Government Geography Profession conference 2022
Summary of the Government Geography Profession annual conference held on Wednesday 11 January 2023.
After two years of virtual conferences and a last-minute rescheduling due to a rail strike, the 5th annual GGP Conference finally took place in person on Wednesday 11 January 2023 at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG),in London.
We were welcomed to the RGS by Professor Joe Smith, followed by a presentation from Thalia Baldwin, Director of the Geospatial Commission who are our departmental sponsor.
Morning session
In our morning plenary session, we heard from Harriet Knafler and Jonathan Brownett about the innovative approaches being used for environmental monitoring in Natural England. The GenePools project allows members of the community to sample the water in their ponds and find out about the hidden and invisible life within their garden. For larger scale monitoring, Natural England is using drones and Earth Observation to monitor both species and habitats.
Parallel sessions
The middle part of the day gave the opportunity for networking amongst attendees and opportunities to attend parallel sessions focusing on specific themes.
These included -
The research session which was an opportunity to hear from current and former PhD students on research topics with direct relevancy to the profession and wider government. Speakers from Newcastle University and University College London gave an overview of their work and how the outcomes from their research have the potential to influence public sector decision making and/or policy direction.
The technical session which was an opportunity to hear from experienced geospatial analysts and data scientists on their use of technology to deliver/create important outputs and tools to better understand our world.
The professional development session with information from the Government Analysis Function and Royal Geographical Society (with IBG),on support available for GGP members to help progress in their career development.
The local government session, which was chaired by Nick Chapallaz, Managing Director of Geoplace, gave an insight to the work being undertaken in Leeds City Council and Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.
Closing sessions
In the final plenary, Claire Edwards, Head of Geography Profession in Natural England chaired a skills panel, where panel members representing the Association for Geographic Information (AGI), Royal Geographical Society (with IBG),Geospatial Commission and Ordnance Survey (OS), explored the need that there is in the geo sector to attract new talent, and how we work with employers and potential employees to fill the skills gaps.
This was followed by Carly Morris, Head of Geovation - a community of over 1800 start-ups, investors, corporate innovators and developers who all understand the power of location data, telling us more about the role of geospatial innovation in powering the economy, society and environment. This message was brought to life with a case-study presentation from Tom Scrope co-founder and CEO of Soil Benchmark a project funded by Defra and OS’s Geovation accelerator.
To bring this great day to an end, David Wood, Head of Government Geography Profession reflected on the presentations from the day and on the work of the profession over the last 12 months. He outlined what to expect in the next few months including our new strategy, new leadership structure and new initiatives such as accreditation, guidance and mentoring. Look out soon for information on the Geospatial Commission’s new digital and data skills training pilot offer and our upcoming annual awards.