Improving the UK’s management of geospatial data
On 9th February, the Geospatial Commission published an assessment of the UK public sector’s geospatial data, calling for improvements to be made when it comes to how this data is managed.
In the assessment, Kru Desai, independent commissioner of the Geospatial Commission, has concluded that the UK needs a coherent national geospatial data system as the basis for its data economy. However, the country’s national geospatial data assets are currently maintained by a complex and fractured ecosystem. Whilst the UK has some of world’s the best geospatial data, Desai argues that there needs to be a shift in culture and capabilities for the country to unlock the power of location.
Clarence Hempfield, senior vice president, location intelligence at data integrity specialist, Precisely offers the following comment:
“With the rate of digital transformation rising exponentially, companies cannot ignore the significance of geospatial data. Many data points can be tracked to a location in one way or another, and by leveraging that location to add context, businesses can elevate their decision making.
“Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic emphasised the importance of efficient decision making within the public sector and increased the demand for geospatial data. For example, between 11 June 2021 and 7 July 2021, four percent of COVID-19 cases reported in Scotland were directly linked to the 2020 European Championships, yet 61 percent of those cases reported that they had travelled to London for the England vs. Scotland match. Being able to understand human mobility patterns of where and how people move is crucial to predicting and managing infectious diseases.
“The challenge is being able to bring together different types of location data that comes in various forms. To overcome this – and to benefit from true business intelligence – the UK public sector needs to invest in technology that prioritises data integrity. Combining data quality and governance, data integration, location intelligence and data enrichment capabilities, data integrity allows organisations to bring that data together – making it findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.
“As the Geopatial Commission has argued, we must treat geospatial data as a strategic national asset. Viewing it as such will not only start to break down siloes within organisation functions where data is created, the UK public sector will also start to foster a culture where sharing data causes the data to have accretive value – the more the data is used, the more value it provides back to the organisation.”
