ABSTRACT
Following the practice of earlier chapters, we begin at the elementary level of defining some basic terms, such as policy, information policy, and strategy, and then present a sample of SDI definitions to see where policy falls within these definitions. This chapter is not meant to be a compendium of SDIs that are evolving around the globe, which has been the focus of several publications over the past decade (Burrough and Masser, 1998; Groot and McLaughlin, 2000; Van Loenen and Kok, 2004; Masser, 2005, 2007; Van Loenen, 2006; Crompvoets, 2006; Onsrud, 2007). Rather, we present samples of SDI initiatives at the national and regional level to provide insight into how policy issues are at the heart of SDI visions, goals, and strategies, along with other technical and organization issues where policies may have only an indirect impact. Many SDI policies are aligned to national information infrastructure (NII) policies, inherently or on purpose, since much GI is in the public sector, and is the the focus of many NII initiatives, including PSI reuse and e-governance.
