The Brighton accord

As a result of the kick-off meeting in Brighton, March 2007, participants agreed unanimously to an accord, providing the governance, technical and political essentials for OneGeology. It is also a helpful document to clarify what OneGeology is about.

Eighty one participants from forty three nations and fifty three national and international bodies met in Brighton, UK, between 12 and 16 March 2007 to discuss and agree how to improve the accessibility of global, regional and national geological map data and, in doing so, increase its usefulness to society.

Participants at the workshop asserted that geological map data are essential to advancing science and education in order to better provide solutions to the challenges of mitigating environmental hazards, ensuring the sustainable supply of energy, minerals and water, and addressing the urgent challenge of our changing climate.

Updated by the Board of OneGeology September 2017.

Recommendations

Participants agreed that the following 10 recommendations should be communicated to Geological Surveys and Organisations. Participants will encourage all Geological Surveys and Organisations not present in Brighton to embrace these recommendations and by doing so formally agree to participate in the OneGeology (onegeology.org) initiative.

  1. The OneGeology initiative should proceed with the following mission: OneGeology is a Geological Survey initiative launched in the International Year of Planet Earth, which will make public and Internet-accessible the best available digital geological map data and all forms of relevant Geoscience digital data worldwide to better address the needs of society.
  2. OneGeology will start on making accessible existing geological map coverage and it is recognised that this will catalyse scientific harmonisation of map data globally.
  3. OneGeology will, as a priority, work to enable access to all geological map data. In addition, OneGeology will link to, and be interoperable with, applications for broad societal access and wider-resolution mapping.
  4. OneGeology aims to benefit society and also improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Geological Surveys and Organizations providing the map and other Geoscience data.
  5. OneGeology and its participants will seek funding to support its work and goals and also develop strategies to provide mutual assistance to implement OneGeology and build participant capacity.
  6. Participants recognise that map and Geoscience data distributed as part of OneGeology will remain in the ownership of the originating Geological Survey or Organisation, and ideally, but not necessarily, be available at no cost in accordance with the GEOSS data sharing principles.
  7. OneGeology will be managed by a Steering Group composed of representatives from Geological Surveys and Organisations OneGeology will be cognisant of, and proactively interact with, the wider geo-spatial community. It will also set up task groups to achieve its goals. An administration, data provider support and WWW portal will be established to ensure the sustainability and continuity of the initiative.
  8. The priority of OneGeology is to make available interoperable, Internet-accessible, scientifically-attributed data and to make progress at levels appropriate to participants' capability.
  9. Geological Surveys and Organisations are encouraged to work together to develop and implement the required interchange standard to make their data interoperable.
  10. The progress of OneGeology will be presented widely and at each International Geological Congress, to demonstrate the resulting increase in Internet access to the data.

This accord was produced and unanimously endorsed by participants at the OneGeology Workshop in Brighton, UK, 16 March 2007.