FOSS4G 2024 | Gema & Sisdai: open data & free software projects by the Mexican government скачать в хорошем качестве

FOSS4G 2024 | Gema & Sisdai: open data & free software projects by the Mexican government

INTRODUCTION The development of Gema (Map Manager) and Sisdai (System of Design and Accessibility for Research) rests on two premises: Information generated with public funds must be public and free. The Mexican government is moving towards technological autonomy and independence; therefore, free software should be conceived for development and use in federal public administration. INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT Both projects were developed by the Center for Research in Geospatial Information Sciences (CentroGeo) and coordinated by the National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies (Conahcyt), the federal institution responsible for science, technology, humanities, and innovation policy. ARTICULATION WITH ENI Conahcyt created the National Informatics Ecosystems (ENI) to make publicly funded research results available as open data, visualizations, analyses, and maps. ENIs are collaborative, open-access spaces that store, process, and disseminate information to address Mexico’s priority challenges, such as climate change, health, energy, food sovereignty, housing, and more. Gema and Sisdai are articulated with ENI, as contributions to open science, and are available on public portals. GEMA We start with a question: Can government, academia, civil society, the private sector, and the media collaborate to generate, publish, and consume open data? The ideal answer is yes—but today it remains a challenge. Gema advances institutional interoperability and also incorporates data from outside government. Conahcyt manages research projects with academia, but scientific production often remains behind paywalls and datasets are rarely published, limiting replicability and transparency. By integrating official datasets (INEGI, Ministry of Health, Conapo, Public Security Secretariat, among others) with research outputs, Gema supports open science by publishing data, methodology, and code. The name Gema (Gem) comes from gestor de mapas and symbolizes the gradual transformation of data into information and knowledge—valuable inputs for society. As a Geospatial Knowledge Infrastructure, Gema integrates an open data model and tools for exploring, compiling, visualizing, and sharing geospatial information on humanistic, scientific, and technological activity. Today, Gema hosts around 400 geographic layers in free formats, enabling robust cross-referencing of official and research data. SISDAI More than a free software project, Sisdai is a design system that establishes rules, patterns, and practices to ensure consistent, flexible, and accessible digital products. Developed interdisciplinarily, Sisdai incorporates accessibility, usability, visualization, code best practices, and UX design. Based on atomic design methodology, it structures interfaces from simple elements (atoms) into complex components (organisms), ensuring modularity and robustness. With Sisdai, developers can explore buttons, menus, charts, maps, and components to build accessible interfaces. Importantly, the system privileges the Spanish language, offering documented code in Spanish—crucial for non-English speakers. Sisdai uses Vue.js, OpenLayers, D3.js, and Git, and its libraries are fully open source. The platform enhances the social impact of research projects by promoting autonomy, accessibility, and inclusion for people with disabilities, older adults, or those with limited digital literacy. Currently, there are five public code libraries available for research teams in institutional repositories. CONCLUSION ENI–Gema–Sisdai are open projects developed in collaboration with over a dozen research teams and institutions. Together, they provide: 20+ ENI public portals; ~400 geospatial layers for free download in Gema; 5 open-source libraries in Sisdai. All are available on public sites, strengthening Mexico’s commitment to open science, technological autonomy, and accessibility. Yosune