Description of the SIIASA Project ACASIAN GIS Spatial Data for China, South-East Asia, and the Soviet Union

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THE SPATIAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ASIAN STUDIES IN AUSTRALIA (SIIASA)

Background

The SIIASA consortium comprises the Unified National System institutions that have together obtained the ARC Research Infrastructure under the leadership of Griffith University. When initially organised in 1992 as a result of obtaining $450,000 (with a forward commitment of $177,000 for 1993 in Mechanism C Cooperative Infrastructure Development Grant funds) the SIIASA consortium consisted of twelve universities, as follows: Australian National University, Science Faculty; Curtin University of Technology; Griffith University; James Cook University; La Trobe University; Macquarie University; Monash University; The University of Melbourne; University of Adelaide; University of New South Wales; University of Sydney; and University of Western Australia.

New Mechanism C funding of $325,000 was obtained for 1994 by an expanded consortium with seven new members: Flinders University of South Australia; Murdoch University; Northern Terriroty University; University of New England; University of Newcastle; University of Queensland; and Victoria University of Technology.

An additional $161,000 was obtanied for 1995 under the ARC's Research Infrastructure (Equipment and Facilities) program, and the consortium was expanded to include Queensland University of Technology and the University of Technology, Sydney. A final grant of $100,000 from the same program was obtained for 1996, when the University of Southern Queensland joined the Consortium.

The aim of the SIIASA Project is to establish GIS databases covering all of Asia, defined broadly to encompass the Near East and the Islands of the Pacific Basin in addition to South, Southeast, and East Asian Countries. By the end of 1996, much had been accomplished, and the work continues at ACASIAN in 1997.

Apart from China which has been digitised independently, the base map for the SIIASA spatial databases will be the 1:1m Digital Chart of the World, to which local administrative boundaries will be added in order to analyse census and other attribute data. Larger scale spatial data will be incorporated where available and needed to service regional research interests. Individual research projects may contribute highly detailed local map information that would not be of great interest to other users, but which would benefit from being put into SIIASA's wider spatial contexts.

The SIIASA Consortium

Griffith University - leader
The Australian National University, Science Faculty
Curtin University of Technology
Flinders University
James Cook University
LaTrobe University
Macquarie University
Monash University
Murdoch University
Northern Territory University
The University of Melbourne
University of Adelaide
University of New England
University of New South Wales
University of Newcastle
University of Queensland
Univesity of Southern Queensland
University of Sydney
University of Western Australia
Victoria University of Technology
University of Technology, Sydney
Queensland University of Technology


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This page last updated April 18, 1999.