Data harmonisation put into practice by the HUMBOLDT project

Data harmonisation is a key prerequisite for an efficient and meaningful combination of heterogeneous information in cross-border applications and spatial data infrastructures. This is also the main objective of the INSPIRE Directive which has entered its implementation phase. Data Specifications for INSPIRE Annex I data themes have been published containing harmonised, pan- European data models and a number of other requirements. Data providers across Europe face the challenge of transforming their legacy data to comply with these Data Specifications. This paper presents results of the European project HUMBOLDT. Data harmonisation requirements identified in nine scenarios covering a wide range of application domains and using heterogeneous data from a number of European countries are illustrated. Processes required to achieve data harmonisation are described from an application point of view. The open-source software framework for data harmonisation and services integration developed in the project is introduced and its use in two application scenarios is demonstrated.