Abstracts / Papers

Invitation

The Call for Papers is announced for both peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed papers.

Submit your abstract here
  • an abstract and full paper for peer review by: 15 September 2025
  • an abstract for regular/non-peer-review by: 1 November 2025


FIG 2026 will register for CPD points.

The SDGs will be central to all sessions, highlighting how surveyors work with and find solutions towards these goals and beyond. Surveyors must be heard as the next global development agenda for post-2030 is prepared in the next few years.


The Theme – “The Future We Want – The SDG’s and Beyond”

COMMISSION-SPECIFIC TOPICS FOR FIG2026

Professional Standards and Practice – FIG Commission 1

Geospatial Data infrastructure; Policy, Standards and Practices

  • The Aging Profession/Renewal of the profession (and also the profession itself) – make the profession younger.
  • Diversity/inclusion within surveying, and also in the provision of surveying services to the community
  • Ethics of protecting our planet and the role of surveyors regarding the collection of data, analysis and dissemination of information to decision-makers and stakeholders
  • Defining and assessing what the big global carbon, biodiversity and land policy issues are that are relevant for surveyors
  • Gaps and opportunities for the development of the future of the surveying profession, including technical opportunities.


Professional Education – FIG Commission 2

Frontiers in Education and Training: Keeping pace with the radically changing technological
landscape through targeted professional educational interventions.

  • Innovations in surveying education
  • Developing and strengthening academic networks, inclusive education
  • Blended learning: good practices and lessons learned.
  • Alternative teaching methodologies, activate students in the classroom
  • Young surveyors in education, learning styles and methods
  • Surveying Education and Environment in relation to the SDG’s
  • Jointly with other Commissions:
    • Land administration education (C2+C7)
    • Trends in education for precision and measurements (C2+C5)

Spatial Information Management – FIG Commission 3

Spatial Information Management – Addressing global challenges and leveraging modern technological advancements

  • GeoAI and SIM for Sustainable Development and Climate Action
    • Exploring the role of GeoAI and SIM in advancing the UN SDGs, particularly focusing on sustainable cities (SDG 11) and climate action (SDG 13).
    • Case studies showcasing GeoAI applications in monitoring and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
  • Innovations in Spatial Data Infrastructure and Management for Global Challenges
    • Developing and implementing spatial data infrastructures that support sustainable resource management and resilience against climate change.
    • Integration of emerging technologies, such as blockchain and IoT, in spatial data management to enhance transparency and efficiency.
  • Community Empowerment through Participatory Mapping and Crowdsourcing
    • Strategies for leveraging participatory mapping and crowdsourced geospatial data to empower communities and support equitable urban development.
    • Assessing the impact of community engagement in geospatial projects on local governance and policy-making.
  • Big Data Analytics for Disaster Prediction and Prevention
    • Utilizing big data, machine learning and generative AI to predict and prevent natural disasters, with a focus on improving response and recovery efforts.
    • Best practices for integrating big data analytics into existing geospatial frameworks to enhance disaster resilience.
    • The role of the blue surveyor as an originator in marine related disaster resilience.
  • Spatial Information Management for Sustainable Land Use and Planning
    • Innovations in spatial information management to support sustainable land use planning and address urban challenges in developing regions.
    • Examining the role of spatial data in balancing urban growth with environmental conservation.
  • Integrating Earth Systems Science with Geospatial Technologies
    • Linking earth systems science approaches to global and national mapping efforts to strengthen climate action and environmental sustainability.
    • Applications of geospatial technologies in understanding and managing complex earth systems interactions.
  • Ethics and Standards in Geospatial Data Use
    • Addressing ethical considerations and developing standards for the use and dissemination of spatial data in the context of global challenges.
    • Ensuring data privacy and security in the collection and analysis of geospatial information.
  • Digital Transformation and Innovation in Geospatial Practices
    • The impact of digital transformation on geospatial practices and the role of innovation in driving sustainable development.
    • Exploring new methodologies and tools for geospatial analysis in the digital age.

Hydrography – FIG Commission 4

Safeguarding the Blue Economy in the face of changing climate and environmental degradation

  • Strengthening water governance, administration, management and data to ensure sustainability
  • The surveying and Fit for Purpose land administration of wetlands, rivers, lakes, peatlands
  • The surveying and Fit for Purpose land administration of coastal erosion and sea level rise
  • Conquering new frontiers of Hydrography
  • Hydrographic applications in blooming the blue economy
  • Hydrographic datums and reference framework
  • Hydrographic education and continual professional development
  • Marine environment protection and marine space administration
  • Understanding and planning prevention and mitigation strategies for the impact of hurricanes and cyclones
  • Assessment of the plastic pollution in the water bodies
  • Hydrospatial domain and marine administration
  • Hydrographic standards and guidelines
  • Sustainable oceans and hydrography

Positioning and Measurement – FIG Commission 5

Building Capacity and Competence Together in the Science and Application of Where

  • Multi-Purpose Positioning Infrastructure for Sustainable Development – Greater than the Sum of their Parts
  • Reference Frames and Dynamic Datums to Support a Changing Planet
  • Innovative Applications of Cost-Effective Positioning in Mitigating the Impact of Disasters & Climate
  • Resilient PNT for Sustainable Infrastructure and Societal Resilience: What, Why, How, Who and When?
  • An Analogue Earth in Digital Models: Capturing the World Around Us
  • Education, Training and Capacity Building: empowering Communities Globally for the SDGs

