The project offeredtraining activities in GIS and information product development. ESRI donated ArcView 3.1 software with Spatial Analyst and 3D Analystextensions. Each country received a computer to function as a server for the regional network. The project also included two international workshops in which the participants gained technical skills to facilitate the development of information products. The first workshopwas hosted at CIATinSeptember 1999. The second workshop took place in May 2001, in Cartagena, Colombia, to coincide with the 5th Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Conference. On-site training was conducted in 2000 and 2001.We continuously monitored the effectiveness of the project design. The project website continues to contribute to strengthening the PROCIG network.

Each country committed to generating an information product, many of which by design are on-going. In Panama, the project collaborators are developing an application to deliver census results via the Web, as well as a Clearinghouse node to provide metadata on geographic information. In Costa Rica, they designed a project to study conservation areas in the country in relation to human population and agricultural development. They also conducted a GIS inventory (Document PDF - 62.2KB) in the country. In Nicaragua, a digital Rural Atlas is being developed with accompanying metadata to help with information integration and exchange amongst the project collaborators, and in Honduras, the project collaborators are developing metadata and an on-line interface for searching for available data. A seminar on geographic information management also was organized. In El Salvador, they are adding a web mapping tool to their national spatial data infrastructure, and in Guatemala, they are developing a Clearinghouse Node and a website for disaster management information, that aims to provide access to data, metadata, and institutional contacts. Belize joined PROCIG at the end of the project, so they did not have a formal project; however, they, too, are developing GIS products and services.

An additional objective of PROCIG is to support initiatives for national spatial data infrastructure (NSDI) in each country. An NSDI survey recently conducted by CIAT indicated that a range of national spatial data infrastructure (NSDI) initiatives exists in the Americas. Typically, national mapping agencies have taken the lead, though national statistics and census institutes and other government agencies are participating. Many of these initiatives are in an early state, but the need for coordinated spatial data management in the region is increasingly being recognized. Often the primary barriers to spatial data management at the national level are more institutional than technical. For this reason, the project furthered discussions between institutions on the legal, economic, and political factors surrounding NSDI development. PROCIG's network of GIS specialists continue to create the necessary mechanisms for the most efficient use of existing digital information in the area.

• PROCIG is a flexible mechanism to promote interaction and exchange of ideas between Central American institutions and countries with respect to geographic information management.
• PROCIG is a mechanism to promote a strategic relationship between Geography and Statistics institutes.
• PROCIG is a regional effort, and can be used as a regional platform for interaction.
• PROCIG complements regional efforts such as CCAD, CEPREDENAC, CP-IDEA Sub-Committee for Central America and others,avoiding duplication of effort.
• PROCIG welcomes opportunities for regional, inter-institutional projects in the future.