Addressing Issues of SDI Governance and Standardisation: Variety Dynamics Analysis

This paper applies Variety Dynamics (VD) framework to analyse persistent failures in spatial data infrastructure (SDI) governance and standardisation. Variety Dynamics provides value-neutral analytical tools for examining hyper-complex systems such as SDI governance and standardisation where conventional mental models fail beyond the two-feedback-loop cognitive boundary. VD provides a new methodological contribution to geographic information science that reveals otherwise hidden structural factors and effects operating beyond mental capacity. The Variety Dynamics analysis reveals most SDI initiatives constitute activity within unchanged variety distributions. Standards are published, coordinating bodies established, technical platforms deployed—yet situations remain problematic because no actual variety redistribution occurs. This is similar to 2007 Variety Dynamics analysis that correctly forecast Microsoft XML dominance over technically superior RDF. Almost identical dynamics now appear in geospatial markets, where hidden factors maintain concentration despite open-source technical alternatives achieving feature parity. Variety Dynamics analysis reveals data sovereignty regulations (2024-2028) offer potential for change in the power locus of SDI by forcing infrastructure migration, inverting transaction cost structures. After 2028, variety distributions will lock in for subsequent decade through path dependencies and accumulated switching costs.