Geoinformation circles in Geneva

Geneva’s #SITG is experimenting with an open community model: thematic #geoinformation circles that anyone can propose, join, and self-organize. Already, participants range from the WHO and France’s national mapping agency to university researchers and private groups.
Author

Ralph Straumann

Published

March 21, 2026

The Système d’information du territoire à Genève1 recently asked: “What if geoinformation became a powerful tool for collective intelligence in the service of the region?” In this theme and aiming to foster more collaboration within the Geneva geoinformation community, the SITG published a new online resource about what they call “circles”.

These circles are meant to:

What is most interesting about these circles is their governance model. But first: Geoinformation circles are organized thematically. At the time of writing, there are the following circles:


Participation around spatial data (source: SITG)

Open participation

Participation in circles is not in any way limited or exclusive: Everybody2 can suggest the formation of a new circle, pitch its goals to other parties, and submit the creation of the circle to the Geoinformation Office, which has final approval.

The process seems designed to be particularly low-threshold: For example, the Geoinformation Office requires only the circle’s pitch, the name of the responsible person, and a list of members. There is both a short description and a detailled guide in which the SITG explains the process of creating a circle.

Circles self-organize. Meeting notes need to be transmitted to the SITG community leader. Circles can decide if their meeting notes shall be public or kept internal. At the time of writing, some notable circle participants from outside the cantonal administration of Geneva include:

  • In the Health circle:

    • the WHO3
    • the Geneva University Hospital (HUG), and
    • Unilabs (a private company)

  • In the Emergency services circle: swisstopo4

  • In the Landcover circle:

    • the Geneva Botanical Garden
    • the Geneva Association of Certified Surveying Engineers
    • the University of Geneva, and
    • the (French) National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information5

I’m not aware of other cantonal participation platforms in the Swiss geoinformation sector that are this open. It will be interesting to see if this model succeeds to create much broader discussions and collaborations between different actors interested in spatial data, beyond employees of cantonal offices.

Footnotes

  1. SITG. Roughly, the Territorial Information System in Geneva.↩︎

  2. I first wrote “As far as I can see, …”. But a citizen has asked this very question.↩︎

  3. World Health Organisation.↩︎

  4. The Federal Office of Topography of Switzerland.↩︎

  5. France’s National Mapping Agency, the Institut national de l’information géographique et forestière.↩︎