On July 21, 2001 the Finnish Government appointed a council, which among other things was commissioned to take steps to prepare a national geographic information strategy. The council took as its strategic task to advance cross-sector collaboration with the objective of developing a spatial data infrastructure meeting both national and international needs. In 2003 the preparation of a strategy was included as an objective into the Government Information Society Programme.

The National Geographic Information Strategy focuses on describing principles, objectives and measures deemed appropriate for the development of a spatial data infrastructure in Finland. A successful implementation of the strategy will result in a more efficient and diverse use of the databases available, the emergence of new services and better access to information. It will also, for its part, provide a good framework for the development of a national information society and for international cooperation. The strategy also takes into account the preparation of the INSPIRE directive (COM (2004) 516) for the establishment of a European Spatial Data Infrastructure.