SCAD Earns Dual ISO Certification For Geospatial Data To Boost Trust And Interoperability

The Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi is strengthening how the Abu Dhabi Government uses geospatial data in decisions. Certified location data now supports planning, housing, infrastructure, environment, and emergency services across the Emirate. The certifications help leaders depend on consistent, well-documented information when managing growth and digital transformation in Abu Dhabi.

SCAD has become the first Abu Dhabi government body to earn dual international certification for geospatial data. The Centre achieved ISO 19115 for geographic metadata and ISO 19157 for geographic information – data quality. These standards are fully operational within SCAD’s production systems, placing the Centre among a small group of statistical institutions worldwide.

The certifications follow an independent review by an internationally accredited organisation that examined SCAD’s geospatial governance. The assessment confirmed that SCAD’s metadata structures and data quality processes match the highest global requirements. As a result, geospatial datasets can be shared, combined, and reused more easily across Abu Dhabi Government platforms and related digital services.

By embedding ISO 19115 and ISO 19157 into routine operations, SCAD is treating geospatial data as a strategic asset. Certified metadata and quality controls support digital twins, artificial intelligence models, and advanced analytics. These capabilities align with Abu Dhabi’s AI Native Government vision, where entities coordinate decisions using trusted, real-time location intelligence.

This achievement adds to SCAD’s existing portfolio of international standards. The Centre already holds ISO 9001, ISO 27001, ISO 20000 1, ISO 31000, and ISO 8000 certifications. Together, these frameworks position SCAD as a central source for official statistics and geospatial data, supporting secure, ethical, and scalable digital and AI initiatives across the Emirate.

Abdulla Gharib Alqemzi, Director-General of SCAD, said, "Geospatial data increasingly shapes how cities are planned, services are delivered, and risks are managed. By certifying both metadata and data quality to global standards, we are ensuring that location-based decisions across Abu Dhabi are built on data that is trusted, transparent, and fit for purpose. This level of consistency and quality is essential for integrating geospatial data into advanced analytics, digital twins, and artificial intelligence applications that support faster, more informed, and more coordinated government decision making under Abu Dhabi’s AI Native Government vision."

SCAD plans to keep improving its geospatial and statistical systems in line with international best practice. The Centre’s work is designed to support Abu Dhabi’s long-term planning needs and its goal to develop an AI enabled, data driven, and future ready government, with geospatial data at the core of that transformation.

With inputs from WAM