Public private collaboration: Potentials for spatial data infrastructure development in developing countries - A caste study of Nigeria

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Many countries across the world embark on the building of SDI to facilitate the sustainable development of their country. However the challenge of developing such infrastructure to a large extent depends on its implementation, which is significant that no single sector can address alone without collaboration and partnership. Public Private Partnership (PPP) is among the strategies currently adovated for SDI development by various SDI experts. This research therefore analyzes SDI development with reference to the institutional arrangements, policy and technology components of SDI and PPP case experiences of Australia, Canada, United States and the Netherlands from developed countries and on the other hand, Egypt and South Africa from the developing countries. A questionnaire survey and literature review was carried out on relevant GI organizations to ascertain the status of the NGDI development and the potentials of PPP in the geospatial sector in Nigeria. The analysis reveals that PPP has a high level of acceptance among respondents as an approach in the future for the development of SDI in Nigeria. However, absence of SDI policy directive, coordination of donor funded projects in the sector are identified as major hurdles that has to be overcome for the success of SDI development through PPP in Nigeria. Moreover, comparative analysis of the selected cases shows some unique similarities and differences between developed and developing countries. Thus, it is acknowledged that public and private sectors, by nature are complementary and hence effective PPP can only be created through “mutually designed, analyzed and accepted instruments of cooperation and collaboration”. In conclusion, for SDI development to be achieved successfully through PPP approach deliberate and sincere effort need to be made by the government to create enabling environment for the private sector participations in the sector. This, therefore, involves among others the passing of the long awaited GI policy in the country, creating better environment for dialogue between the government and the private sectors, promotion of talk shows and workshops for public awareness in new SDI concepts.