[OSGeo-Discuss] Realities and challenges in the developing world

[Frank Warmerdam]

RAVI KUMAR wrote:
> The ground realities of the complex needs of
> developing world may be given a thought. The catch 22
> situation in countries like India needs a solution, by
> giving incentives to students and education institutes
> of Geo informatics alike.

Ravi,

Forgive me for retitling this thread ...

I'm interested in hearing what the catch 22 for developing countries is,
and what sort of incentives students and educational institutes need.

On the face of it, developing countries, especially those with educational
and scientific establishments as advanced as India, would seem to have
strong incentives to use free software in the GIS field.  Popular proprietary
GIS platforms often have per-seat costs that dwarf the salary of a GIS
practitioner, so spending some time learning free software would seem to be
an easier to justify than in developed nations where the cost of
proprietary GIS software is not particularly high compared to salaries.

In developed countries we often hear that educational institutions want
to teach using proprietary software packages because that is what is
used in industry.  While this is no doubt somewhat true in developed
nations as well, it seems that relatively speaking they are "green fields"
where proprietary software is not as firmly entrenched in industry.

Certainly, from what I have heard, there are many opportunities to bring
GIS to projects in India where there is no entrenched solution because
GIS software has not yet been formally applied (for instance some
municipal level planning and mapping applications).

Perhaps the reasons why free GIS software is particularly well suited
in developing countries are really reasons why it can snowball once
effectively rooted, but that there is still some spark missing.  Would
you say that is the case?

I, for one, see great opportunity in the developing world - both
for individuals and firms as well as for governments and society as
a whole.  At it's core, I see the opportunity to turn human capital
into expertise, local capability and exportable capacity.

One model of this that I'm interested in fostering is encouraging
consulting organizations to get established in the developing world
using free software.  These will hopefully be aiming to provide
local needs but might also be seeking contracts in the international
marketplace.  OSGeo can hopefully play a small role in this through
the OSGeo "Service Provider Directory" which will hopefully make it
easier be considered for international opportunities.  Certainly I've
been impressed with the geographic diversity of service providers
already registered (http://www.osgeo.org/spd_help).

I also have this theory that GIS software developers in the developing
world should be encouraged to participate in core development and
maintenance on free software projects.  The Google Summer of Code
program is one opportunity for this to occur at the student level.
I would also like to think that "maintainer contracts" based on
OSGeo project sponsorship could be an avenue for up and coming
software developers in the developing world to contribute to projects,
gain experience and develop an international reputation that could
make future contracting efforts easier.

In the case of the Google Summer of Code, quite attractive pay is
available (by developing world standards) to spend a summer
participating in a free software project.  I was rather disappointed
to get less proposals for this program from the developing world than
I would have liked this year.  I hope next year OSGeo local chapters
can help us get out the word to promising software development
students interested in the geospatial field.

I would add, one compelling way to strengthen a voice for the
developing world is to get involved!  OSGeo has lots of need
for volunteers in a wide variety of capacities.  Software
development, testing and documentation for projects.   System
administration, the OSGeo journal, developing/testing educational
materials, conference organization and all the other committees.
Most activities can be done by anyone the ability to community
in written English, enthusiasm and some technical skills.

As has been frequently pointed out to me, I have a rather insular
view of the world.  So please see this as a request to be
educated on the unique challenges faced in India and elsewhere in
the developing world and a call for concrete actions that the
organization can pursue (within our volunteer time and financial
constraints).

Best regards,
-- 
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I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | President OSGeo, http://osgeo.org