Geospatial Commission: Board of Commissioners meeting 12 December 2019
Published 24 March 2020
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Geospatial Commission: Board of Commissioners meeting 12 December 2019
10:00 - 13:00
The Institution of Civil Engineers, 1 Great George Street, London, SW1P 3AA
Commissioners
Sir Andrew Dilnot (Chair)
Nigel Clifford (Deputy Chair)
Thalia Baldwin
Steve Blair
Kru Desai
Steve Unger
Michael Mire
Commission unit
Ellen Bentley
Anna Blackmore
Joe Cuddeford
Claire Edwards
Rosalind Goodfellow
Owen Jackson
Madeleine Scanlan
Ross Withy
Catherine Young
Observers
Paul Gaskell (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport)
Roger Halliday (Scottish Government)
Glyn Jones (Welsh Government)
Apologies
Dame Kate Barker
Edwina Dunn OBE
Jim Lennon (Northern Ireland Executive)
1. Minutes and matters arising
Apologies were received from Dame Kate Barker and Edwina Dunn.
The minutes of the previous meeting were reviewed and approved for publication.
Steve Blair and Michael Mire provided a report from the Partner Bodies, in their capacity as Nominated Commissioners.
Thalia Baldwin provided a report from the Geospatial Commission Unit, in her capacity as Director. Reflecting on the national remit of the upcoming Geospatial Strategy, the Commission’s recent visits to each of the devolved administrations were highlighted as positive steps to increase engagement and understanding of the widespread uses of geospatial data across the UK.
2. Skills
Rosalind Goodfellow introduced the background to the Commission’s skills work. Call for Evidence responses and stakeholder engagement have consistently highlighted a geospatial skills challenge, but without substantial qualitative or quantitative evidence of what the challenge specifically is or how to drive solutions.
Claire Edwards presented a paper setting out a vision for the Commission’s proposed initiatives to boost and promote geospatial skills, based on ensuring the UK has a sufficient range and number of geospatial-skilled professionals to meet the demands of the UK public and private sectors and drive the innovative use of geospatial data.
The Board reflected on the Commission’s role in this space and how to frame the scope of its interventions.
It was agreed that any interventions made should be informed by and build on clear evidence and analytical insight, including of the potentially differing skills requirements for the public and private sectors.
One barrier to the proliferation of geospatial skills is the perception of them as niche or isolated; the Commission should aspire to promote geospatial skills across a wide range of professions and industries, including highlighting their relevance and increasing integration with the broader discipline of data science.
Any skills work should integrate conscious efforts to increase diversity within the geospatial skilled workforce.
Lifelong learning and re-training should be considered as a means of upskilling the existing workforce, in addition to focusing on school education and university qualifications.
The Board noted the significant impact negative media around Geography and geospatial skills can have on engagement with related courses and qualifications. It was agreed that a key element of boosting geospatial skills is promoting a positive public image and understanding of the value of geospatial skills.
The Commission Unit will now develop a programme to build an evidence base for a range of skills interventions, in accordance with the priorities of the Board.
3. Market Study
Bomi Okuyiga thanked the Board for their initial input into the Commission’s developing geospatial market study during September’s meeting of the Board. The aim of the study, led by economic consultancy Frontier Economics, is to understand the economic structure of the geospatial market, from both demand and supply perspectives, to identify where future economic value and opportunities lie. This will then aid the Commission to identify priorities for intervention.
The Board noted that the pervasiveness of geospatial data across sectors and industries poses a challenge to the study’s ability to identify a single definition of the geospatial market.
The study is expected to be an enduring piece of work, but its insights will inform the language of the Commission’s strategy, with findings to be shared later in 2020.
4. Partner Body Classifications
Catherine Young introduced a paper detailing the government classifications and structures of the Commission’s six Partner Bodies: British Geological Survey, Coal Authority, HM Land Registry, Ordnance Survey, UK Hydrographic Office, and Valuation Office Agency.
The Board noted the importance of having a full understanding of the complexity of Partner Body structures, in order for the Commission to fully support its Partner Bodies.
It was agreed that the six Partner Bodies would continue to work with the Commission to identify any structural barriers that limit their ability to realise geospatial policy objectives.
5. Any other business
There was no other business. The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners will take place on Tuesday 18 February 2020.