Origin

   The gvSIG project was born in 2004 within a project that consisted in a full migration of the information technology systems of the Regional Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of Valencia (Spain), henceforth CIT, to free software. Initially, It was born with some objectives according to CIT needs. These objectives were expanded rapidly because of two reasons principally: on the one hand, the nature of free software, which greatly enables the expansion of technology, knowledge, and lays down the bases on which to establish a community, and, on the other hand, a project vision embodied in some guidelines and a plan appropriate to implement it.

Vision and Mission

   The vision of the gvSIG project was born in response to a series of questions we posed at the beginning of the project: 

• How do we interpret the model of free software?
• What can we do to be a lasting and sustainable in the time project?
• How can we build a strong community?

   It's necessary to place the answers to these questions in the prevailing situation in FOSS4G in 2004. We began a project of free software in a moment where the solutions in the field of FOSS4G were not as mature as they are today and where there were, and remain, different ways of interpreting the model of free software. It was an environment where we were very used to seeing free software projects which almost ended before starting because of different causes, or which perpetuated with a residual impact without causing significant changes in the prevailing system. In this environment, the only relevant actors were a handful of proprietary software multinational companies.                      

   Structurally, we believe the way in which the development of knowledge advances can be classified into two major categories:

• Making different groups rival around a specific theme or problem and they use the acquired knowledge as the main argument and they speculate with it.
• Turning the gained knowledge into shared knowledge, in order that the more groups can participate, the better the problem will be solved and the better the topic in question will be developed.

   The main aim of the gvSIG project is to change the currently dominant model, based on speculation of the acquired knowledge to advance individually, to a model based on shared knowledge and collaboration to advance together. Definitively, working from the field of Geomatics for a better and more fair model.

Interpreting the model of free software 

   The gvSIG project differs from other free projects in which its interpretation goes beyond the purely technical and it establishes relation with economic and ideological aspects. It applies free technology to Economy and Ideology and each of which interacts with the others two.

   Free software must be something more than just sharing source code or binary ones, rather than sharing knowledge. Sharing knowledge should not be an end in itself but a means to an end, one way of achieving some aims, the mission of the gvSIG project.

Values

   The conviction that the advancement and technological progress will always be more efficient if the results of R&D projects, discoveries and their documentation are shared, than if they are hidden and kept outside the knowledge of the community.

  Based on the principle of efficiency in technological and scientific progress, the gvSIG project claims to work making R&D projects and implementing technological solutions according to social needs. Always guaranteeing the freedom of choice through the technological independence aspect of the free software.

Collaboration, shared knowledge, solidarity, trust, democratic functioning and loyalty are among the necessary and essential values to carry out successfully the mission of the gvSIG project.