CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Data Quality and Quality Management –Examples of Quality Evaluation Procedures and Quality Management in European National Mapping Agencies Antti Jakobsson ABSTRACT National Mapping Agencies (NMAs) in Europe have recognized the importance of quality but issues like process management especially related to quality evaluation procedures, data management issues such as data specification, selecting quality elements, reporting quality results and competence of personnel remain high priorities. This chapter will give some examples of quality evaluation procedures that are used to assess the quality of topographic data sets in European NMAs. It is based on the author’s experiences at the National Land Survey of Finland (NLS) since 1992, when the Topographic Database System (TDB) was introduced (Jakobsson, 1995, 1999). The system covers all the topographic databases that we compile at the NLS at scales 1:10 000, 1:20 000, 1:50 000, 1:100 000, 1:250 000, 1:500 000, 1:1000 000, 1:2000 000 and 1:4500 000. We have developed generalisation processes in order to use the Topographic Database in other databases so that the quality of the data will be maintained. European references are derived from the numerous symposia and working groups that the author has attended since the 1990’s. 17.1 INTRODUCTION National Mapping Agencies in Europe have recognized that data quality and quality management are important issues and their are trying to introduce quality © 2002 Taylor & Francis. Reprinted with permission from Wenzhong Shi et al. (editors), Spatial Data Quality, London, Taylor & Francis, 313 p., pp. 216-229.