Engineering Surveys – FIG Commission 6

Structural Digital Twinning frameworks, applications and technologies in Engineering Surveying

  • New sensing technologies in surveying: Image assisted and scanning total stations, IoT Sensors, Laser scanners; Radar/SAR; Unmanned aerial or underwater vehicles (UAV & UUV) etc.
  • Applications of augmented (AR), virtual reality (VR), and extended reality (XR) in Engineering Geodesy
  • Deformation monitoring and analysis of engineering structures and environment; Mines and other geo-resources (including energy); Landslides and other geohazards and other disasters also for disaster management
  • Dynamic monitoring of civil engineering structures: bridges, high-rise buildings, towers, wind turbines etc.
  • The use of geospatial technologies, tools, and innovations such as UAV photogrammetry, LiDAR, and InSAR as well as GIS to provide real-time information to stakeholders and investors to assess the benefits and risks of sustainable natural resource management
  • Calibration and testing and of geodetic sensors


Cadastre and Land Management – FIG Commission 7

Sustainable land administration for inclusive development

  • Framework for Effective Land Administration (FELA), linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 16), and assessing connection to carbon emission, biodiversity and land policy issues
  • Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration (FFPLA), specifically for increasing security of tenure for land restoration (SDG 1, 5), carbon offsets (e.g. preventing deforestation), and protecting biodiversity (SDG 14)
  • 3D/4D Land administration – including technical aspects on data capture, boundary issues, services, and functionality
  • Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), BIM and Standards – including marine cadastres
  • AI and remote sensing applications in land administration
  • Women and vulnerable groups access to land (SDG 5), and participation in land administration systems (linked to other FIG initiatives)
  • Integrated land management including interoperability issues between land tenure and land use planning, and integration into NSDIs (SDG 2, 15)
  • Digital transformation of cadastre and land registries, including issues of data quality, cybersecurity, and openness
  • Capacity building, training, and awareness raising for cadastres and land management
  • Legal, policy, financing, and institutional issues in land administration, with a specific focus on country-level comparisons

Spatial Planning and Development – FIG Commission 8

Leveraging land and marine spatial planning for greater resilience

  • The surveying of wetlands, rivers, lakes, peatlands
  • Addressing coastal erosion, land degradation and restoration through spatial planning (linked to other commissions)
  • Geo-spatial intelligence and spatial governance in climate crisis prevention
  • Linking cadastral, planning, and valuation systems towards climate goals.
  • Participation and bottom-up implementation of spatial and land use planning objectives
  • Digital transformation and spatial intelligence – including digital twins, smart solutions, digitising change intervention processes of spatial decisions
  • Land management tools for spatial governance – evaluation of land management tools such as expropriation/compulsory purchase, land banking, land consolidation, land readjustment, pre-emption rights and others
  • Land value change and spatial interventions including for climate actions


Valuation and the Management of Real Estate – FIG Commission 9

Financing Local Government services through mass appraisal and land-based taxation

  • Measurement and definition of transparency in the real estate market (SDGs 1,7,8,9)
  • Building trust in smart and inclusive property taxation: from predictive models to participatory valuation systems (SDGs 10, 13)
  • Artificial Intelligence and Automated Valuation Modelling – how to describe the model’s performance and the accuracy of the outcomes (SDGs 10, 11, 16)?
  • How to make real estate market data becoming Geodata (SDGs 10,11,13,16)?
  • What do experts know about real estate price effects of climate actions (SDG 7, 10, 13)?
  • Use cases for real estate price registers; standards, categories of property and concepts of databases (SDGs 1,7,10,13)
  • For better public transparency and science: access to real estate market data for experts, governments and the public (SDGs 1,7,10,16)
  • How can data-driven and people-centreed land systems empower local decision-making through transparent governance, digital infrastructures, and equitable transformation of land-related services (SDGs 1,5,9,13)?


Construction Economics and Management – FIG Commission 10

Digitalization as the Future Vision of the Construction Industry

  • Integrating sustainability into cost management practices to promote environmentally responsible and economically viable projects
  • Constructing Sustainable Cities
  • Digital Integration in Construction
  • Intelligent Solutions in the Built Environment
  • Using Real-Time Data for Digital Transformation Strategies in the Construction Industry
  • Digital Construction Management
  • Smart Technologies in Construction
  • Green Construction Technologies
  • Adopting innovative approaches to cost estimation, control, and management using digital solution
  • Integrating Environmental and Sustainable Infrastructure

FIG Permanent Institutions

The Permanent Institution of History for Surveying and Measurement invites contributions on the
history of surveying and measurement, and the techniques and instrumentation involved.

FIG Networks

FIG Young Surveyors Network would like to see contributions from young surveyors in all 10 Commissions.
Papers are also invited on the areas of the FIG Networks:

  • FIG Standards Network
  • Regional Capacity Development Network
    • Africa
    • Asia/Pacific – would like to receive status papers on geospatial and survey infrastructures concerning capacity and capability development. These may include the challenges, how they were collaboratively resolved and their impact on meeting country / regional objectives, as well as the SDGs.
    • Americas