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survey- 
spatial 
intent 
to develop a national digital 
spatial information resource, 
avoid duplication, and encourage 
sharing of data amongst various 
institutions. 
Restrictions and cost of repro- 
duction of spatial data by parent 
institutions must be minimized 
for a wider usage of the data. 
An example of such a gesture is 
that National Oceanic and Atmos- 
pheric Administration and Earth 
Observation Satellite Company 
announced that the Landsat data 
more than 2-years old could be 
purchased for the cost of repro- 
duction (Lauer, et al. 1991). 
Consideration must be given to 
other institutional issues 
related to budgetary constraints, 
policy matters, proprietary 
interests, training, and poten- 
tial data products for users. 
Acquisition of IPS hardware and 
software is limited by the 
available budget. For this 
reason, basic understanding of 
system development methodologies 
will help develop IPS specifi- 
cally suited for user needs. 
Policy must be established 
regarding systems development. 
For example, standard configura- 
tion for IPS may not be conducive 
to the evolutionary process for 
new technological breakthroughs. 
On the other hand, interface 
technology encourages such a 
development. It is also essen- 
tial to maintain a highly trained 
Support staff to keep the IPS 
operational. Public domain 
Software may be cheaper to obtain 
but in the long run may prove to 
be more costly when applied to 
operational problem solving. 
4. RECOMMENDATIONS 
À viable infrastructure must be 
established for IPS by providing 
proper management, equipment 
(hardware and software), data 
resources (GIS and source data) 
269 
and training for both current and 
future activities or products. 
In order to benefit the user 
community, the existing IPS and 
their products must be widely 
publicized. There may be reluc- 
tance on the part of an institu- 
tion to undertake an extra step 
of publicizing IPS due to budget- 
ary constraints unless incentives 
are provided for doing so. Also, 
in order to be marketed, an ex- 
isting IPS must fully demonstrate 
its capabilities as well as be 
operational for the targeted 
products. 
On the other hand, an organiza- 
tion interested in establishing a 
suitable IPS for its specific 
application must thoroughly study 
the existing IPS from all points 
of view, technological and insti- 
tutional, in the context of the 
products desired. An IPS could 
be characterized by the technolo- 
gies used, functionality, config- 
uration (hardware and software), 
interfaces, sources for spatial 
data, training requirements, 
costs involved, products  sup- 
ported, and so forth. A well 
characterized IPS by its manu- 
facturer, vendor or developer 
will enlighten the users for a 
better understanding of the 
existing systems. Users are then 
able to make an intelligent 
choice in putting together- or 
integrating an efficient IPS for 
their specific needs. 
It is, therefore, recommended 
that both the present users and 
manufacturers of IPS work closely 
to provide the future users with 
sufficiently detailed information 
on the existing IPS and their 
products. Also, institutional 
issues, as pointed out by the 
NCGIA, established by the NSF for 
broader application of GIS and 
Geographic Analysis, must be 
studied closely in relation to 
the IPS by such organizations as