1. Introduction

GeoPrism Registry is an online platform aiming at providing the functionalities of a common geo-registry (CGR) for the simultaneous hosting, maintenance, update and sharing of lists as well as associated hierarchies and spatial data for the geographic objects core to development in general and public health in particular.

A CGR provides a container accessible by any information system to obtain reliable information on geography through time. Subsequently, information systems’ users can benefit from this information to improve geographically based decision making and support a more systemic approach to solving developmental problems in general and public health ones in particular.

The CGR concept was born to fill a gap in the information system architecture currently observed in countries, concerning the capability for any piece of information or data to be properly contextualised geographically through time.

While the concept initiated from the health sector, a CGR is designed to manage any type of geographic object and this across multiple organisations, making it a key tool to support the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) by allowing for any information system to:

• Contextualize data from different sources in both space and time

• Use geographic objects as the common link between these sources

• Aggregate data according to different hierarchies

• Support the creation of maps based on the same geography

• Facilitate spatio-temporal analyses including but not limited to trend analysis

Please refer to the latest Health GeoLab Collaborative guidance on the establishment of a common geo-registry for the simultaneous hosting, maintenance, update and sharing of lists as well as associated hierarchies and spatial data for more details on the CGR concept and the benefits of a CGR platform such as GeoPrism Registry.