At its tenth session the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), in making Decision 10/103, "welcomed the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) as a means to strengthen national geospatial information management arrangements within and across Member States and noted the global significance of the IGIF, which can be applied to any country to guide transformational change". The IGIF provides a basis, a reference and a mechanism for countries when establishing or strengthening their national geospatial information management arrangements and related infrastructures, or to coordinate activities to achieve alignment between and across existing national capabilities and infrastructures.

Also at the tenth session, UN-GGIM in making Decision 10/110, encouraged the Working Group on Policy and Legal Frameworks on Geospatial Information Management to work with candidate Member States in the implementation of Strategic Pathway 2: Policy and Legal of the IGIF, to consider appropriate mechanisms to promote data sharing and exchange and to improve the availability, accessibility and usability of geospatial information.

The Secretariat and the Centre for Spatial Law and Policy together with the Working Group embarked on an initiative to prepare and develop legal instruments (contract, policy, legislation) as resources that Member States can consider, adapt and tailor to their national (or sub-national) circumstances when implementing the IGIF to:

• i. promote data sharing and exchange; and
• ii. improve the availability, accessibility and usability of geospatial information.