Corporate report

Geospatial Commission: Board of Commissioners meeting, 25 January 2022

Published 24 May 2022

Geospatial Commission: Board of Commissioners meeting, 25 January 2022

Google Meet

11.00 - 13.35

Attendees

Commissioners: Bernard Silverman (Chair), Nigel Clifford (Deputy Chair), Thalia Baldwin, Alex Notay, Steve Unger

Nominated Commissioners: Karen Hanghøj, Peter Sparkes

Commission Unit: Jamie Clark, Ros Goodfellow, Chris Chambers, Joe Cuddeford, Ben Carson, Sam Arnold (Minutes by: Liz Conn)

Observers: Albert King (Scotland), Glyn Jones (Wales), Jim Lennon (Northern Ireland), Sarah Henry (ONS), Jonathan Russell (VOA - for Item 7), Heather Whicker (VOA - for Item 7), Mike Brankin (VOA - for Item 7).

Apologies: Kru Desai and Edwina Dunn

External Speaker: Andrew McCosh, Office for Science and Technology Strategy

1. Minutes and Matters Arising

1.1. The board welcomed Chris Chambers, the new Deputy Director for NUAR Delivery, and Joe Cuddeford as Deputy Director of Implementation.

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

1.3. No other matters were noted.

2. Report from the Nominated Commissioners

2.1. Peter Sparkes gave a summary of the points raised at the Nominated Commissioners’ meeting on 20th January. The Partner Bodies are broadly supportive of the Commission’s proposed programme of work for 2022, in both skills and market intelligence, and would be keen to engage and contribute as work develops.

2.2. The Partner Bodies would also appreciate having a clearer sense of how the Commission’s various work streams can support a deeper understanding of how their public tasks generate benefit for the UK (societal, environmental and economic).

2.3. The Partner Bodies have been collaborating more closely, leading to a better shared understanding of each other’s challenges and opportunities, and will be meeting again at UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) in March to discuss better data sharing and data standards.

3. Report from the Director of the Commission

3.1. Thalia summarised activities and highlights across the Geospatial Commission during December and January, which included:

• publication in December of the Public Dialogue on location data ethics and two blogs on Evaluation: how it shaped the public dialogue on data ethics and Unlocking the Value of Location Data. Thalia outlined that the team is well connected with broader data ethics projects underway across the UK’s public sector;

• completing work ahead of the publication of the FAIR geospatial data strategy, with a particular thank you to the Partner Bodies for their input;
• raising the profile of the National Land Data Programme. An expert committee has been established which our Commissioner, Alex Notay, will chair.

4. Skills - Proposed Activity 2022

4.1. Joe Cuddeford gave an overview of the Commission’s emerging thinking in the UK’s geospatial skills arena.

4.2. The Commission’s research to date indicated a complex skills ecosystem. In many organisations, including in the Commission’s Partner Bodies, there is high demand for geospatial skills that is outstripping supply. But at the same time, in some areas, employers don’t fully appreciate the value of geospatial skills.

4.3. The Commission’s plan acknowledges the complexity and its approach over the coming months targets three main elements:

1. cutting edge skills in the public sector;
2. foundational skills across the wider public sector;
3. the wider market. Through the geospatial skills forum the Commission will encourage individual organisations to act collectively to lead solutions in the wider market.

4.4. The Partner Bodies are broadly supportive of the planned approach, however there was recognition that it is not just geospatial data experts that are needed in the market, but the building of geospatial capability in wider communities, customers and users.

4.5. Partner Bodies highlighted that they are facing a significant problem in terms of recruitment and retention which is not limited to geospatial skills. There is a particular challenge in relation to roles with transferable skills such as data scientists and software engineers. The Partner Bodies felt there was a role for the Commission to link the Partner Bodies into the DDAT framework considerations.

4.6. The board supported the Commission’s direction of travel, endorsing plans to reconvene its skills forum, and discussed the need to drive up the supply of skilled individuals starting at school level.

4.7. A conversation was held around the possibility of a coordinated approach to apprenticeships and secondments across the Partner Bodies.

4.8. It was suggested that the Geospatial Commission team connects with the Scottish Digital Academy as well as those in Welsh Government looking at placement schemes.

4.9. Joe thanked the board for their input and helpful comments.

5. Geospatial Commission Market Intelligence

5.1. Ben Carson joined the meeting and presented on the work the Commission is doing to build on its knowledge of the geospatial ecosystem gained during the November 2020 Market Study.

5.2. The Commission’s proposed approach will build its intelligence about what is happening now in the UK and elsewhere, and its understanding of where geospatial is heading next. It will support the Commission in its outward focused engagement by:

1. developing a methodology to better explain key differences in geospatial organisations, which will help pin down types of innovation and where it is happening; and
2. developing insight about key geospatial businesses in the UK.

5.3 There was a discussion around developing the Commission’s geospatial company knowledge base. The Partner Bodies also undertake market research which might help to frame the work.

5.6. The board was strongly supportive of the work.

6. Expert Speaker - Andrew McCosh, Deputy National Technology Adviser and Deputy National Security Adviser.

6.1. Andrew McCosh joined the meeting and presented on the work of the Office for Science and Technology Strategy (OSTS), a unit in the Cabinet Office which informs and delivers the vision of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and helps the government to align UK capabilities behind science and technology advantage.

6.2. He spoke about the creation and evolution of the OSTS as a result of the need for the UK to better understand the technologies that matter today and to align decisions about where the UK can harness future potential, to national advantage, and deliver great outcomes for citizens.

6.3. The board discussed the importance of this work and gave their support, highlighting the clear connections between data and science and technology policy. They thanked Andrew for an excellent presentation and wished him success in delivering the vision for the UK.

7. Geospatial Commission and the Partner Bodies Partner Body Update: Valuation Office Agency - One Year On

7.1. The board welcomed Jonathan Russell, from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). Ros presented on the progress made since the board’s request at the January 2021 meeting to explore the extent to which geospatial data held by VOA was of sufficient quality to support identified use cases, together with any risks arising from broader sharing of VOA data.

7.2. The Commission and VOA have worked collaboratively over the last 12 months to evaluate and look at expanding access to VOA property attribute data. This resulted in a public commitment to introduce a new legislative data sharing gateway to enable building attribute data held by the Valuation Office Agency to be made accessible to the public and private sector. The Commission is exploring a number of opportunities to deliver to this commitment.

7.3. Jonathan confirmed that the VOA welcomed the commitment for legislation and reiterated the VOA’s focus on data improvements in line with the UK Geospatial Strategy. Public confidence in their data must be maintained and any potential operational impacts of any legislative changes will need to be considered. VOA will continue to work closely with the Commission as this work progresses.

7.4. The board praised the work done so far and the journey the VOA has been on, and offered their support.

8. Any Other Business

8.1 No other business was noted.