO also coordinates Commission-wide geographical information activities and common strategies and has the goal to promote and stimulate the use of geographical information within the European Statistical System and the Commission. The main activities consist of the following pillars:
- management of the geographical reference database of the European Commission;
- operation of the spatial data infrastructure of the European Commission;
- data processing, mainly for thematic mapping, spatial analysis, and data dissemination;
- coordination and relationships with users and producers (European Commission, European agencies, statistical offices);
- promoting activities to integrate geographical information with thematic information, notably statistical information;
- cooperation in initiatives for the establishment of a geographical information infrastructure at the European level (INSPIRE).
In addition, GISCO promotes projects to develop links between geographical and statistical data. These projects aim at optimising the use of information already collected to achieve efficiencies in statistical production and to increase the analytical and communication power of the data. GISCO represents Eurostat in the GEOSTAT project and in the European Forum for Geostatistics.
Further information
- Directive 2007/2/EC of 14 March 2007 establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE)
- Geographical information system of the Commission (GISCO) (background article)
- INSPIRE - Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community
- Regulation (EU) No 1253/2013 of 21 October 2013 amending Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services