Legal status and missions
IGN is the French national provider of reference geographic information, heir to the French Armed Forces Geographic Department (Service Géographique des Armées – SGA) founded in 1887. Since 1967, IGN has been a “public state administrative establishment”. Its main objective is to establish and maintain the reference geographic databases that the nation requires.
Amended by decree no. 2004-1426 of November 22, 2004, decree no. 81-505 of May 12, 1981 establishes the status and objectives of the Institut géographique national (IGN) as a public state administrative establishment (EPA), with its own legal status and financial autonomy. It operates under the auspices of the French Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Seas (MEEDDM).
Its purpose
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Public service objectives defined by the State
The November 22, 2004 decree sets out a list of 7 objectives the State has defined for IGN:
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To install and maintain geodetic and levelling networks for the national geographic, planimetric and altimetric coordinate reference system, and distribute corresponding information.
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To produce, renew periodically and distribute the aerial photographic coverage of the whole national territory.
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To prepare, update and distribute the geographic databases and base maps of the whole territory.
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To manage documentation, notably for the National Aerial Photograph Archive (Photothèque).
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To direct the activities of the École nationale des sciences géographiques (ENSG).
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To take part in the work carried out in France and on an international level for the organisation and standardisation of geographic information.
This decree also indicates that the works requested by the Ministry of Defence are to be carried out as a priority.
Complementary activities
The Institute’s status also confers the possibility of designing and marketing any product or service derived from data collected in its public service role, subject to compliance with the rules of competition.
