UN-GGIM: Americas, through its Working Group on the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (WG-UN-IGIF), promotes the implementation of this framework in the region, which “provides a basis and guidance to develop, integrate, strengthen and maximize geospatial information management and related resources in all countries. It will help countries close the geospatial digital divide, ensure socioeconomic prosperity, and leave no one behind”

This framework has 9 strategic pathways: Governance, Policy and Legal, Financial, Data, Innovation, Standards, Partnerships, Capacity and Education, and Communication and Engagement, and “offer a holistic and robust approach to enhance the quality, accessibility, and effective use of geospatial information across various domains. Through implementing these strategic pathways, countries can optimize their capacity to fully leverage the power and potential of geospatial information for the benefit of their societies and sustainable development.”

Given this background, UN-GGIM: Americas WG-UN-IGIF has been developing a series of virtual discussions aimed at disseminating the content of the strategic pathways within this integrated framework and sharing experiences on its use and implementation at the national level. In this session, we will address Strategic Pathway 5: Innovation.

This pathway recognizes that innovation has the potential to stimulate, trigger, and respond to accelerated change, overcome obsolete technologies and processes, and help close the geospatial digital divide. The ongoing evolution of technology generates new opportunities for innovation and creativity.

The objective of this Strategic Pathway is to leverage modern, cost-effective technologies, innovations, and process improvements so that governments, businesses, academia, and communities can move toward modern geospatial information management practices and services, regardless of their current conditions and capacities.

In this context, innovation is a fundamental component of digital transformation and the modernization of national geospatial information systems.

Its application makes it possible to improve management processes, generate new products and services, strengthen evidence-based