GIS Project Management · 2025–2026

ZanSDI — Zanzibar Spatial Data Infrastructure

GeoNodeGeoServerDjangoPostgreSQL/PostGISQGISSystem DesignCapacity Building

Background

Zanzibar set out to build a Single Source of Truth for its spatial data — one national platform where agencies can share and manage geospatial information, and that planners, researchers and the public can use for evidence-based decisions across land, water, environment and disaster risk. ZanSDI is that platform: a national geoportal for the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar under the World Bank–funded BIG-Z programme, delivered by Sivan Design. As GIS Project Manager, I lead it end-to-end — from the original field assessment, through system design and development, to the capacity-building programme that hands it to its long-term owners.

Methodology

  • Authored the System Design and Deployment Report, defining an open-source stack — GeoNode, GeoServer, Django, PostgreSQL/PostGIS, QGIS — on containerized VMs with secure access controls and a structured permissions model.
  • Designed the platform's core data schema and mapped each agency's workflows into concrete use-cases — from syncing business-licence records with the state payment system to a teaching-data portal for the university.
  • Ran delivery as an agile process with iterative sprints, stakeholder demos and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for each agency.
  • Authored the ZanSDI Capacity Building Plan — a modular, role-based training programme with a train-the-trainer track for long-term sustainability.

Results

ZanSDI is now live as Zanzibar's national geoportal — agencies use it daily to browse, query and manage harmonised spatial data, while the capacity-building programme transfers ownership to the Zanzibari team that will run it long-term.

Screenshots

ZanSDI geoportal landing page with the Zanzibar Spatial Data Infrastructure banner and links to Map Portals, Data Catalogue, Dashboards & GeoStories

The ZanSDI landing page — the public entry point to Zanzibar's geoportal, linking out to map portals, the data catalogue and dashboards/GeoStories.

ZanSDI interactive web map showing colour-coded land-use zones across Zanzibar Town with a layer panel and search bar

The GeoNode-based web-map portal — agencies and the public can browse, query and overlay the platform's harmonised datasets directly in the browser.

ZanSDI attribute table view listing building parcels with ID, owner, business and tax-status fields alongside a map highlighting the selected parcels

Linked map-and-table view of a building dataset — part of the agency workflows designed to keep records and geometry in sync.

Project Link

ZanSDI is live as Zanzibar's national geoportal.

Open ZanSDI →