Up to 80% of all decisions affecting citizen are linked to geographical information (Coopers and Lybrand 1996). Geographical information is especially in demand in the run-up to referendums (for example, the locations of nuclear power stations, nature conservation areas, traffic and transport, etc.). Worldwide several initiatives are initiated by different nations to establish a single point of entry to all spatial data of public administration. Before geo.admin.ch ch, it was difficult or impossible to get hold of most federal geospatial data for public authorities, experts and the broad public. No single point of entry for federal geodata existed: access was sometimes possible in one of over 20 and not linked map viewing application, hidden within the Swiss federal web presence, with a wide range of quantity and quality standards.
In Switzerland the Act on Federal Geoinformation regulates the access to public data. This act came into force on 1st July 2008. It provides the legal framework, for all activities relating to information about basic geodata of federal law and its exchange and use. “The purpose of this Act is to ensure that geodata relating to the territory of the Swiss Confederation is made available to the Federal, Cantonal and municipal authorities, to industry and commerce, to academic and scientific institutions and to society at large, for the broadest possible use, in a sustainable, up-to-date, rapid and easy way, with the required quality and at reasonable cost.” (Art. 1). The data contained in aerial photographs, maps and plans as well as further spatially referenced data must made available at a good level of quality and at reasonable cost, in printed form, over the Internet or on mobile devices. Uniform standards were required, in data capture as well as in the modeling and archiving of data and metadata.
A major economic benefit can be achieved with the establishment of geo.admin.ch in Switzerland. Advocating the use of spatial data is improving the value of this still unexploited resource. Furthermore, the federal administration benefits of the availability of fundamental information for decision-making, planning and improving efficiency of governmental processes: data production can be accelerated and data exchange processes simplified. Moreover, the reputation of government can be leveraged and even higher tax revenues can be achieved. Scientific studies have shown that providing easy and inexpensive access to geospatial data has a multiplicative effect of 1:4 between public investment and added value to private market related to spatial data. With around 230 million Swiss Francs annual investment by federal and cantonal authorities, this corresponds to a theoretical market potential of around 1 billion francs. A 2008 market analysis has shown that for the geospatial market of Switzerland this ratio with a volume of 500 million francs a year is only at about 1:2 before the Federal Geoinformation Act became into force.