Do I need to pay for GIS services?

In general university staff and students do not need to pay for technical support, like advice on using specific software.

When it comes to specialized support for research projects the respective service provider – in the case of GIS services SED – decides how to handle support.

SED’s policy for geospatial research support is:

• If you have a small GIS component in your project, e.g. you have data and just need it to be mapped,  we are happy to provide these services ad hoc and for free.

• Other projects take up a significant part of our GIS resources. I do not have a budget to provide these resources, so we need to be be clear about funding:
  • If your project requires specific hardware, software or data, we need to purchase these items from your project budget.
  • If your project requires more than one or two weeks of my time, we need to budget my time into your project as well.  It is crucial that we discuss these inputs before you submit your bid for funding. SED staff should also see Vicky Holt, our Research Development Administrator for valuable information about funding and budgeting.