At 50, Belgium’s National Geographic Institute is ready for the future

In Belgium, the National Geographic Institute (NGI) serves as the federal geobroker, collecting, organizing, and making geographic information accessible across the country. For its cartographic production, the institute relies on ArcGIS Pro. 

Fifty years after its creation, Belgium’s National Geographic Institute (NGI) has evolved far beyond the traditional mapping agency it once was. While map production remains at the core of its identity, the organization has steadily expanded its role to become a key provider of geographic services and authoritative spatial data at the federal level.

NGI still operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Defence, reflecting nearly two centuries of history as a producer of military maps. Today, the institution employs just over 200 people. Unlike its much larger French counterpart, which combines extensive research capabilities with national mapping responsibilities, Belgium’s NGI has developed a more compact structure and a distinct mission.

“We are the country’s official mapping agency, responsible for reference data and geodesy, which provides the reference systems used to accurately locate geographic information,” explains Ingrid Vanden Berghe, Administrator General of the National Geographic Institute. “But today, we are much more than a map producer. Over the years, the institute has gradually taken on the role of geographic data integrator and broker. This evolution accelerated with the INSPIRE Directive, which led us to facilitate access to federal geographic data while encouraging its use across public administrations. NGI became the manager of geo.be, the national portal that provides access to hundreds of datasets from Belgian federal agencies.”

This role is particularly strategic given Belgium’s complex institutional structure. Reference datasets and orthophotos are produced separately by the Flemish, Walloon, and Brussels Regions, alongside federal reference data. “Our role is to harmonize these sources and integrate them into coherent national datasets,” says Vanden Berghe.

To achieve this, NGI reconstructs a seamless nationwide orthophoto layer and works with organizations such as Infrabel, Belgium’s railway infrastructure manager, to align data models. The institute is also involved in several strategic domains, including defence, mobility, resilience, and climate adaptation. Across these areas, GIS plays a critical role in bringing together, distributing, and leveraging the geographic information needed to support decision-making.

While NGI’s mission has evolved significantly, some constants have remained. One of them is the use of Esri technology, which has been part of the organization since the early 1990s.

“I joined NGI in 1990, and the first Esri software arrived almost at the same time,” recalls Éric Bayers, Senior Advisor at the National Geographic Institute. “The objective was clear: move away from traditional methods and enter the era of digital cartography.”

A major modernization program across Belgian public administrations enabled NGI to invest in technology that represented a substantial investment at the time.

“The first public contract awarded to Esri was focused more on digital cartography than on GIS in the modern sense of the term,” explains Bayers. “Those first ArcInfo licenses helped us build significant expertise in digital mapping.” 

Since then, the use of Esri technology has expanded considerably. Today, Esri solutions support mapping, quality control, spatial analysis, and web applications. However, their role remains particularly important within NGI’s cartographic production workflows.

“For digital cartography, it would be very difficult for us to operate without this environment,” acknowledges Vanden Berghe.

That long-standing relationship has not prevented NGI from maintaining a pragmatic perspective. Institute leaders regularly emphasize the importance of preserving technological sovereignty and avoiding excessive dependence on any single vendor.

Over the decades, NGI’s relationship with Esri BeLux, which has supported the institute since its first ArcInfo deployments, has developed into a long-term partnership. The evolution of the cartographic production chain, the migration to ArcGIS Pro, and ongoing work around cartographic generalization have all been supported through continuous collaboration between NGI and Esri BeLux teams.

“We have been able to modernize our production methods while benefiting from advances in the platform,” says Bayers. 

That continuity helps explain the central role Esri technology now plays in the institute’s cartographic processes.

Today, the Cartography Directorate is one of the largest users of Esri technology within the institute. Led by Ward Velinden, the department brings together around twenty specialists in cartographic generalization, symbology, and map production.

Its flagship product is Cartoweb, Belgium’s national digital topographic map. Unlike traditional topographic maps originally designed for print, Cartoweb was conceived from the outset as a multi-scale digital product, ranging from 1:2,500 to 1:4,000,000, intended primarily for on-screen use.

Production relies on a hybrid technology stack. Geographic data is stored in a PostgreSQL database fed by multiple update processes. ArcGIS Pro is then used for cartographic processing, symbolization, and generalization.

“ArcGIS allows us to integrate updates quickly and publish new map versions on a regular basis, typically every two months, ensuring the latest changes across the territory are reflected,” explains Velinden. 

One of the institute’s biggest challenges is managing the different scales required to represent the country effectively. Reference data is maintained at a conceptual scale of 1:10,000 before being automatically generalized into increasingly simplified representations suitable for smaller scales.

This process of cartographic generalization has become one of NGI’s core areas of expertise.

“A small-scale map is not simply a matter of displaying less information,” says Velinden. “You need to rethink how the territory is represented to preserve readability while retaining the most important information.”

To achieve this, NGI relies heavily on ArcGIS Pro’s geoprocessing capabilities as well as proprietary algorithms developed in-house.

“ArcGIS provides the technological foundation on which we build our own generalization workflows.” 

These developments are carried out by a dedicated team known as AutoGEN, whose sole mission is to automate the processes required for map production. The objective is to generate consistent maps at every scale while minimizing manual intervention as much as possible.

Despite this growing level of automation, human expertise remains essential.

Cartographers use ArcGIS Pro daily to review results, correct anomalies, and make adjustments that cannot be automated.

“Automated processes accomplish a large part of the work, but there is always a critical stage where human intervention is needed to achieve the level of quality we expect,” Velinden emphasizes. 

The technology is also used in the field. Teams responsible for quality control, data validation, and geodetic operations work with ArcGIS Field Maps on tablets to collect and verify information that cannot be obtained through aerial acquisition alone.

One of NGI’s most ambitious initiatives today focuses on the future of its cartographic production workflows. 

Currently, printed topographic maps and Cartoweb are still produced through separate environments. 

“Historically, paper maps were designed specifically for printing,” explains Velinden. “Colors, contrast, line weights, and symbols were all optimized for reading on paper. Cartoweb, on the other hand, was developed from the start as a digital product designed for screen display.” 

This difference in design philosophy explains why digital maps cannot simply be printed as they are. 

“That is not possible without adaptation, because the symbology was never designed for that purpose,” adds Bayers. 

At the same time, the distinction between digital and print products is becoming increasingly blurred. Users now expect a consistent cartographic experience regardless of how they access the map. 

NGI’s challenge is therefore to bring these production processes closer together. 

“We already work from the same reference data,” says Velinden. “The question now is how to produce maps more efficiently for different uses while relying on a common foundation.” 

ArcGIS Pro plays a central role in that vision. Already used for Cartoweb production and cartographic generalization workflows, the platform could ultimately help bridge the gap between digital and print production environments. 

Such an evolution would be a natural continuation of the transformation NGI has been pursuing for decades, with an unchanged objective: making geographic information more accessible, more current, and more consistent. 

Fifty years after its creation, Belgium’s National Geographic Institute continues to evolve. Through reference data, geographic services, and digital cartography, the organization demonstrates that maps remain living products, constantly adapting to changing needs and technologies. In that evolution, GIS continues to play a central role.

Xavier Fodor 

Watch how 30 years of collaboration between NGI and Esri BeLux continues to drive innovation in digital cartography below.