National Geospatial Strategy – call for evidence August 2 018 Geospatial Commission Consultation 2 Introduction Contents 1 2 3 4 5 3 Foreword 5 Introduction 10 Emerging 13 Supporting 17 Enhancing the 23 Driving investment 28 Annexes geospatial innovation in the UK’s geospatial and productivity strategy geospatial sector assets in geospatial applications By the Chancellor 5 The power of 10 Scope 13 Developing skills 17 Protecting and 25 Key sectors 28 Annex A: of the Duchy of place enhancing our where we believe Geospatial Lancaster and 12 Call for evidence 14 Promoting data assets there is the Commission Minister for Cabinet 7 Work to date – three key geospatial highest latent Charter Office, the Rt Hon themes careers 19 Standards value David Lidington 9 What will happen 30 Annex B: CBE MP next 14 Access to data 20 Encouraging 25 Regulation Geospatial collaboration Commission 15 Addressing 26 Collaborating Framework 21 The role of the with our Document 15 Future wider public international technology sector partners 38 Annex C: needs and Summary of opportunities 21 Geographic questions coverage Geospatial Commission Consultation 3 Introduction Foreword The data revolution is changing the Decisions about public and private sector way we see the world and the way we investment in the networks and infrastructure live our lives. necessary to support these technologies require geospatial data to create a holistic Technologies such as artificial intelligence view of the local, national and international (AI), blockchain, cloud and edge computing environments from land, water and air. are shaping how we access, use, move and store data about ourselves and our The increasing relevance of geospatial data environment, while the connectivity of the and technologies and ubiquity of applications Internet of Things and future 5G networks present a clear and valuable global economic are making intelligent applications available opportunity. Building on our manifesto anywhere and everywhere. Our modern commitment to realise significant value industrial strategy, sets ourselves an from our land data, the government has ambitious challenge – to be at the forefront established the Geospatial Commission at the of this AI and data revolution. Our goal is to heart of government to ensure that the UK is maximise these opportunities. equipped to capitalise on this opportunity. The Commission will champion and help realise The availability of information relevant to the social and economic value of geospatial location – geospatial data – combined with data, through driving insight, innovation and these technologies gives us a new level investment in geospatial capabilities and of insight and evidence about our place technologies in the UK, working across both in the world, making it at once both larger the public and private sectors. and smaller. Changing technologies in the geospatial realm itself – live imagery from It will do this by bringing together the well of orbit; enhanced visual data resolution; location data that is already collected and more accurate positioning technology, and; curated by expert organisations here in the crowd-sourced data – are making location UK: Ordnance Survey; HM Land Registry; data increasingly relevant for wider sectors UK Hydrographic Office; British Geological such as finance, transport, housing, retail Survey; Coal Authority and the Valuation and many more. At the same time, disruptive Office Agency. These partners are central technologies, such as drones and connected to the UK’s geospatial future. The data they autonomous vehicles, will only be made hold and provide is increasingly valuable possible by effective use of geospatial data. outside of their traditional markets, and the Geospatial Commission Consultation 4 Introduction Commission will help make the most of this It is now the job of the Commission to map opportunity to build on our UK excellence. the future of location data for the UK. We will The Commission’s scope is broader than deliver a National Geospatial Strategy next these organisations, over all public sector year, and this call for evidence is the first geospatial data in the UK. It will also test step in the process to aligning our strategic where in the private sector there is a benefit interests with the value across the wider in bringing together interests and approaches geospatial sector and beyond. to unlock value more widely to support economic growth and productivity. I would encourage you to take this opportunity to share with us your view of With technological and industrial changes what lies ahead, the challenges and the of this scale, there are accompanying potential, as we move together towards the challenges and opportunities. Within the next phase of an exciting geospatial future for geospatial industry itself, the increasing the UK. availability of location data could encourage greater competition as long-standing geospatial businesses seek to adapt to compete with new market entrants from outside of the sector. And the emerging challenges of data security, privacy, network capacity, access and standards are now