About PASDA

Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access (PASDA) is Pennsylvania's official public access open geospatial data portal. PASDA was developed in 1995 by the Pennsylvania State University and has served as the geospatial data portal for Pennsylvania for over twenty six years.

PASDA is a cooperative project of the Governor's Office of Administration, Office for Information Technology, and Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment of the Pennsylvania State University. Funding and support is provided by the Pennsylvania Office for Information Technology. Penn State contributions include system administration support and infrastructure from the Institute for CyberScience, and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

PASDA was developed as a service to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The purpose of PASDA is to serve as the Commonwealth's comprehensive and coordinated open geospatial data portal that provides free public access to geospatial data and information by, for, and about the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PASDA is Pennsylvania's node on the National Spatial Data Infrastructure,Geospatial One-Stop, and is integrated with the National States Geographic Information Council GIS Inventory.

Participate in PASDA

One of the primary purposes of PASDA is to facilitate data sharing in a streamlined environment, making the process fast and easy for data sharing stakeholders. Any state agency, local government, non governmental agency, or academic institution can share its geospatial data through PASDA at no charge. For information about sharing data, please visit our Participate in PASDA page.

PASDA Publications

PASDA prepares and submits an annual report at the end of each state fiscal year. PASDA prepares statistics on use twice annually--end of state fiscal year and end of calendar year. In addition, PASDA presents at conferences and meetings throughout the year. All annual reports, publications, and statistics are available on our Publications page.

The Keystones of PASDA

PASDA is based on a long term vision that incorporates free access to data, outreach, and service to our users and data providers in order to maximize the benefits to the citizens of the Commonwealth.

The keystones in the success of the program are:

  • Collaboration--PASDA demonstrates that collaboration among the geospatial community benefits everyone in the Commonwealth. Collaboration saves money, time, and makes the most of the limited resources of data providers and the Commonwealth.
  • Cooperation--PASDA cooperates with all levels of government, non-profits, academia, business, and citizens to support the geospatial data infrastructure and access to data.
  • Continuity--PASDA works with data providers to ensure continuity of data access and long term storage and archiving of data.
  • Active Engagement--PASDA engages with the geospatial community to foster understanding and data sharing.
  • Efficiency--PASDA's streamlined processes make data sharing fast and easy for our partners and data access simple for our users.
  • Free Access--PASDA provides open access to data in multiple formats and via applications free of charge to the public.

PASDA Goals

The data made available through PASDA is provided by our data partners to encourage the widespread sharing of geospatial data, eliminate the creation of redundant data sets, and to further build an inventory (through the development and hosting of metadata) of available data relevant to the Commonwealth. PASDA serves as a resource for locating data throughout the Commonwealth through its data storage, interactive mapping applications, and metadata/documentation efforts.

  • PASDA will continue to provide free access to and storage of geospatial data that can be shared by anyone with an Internet connection.
  • PASDA will continue to build partnerships that enhance ease of access to data by community and to benefit the data provider.
  • PASDA will continue to develop data access resources and innovative tools to enhance the use and benefits of geospatial data for all citizens of the Commonwealth and geospatial community.
  • PASDA will continue to support long term archiving and preservation of data for the benefit of the Commonwealth and future generations.

Partners

PASDA services are provided free of charge to all users and data stakeholders. The data on PASDA is provided by federal, state, local and regional government agencies, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions throughout the region.

THANK YOU to our Data Partners

PASDA would like to thank its many data partners and the geospatial community in Pennsylvania for helping to build one of the largest and most comprehensive geospatial data clearinghouses in the country and for supporting free access to data. PASDA would not be possible without the participation of all of our data providers as well as the long term support of the Commonwealth, Office for Information Technology, and the Pennsylvania State University.

Data Partners Story Map

Pennsylvania GIS Data Sharing Status

Staff

The management and direction of PASDA is the responsibility of Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment (PSIEE).

  • Maurie Caitlin Kelly, Director
  • Ryan Baxter, Information Technology Coordinator
  • James Spayd, Data Systems Coordinator
  • Scott Dane, Data Manager

If you have questions or would like to share your data with PASDA, please email PASDA at pasda@psu.edu

Emailing PASDA will allow us to respond to your questions as quickly as possible.

Additional contact Information:

Maurie Caitlin Kelly
Director of PASDA
117 Land and Water Research Building
Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802
E-Mail: pasda@psu.edu