Interview with Dr. Nama Budhathoki: Government Adoption of VGI

 

In this interview, Dr. Nama Budhathoki a post-doctoral fellow at McGill University discusses his research into the opportunities and challenges of government utilizing volunteer geographic information through the GeoWeb. He explains that there is enormous opportunity for governments to engage with the public through digital tools that spatially communicate information. Challenges remain that include closing the wikipedia, June 29, 2010: "the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology, and those with very limited or no access at all. It includes the imbalance both in physical access to technology and the resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen." For us, the digital divide includes access to a range of platforms, from Internet to mobile technologies. It includes the availability of data to make effective use of those technologies (e.g., a coarse resolution digital background on Google Maps may make it difficult to effectively use that technology).">digital divide, assessing data quality and potentially violating citizen privacy.