coming to the fore for businesses and government bodies alike. But alongside these challenges, research has identified an opportunity of more than £6 to 11 billion for the UK economy if we can build Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on our excellence in geospatial data and and Minister for Cabinet Office, technologies. the Rt Hon David Lidington CBE MP Geospatial Commission Consultation 5 Introduction The power of place For businesses, geospatial data can be used to track integrated supply chains to help manage Geospatial information – data about international business operations and logistics. where people and objects are in relation It can inform investment decisions about the to a particular geographic location – is best location for a goods warehouse that shining an increasingly bright light on our supports an efficient delivery service or even 1 place in the world. manage our shipping lanes for transportation of goods and people. In the future, businesses Introduction New and emerging geospatial and data- will use this data to support rollout of new enhancing technologies tell us not only where technologies such as drones, autonomous our physical borders are, but also capture our vehicles and 5G mobile networks. cultural and environmental differences and help explain their origins. The imaging power The technologies that collect, store and of satellites, for example, combined with AI’s make this data easy to access are growing in analytic capability applied to big data can alert sophistication. Geospatial data is becoming us to upcoming global events. These could be an increasingly significant policy tool for climate change, animal migration patterns and government. We can plan the quickest routes extreme weather conditions, and when they are for our emergency services, identify and coming our way. tackle crime hotspots, assess care home provision in any given area, and even use it to These technologies can also be used to inform rollout of our broadband networks so provide insights about happenings closer to we stay connected in this digital world. home, and help to inform us in ways that we often don’t realise. They can tell us where The potential economic and social rewards schools and transport links are, and how are large if we act to take advantage of this property prices differ, so we know where is increasing opportunity. The global value of the best to buy and build houses. And we can geospatial sector is $300 billion and growing.1 access data about the fastest route to getting As geospatial data and technologies become home by avoiding the unseen traffic jam, as more relevant and widely applicable, we well as getting a takeaway delivered to our want to make sure that the UK remains at the door once we get there. forefront of the geospatial revolution both at home and internationally. 1 GeoBuiz, ‘Geospatial Industry Outlook and Readiness Index’ 2018 Geospatial Commission Consultation 6 Introduction Image of London from above Geospatial Commission Consultation 7 Introduction Work to date geospatial data could be up to £6-11 billion driving insight, innovation and investment in p.a. The productivity benefits and economic geospatial capabilities and technologies. In the UK, our geospatial ecosystem is value of public sector use cases and future complex and evolving. It has formed technologies are as yet unquantified.2 The Commission is now fully forming, and around our national geospatial assets, will comprise of an independent Board of in particular: To realise this and identify further value, commissioners, expected to be appointed the Autumn Budget 2017 committed to later this year. We will operate across and • Ordnance Survey MasterMap that is establish a new Geospatial Commission intervene in a broad range of geospatial- universally recognised as a global exemplar (the Commission). The Commission works relevant areas. We will prioritise only those • UK Hydrographic Office’s ADMIRALTY in particular with, and providing strategic activities of highest economic and social Maritime Data Solutions that is found on oversight to, the domestic focus of six value, providing evidence to support our over 90% of the world’s ships trading Partner Bodies: activities. In doing so, we will work with our internationally Partner Bodies that each have their own • the British Geological Survey that has • Ordnance Survey field of expertise to realise the opportunities provided geoscience surveys to over 100 • HM Land Registry (see next page). We will also work with other countries • the Valuation Office Agency government departments and public sector • the Coal Authority bodies who are pursuing wider geospatial- As the data revolution takes hold, developing • the UK Hydrographic Office related policies. Their activities may include technologies such as AI, blockchain and • and the British Geological Survey planning reform, environmental policy, cloud computing provide new means of drone technology, building information gaining intelligence and insights from all The Industrial Strategy reiterated this management, or using geospatial and earth kinds of data.