Corporate report

Geospatial Commission Board of Commissioner’s Meeting Minutes, 27 July 2021

Published 6 October 2021

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

Geospatial Commission Board of Commissioner’s Meeting Minutes, 27 July 2021

Google Meet

11:00 to 13:40

Attendees

Commissioners: Bernard Silverman (Chair), Nigel Clifford, Thalia Baldwin, Kru Desai, Edwina Dunn OBE,  Alex Notay,  Steve Unger, Steve Blair, Karen Hanghøj

Commission Unit: Catherine Carter-McGrath, Jamie Clark, Ros Goodfellow, Ruth Cookman, Keiran Millard, Tulsi Makwana (Minutes by: Liz Conn)

Observers: Albert King (Scotland), Dave Roberts (Wales) and Jim Lennon (Northern Ireland)

Apologies: Glyn Jones (Wales)

1. Minutes and Matters Arising

1.1. The board welcomed Alex Notay who joined the Geospatial Commission as a Commissioner in July.  She outlined her reasons for taking on the role and emphasised her belief that the Geospatial Commission can make a real impact on how individuals see location.

1.2. The minutes of the May meeting were agreed and approved for publication.

1.3. No other matters were noted.

2. Report from the Nominated Commissioners

2.1. Karen Hanghøj and Steve Blair gave an update on the points raised at the Nominated Commissioners’ meeting on 22nd July.

2.2 The Partner Bodies have considered the planned portfolio of programmes to be delivered over the next three years as part of the Geospatial Commission’s Annual Plan 2021-2022 and Spending Review 2021. Their view is that the programme is wide-reaching and ambitious within a limited budget and may benefit from some thinking around how these plans aim to help the government achieve its priorities. They believe the investment areas and priorities established could offer significant geospatial impact.

2.3. The Partner Bodies asked for more clarity around Q-FAIR, in particular how it will be presented to organisations, how it should be used and how widely it is expected to be adopted.

2.4. It was suggested that the Geospatial Commission’s plans for COP26 should be discussed at the next board meeting to ensure a coordinated presence at the event, aligned strategic outcomes and clear messaging for a stronger collective voice.

2.5. The Nominated Commissioners added that the Partner Bodies had welcomed the opportunity to meet Sir Bernard at the recent CEO/Geospatial Commission meeting on 30th June, and discuss his future ambitions for the Commission and the opportunity for collaboration.

3. Report from the Director of the Commission

3.1. Thalia provided an overview of progress across the Geospatial Commission since the May board meeting, including publishing the Annual Plan at the beginning of June, which summarises achievements to date and sets the stage for the Commission’s proposed priorities over the coming years.

3.2. The Commission had also held the first in a series of new quarterly meetings on 30th June, bringing together the Partner Body CEOs with the aim of improving collaborative working and ensuring a collective view of Partner Body priorities.

3.3 Thalia had presented at Civil Service Live, which had resulted in some real interest in the work of the Commission from other parts of the public sector.

3.4. Work on the National Land Data Programme has also reached an advanced stage, with the Commission working quickly towards delivery.

4. Spending Review Approach & Priorities

4.1. Tulsi Makwana joined the meeting. Thalia gave an overview of the Spending Review 2021 approach and priorities. The team has worked hard to make the rationale for the proposals simple, specific and ambitious.

4.2. The board were supportive of the SR proposal and the level of ambition and prioritisation contained within it. They discussed the need to build the narrative around what the Geospatial Commission can do to add value and unlock value, drive efficiencies and generate revenue, particularly needing to link them to the government’s published priorities (e.g. Net Zero).

5. Q-FAIR Update

5.1. Keiran Millard joined the meeting. The Commission, in conjunction with those involved in the Q-FAIR assessments, is looking at developing a Q-FAIR code of practice, turning high level aspirations around data into good practice.

5.2. The board discussed how the measurement of the quality of data would be different depending on what it is being used for. The Commission is keen to work with its Partner Bodies to surface some of these challenges and come up with practical solutions.

5.3. The idea is not to benchmark individual organisations, but to benchmark the quality of data and improve it collectively at a national level.

5.4. Keiran thanked the Partner Bodies for their ongoing efforts and collaboration on the work. The board will receive an update as work progresses.

6. Transport Location Data Opportunity Update

6.1. Ruth Cookman joined the meeting. Ros Goodfellow gave an update on the Commission’s continued activities related to maximising the transport location data opportunity and plans for the coming months.

6.2. The team intends to publish a report in August, to promote the significant opportunities that exist for geospatial data to enable future transport networks and accelerate green growth. The board had been invited to comment on the draft, ahead of publication.

6.3. In addition to the report, the team is exploring options to organise a joint launch webinar and combined press release with the announcement of the Commission’s Transport Location Data Innovation Competition Phase 2 winners, which had just been approved.

6.4. The board were fully supportive of the report and planned joint launch and are keen to hear more about what comes next and how they can support it.

7. Data Ethics

7.1. Ros gave an update on how the programme is running and the Commission’s commitment to publish guidance on the ethical use of data.

7.2. The team has been engaging with the public in a series of public dialogues, to gauge views on this complex topic. It has been an interesting exercise and views are many and varied. The final of four workshops will take place in September and a first report will be produced in time for the November board meeting.

8. Any Other Business

8.1. Ros confirmed that the Geospatial Commission have had some discussions with BEIS about COP26 and will keep the Partner Bodies updated about potential involvement.