Memorandum of Agreement for Data Sharing

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Revised, November 1997

THIS AGREEMENT is entered into between the Central Coast Joint Data Committee and public and private organizations ("Partners") which are either users or developers of Geographic Information System (GIS) coverages and spatial data, for the California Central Coast Region which can be used for planning and management, for the purpose of sharing and cooperative use of GIS coverages other spatial data ("Coverages and Spatial Data").

RECITALS

WHEREAS, each of the Partners is concerned with planning or management; and

WHEREAS, each of the Partners use GIS or other information technology to accomplish those goals; and

WHEREAS, there is significant overlap in the data needed for the planning and analysis tasks to be accomplished; and

WHEREAS, the data that must be developed or acquired for these purposes is expensive and sharing of data will allow Partners to accomplish these goals at lower cost; and

WHEREAS, there are administrative, organizational and technical barriers which have prevented data sharing in the past; and

WHEREAS, the Central Coast Joint Data Committee ("CCJDC") was created in 1996 to address the issues surrounding spatial data sharing;

NOW THEREFORE, the parties agree to the cooperative process for the sharing of spatial data about the California Central Coast as itemized below:

I. Common Base Map(s)

The parties to this agreement agree that data will, to the extent possible, be held in common registration to facilitate the transfer of information between Partners. The common registration will be specified by the CCJDC.

II. Sharing and Registration of Existing and Future Coverages and Spatial data

  • Sharing, Distribution and Update of Coverages and Spatial Data.  Each party to this agreement will make available to the other parties any coverages and spatial data developed by the Partner insofar as the distribution of the coverages and spatial data is not limited by licenses, proprietary ownership cost sharing agreements or the Public Records Act.
    Each party shall also make available any updates of existing coverages and spatial data as they are developed. All coverages and spatial data and documentation shall be made available to the CCJDC for distribution to the other parties to this agreement within two (2) months following the completion and acceptance of the coverage by the Partner. The CCJDC will facilitate the provision of all coverages and spatial data and documentation to the participants in this agreement within two (2) months of receipt from the cooperating agencies.  The CCJDC will maintain a current catalog of all coverages and spatial data available to participants in this agreement.
  • Transaction Costs and Fees. The parties to this agreement shall not pay any fees for the acquisition or use of the coverages and spatial data, other than normal transaction costs, including labor and media costs for the copying of data.
  • Restrictions on Use. The parties to this agreement shall use the coverages and spatial data provided by other parties solely for their own purposes.  To the extent of agency policy, no provision of this agreement shall limit the application of the Public Records Act (or, in the case of Federal Partners, the Freedom of Information Act) to the parties to this agreement.
  • Hold Harmless.  The CCJDC and each party to this agreement shall accept coverages and spatial data from all other parties "as is." In addition, each party to this agreement shall hold harmless every other party.  Partners shall require any third party users of these coverages to agree in writing to hold harmless all parties to this agreement.
    The parties to this agreement represent that the coverages and spatial data are complex and time sensitive and that they may contain some nonconformities, defects, or errors. The coverages and spatial data represent the best available information. The parties to this agreement do not warrant that the coverages and spatial data will meet users’ needs or expectations, or that all nonconformities, defects or errors can or will be corrected.
  • Attribution.  Any authorized use of information derived or generated from coverages and spatial data provided pursuant to this Agreement in any product shall acknowledge the appropriate party to this agreement as the source, and include any qualifications deemed appropriate given the specific data quality and application of the derived information.
  • Data Transfer Format.  The coverages and spatial data will be prepared in a format widely used by CCJDC members.  The CCJDC may establish further standards for data transfer format as required to accommodate parties to this agreement.

III. Documentation: Metadata and Data Dictionaries

Each party to this agreement will make available to all other parties the metadata and data dictionaries necessary for responsible use of the shared coverages and spatial data.

The materials to be supplied will be made available in a standard format agreed upon by the CCJDC, and will be published and updated no less than every 6 months based on new information provided by the Partners.

IV. Central Coast Joint Data Committee

A. Each party to this agreement will designate one staff member and one alternate to serve on the Central Coast Joint Data Committee (CCJDC). The CCJDC shall meet at least quarterly to:

  1. Apply and adjust as necessary existing standards for documentation, data formats, geographic accuracy, updating and database design, under development by the Federal Geographic Data Committee

  2. Facilitate the transfer of coverages and spatial data among the parties to this agreement

  3. Inform the parties to this agreement of new data development activities on the part of any party to this agreement

  4. Coordinate training opportunities

  5. Set priorities for and design future cooperative data collection and development activities, using a cooperative process determined by the CCJDC as described in Item VI of this agreement.

B. The CCJDC shall function according to its own bylaws and operating procedures.

C. AMBAG and its non-profit foundation agrees to enter into contracts on behalf of the CCJDC.

V. Standards

All parties to this agreement will work through the CCJDC to apply and adjust as necessary existing standards for documentation, data formats, updating and database design, under development by the Federal Geographic Data Committee. Further, to the extent possible, all parties agree to abide by these standards in the development of coverages and spatial data.

VI. Coverage or Spatial Data Development

The CCJDC may jointly develop new coverages and spatial data. The priorities for the development of new coverages shall be determined by a cooperative process (such as a workshop, conference, forum or other approach) which invites the input of interested partners.
No party to this agreement shall be required to participate in the development of any coverages and spatial data.

VII. Terms of Agreement

A. Any of the parties to this agreement shall have the right to withdraw from this agreement by action of the policy board of the party and by giving the other parties six (6) months notice in writing.

B. New parties not identified under (A) may be admitted to this agreement in the following manner: The party seeking admission shall make a written request for admission to the CCJDC, which will then vote on the request.

C. This agreement may be amended on recommendation of the CCJDC.