SDI stands for spatial data infrastructure. What does that mean? Think of the roads and dams and underground pipes necessary for the well-being of a community or nation. These fundamental engineering projects are, of course, infrastructure. An SDI is similar except that it consists of essential data rather than concrete or steel. A broader view recognizes that it is a framework of technologies, policies, standards, and human resources necessary to acquire, process, store, distribute, and improve the use of geospatial data across multiple public and private organizations.