Management of spatial data integrity including stakeholder feedback in Maritime Spatial Planning

The Maritime Spatial Planning process is data intensive, having to draw upon the best available data coming from many different sources. There are, therefore, multiple challenges in managing spatial data for inclusion in Marine Plans. These challenges include the need for data integrity to drive reproducibility; as well as providing contextual information to enable end users to increase understanding as well as the potential for the data to be reused independently. This paper examines the challenges associated with managing spatial data for inclusion in Ireland’s marine plan. It demonstrates how repeatability can be achieved for such data products and the underlying processes necessary to drive data integrity to ensure the best data is available for decision-making. During the marine plan consultation period, the spatial data used in the baseline and subsequent draft plan became outdated, with newer and better-fitting data identified. In total, 124 map products matured throughout the process; consequently, processes were developed to integrate stakeholder feedback as well as a method to provide a uniform way to deliver, manage and update datasets. Ireland held an array of stakeholder engagement efforts. The entire stakeholder engagement process spanned several years and involved numerous organisations. Informed by the process of engagement-data interaction the paper explores the innovative potential of using Maritime Spatial Planning as a driving force for Data Quality. This paper aims to describe the interwoven process of updating datasets in a marine plan and the benefits of simultaneously integrating stakeholder consultation feedback and developing repeatable data management processes.