Geocoding

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(Note: the markup described in this section is not yet in use for most phase one pilots.)

To specify the actual location of aid work, rather than the jurisdiction of the partner country, IATI uses the target-location element, as in the following example:

<iati-activity last-updated-datetime=”2010-04-01T00:00:01”>

...

<target-location code=”GH-AH”>Ashanti Region, Ghana</target-location>

...

</iati-activity>

The code attribute by default specifies an ISO 3166-2 region code, such as “GH-AH” for the Ashanti region of Ghana. To use a different coding system, specify the vocabulary attribute:


<target-location code=”GH02”

vocabulary=”FIPS”>Ashanti Region, Ghana</target-location>

A separate option for specifying a location is the gis attribute, which contains the comma-separated decimal latitude and longitude of a specific point on the earth’s surface:


<target-location gis=”9.4075,-0.853333”/>


This element specifies that the aid will be targeted at a location of 9.4075 degrees latitude (9° 24.45’ N) and -0.853333 degrees longitude (0° 59.20’ W).  Future IATI releases may also include support for outlines of geographical areas (such as circles and polygons).  The gis attribute is especially useful for plotting aid activities on maps.

Finally, the target-location element may contain free-form text describing a location, with or without the code and gis attributes:


<target-location>Tamale</target-location>


All three methods may be combined where appropriate:


<target-location code=”GH-NP” gis=”9.4075,-0.853333”>Tamale</target-location>