FAQ Open Data – EN

What are the reuse conditions of NGI’s ‘Open Data’ products?

All NGI products mentioned in the ‘Open Data’ folder are subject to the CC BY 4.0 licence and may be freely shared and modified as provided in the CC BY 4.0 terms and conditions. These conditions are described here.

These conditions imply that, among other requirements, you as the user must credit NGI as the creator of the data and provide a link to the licence.

If you change the original NGI data, you must clearly indicate this. It is important to note that you may not impose any additional restrictions on the resulting product that would prevent other users from sharing or modifying your work.

Are all NGI products available as ‘Open Data’?

Not all NGI products are included in the specific high-value datasets outlined in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138. This excludes various high-resolution products, historical maps, and scanned aerial photos, as only the most recent versions of the latter are classified as ‘Open Data’ and therefore accessible as such. However, these products can be accessed (for a fee) by applying via sales@ngi.be and are subject to NGI’s general terms of use.

Certain data may not be shared given that it may breach, for example, regulations concerning personal data protection, confidentiality, national security, or other similar concerns. Therefore, these products are not subject to the Open Data Directive (EU) 2019/1024.

NGI is also not responsible for the licensing conditions of the data of its partners that are also published on the geoportal (geo.be).

Why are not all NGI products available free of charge?

Not all NGI products qualify as ‘Open Data’ (see question above). The NGI products that are not covered by the list of specific high-quality datasets outlined in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 are available for a fee and under NGI’s general conditions of use at: sales@ngi.be.

NGI’s ‘Open Data’ products can be downloaded free of charge via the download portal in the Lambert 2008 projection system and are available in Geopackage (vector files) or TIFF (raster files) format.

For customised services related to the Open Data products (e.g. slicing, changing projection system, adapting format), NGI will charge a flat fee of €42 per file. The only exception is for orthophoto files, for which a flat rate of €21 per file will be applied (covering search and shipping costs). Please contact sales@ngi.be for this.

In the Open Data Directive, there are also other conditions related to making government data available. Will the NGI also comply with this?

The NGI is committed to making its data available in line with the provisions of the Open Data Directive, despite the lack of dedicated financial resources for this purpose. The goal is to be fully compliant with the Open Data Directive as soon as possible. However, this commitment is not feasible without securing the necessary external financial resources. Once there is more clarity on the budget for the coming years, we will have a better understanding of what can be achieved and when.