Transcript EDINA, GeoServices: Overview

workshop to review the need for geospatial data services, 19th January 2010
What’s Special About The Spatial?
an academic service perspective
enhancing discoverability & context
Peter Burnhill
Director, EDINA & Edinburgh University Data Library
Overview
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The Report
 A Big Welcome for focus on the geo-spatial
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Context
 Forms part of much broader ESRC-led National Data Strategy
* ‘geo’ can bring together document and computation traditions of enquiry
 JISC/GWG development of academic Spatial Data Infrastructure
* Could say more about NERC/MRC; about Mimas/UKDA
•
Present and future present activity
 Projects, Services & Infrastructure
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A Geospatial Data Advisory Service
(ESDS and more)
Report: the Key Messages that are new
The changing environment: widespread acceptance that
effective use requires a geospatial data framework
 catalogues datasets and means of accessing data
 EU Inspire Directive and UK Location Strategy are important.
Availability of geospatial data: ‘neogeography’ & volunteered
geo-information means new users
Knowledge/use of geospatial data: is diminishing
(according to “Some suppliers of geospatial data”)
 Advice/guidance on use of, access to & linking with geospatial data.
Key Recommendations
1. Full potential of geospatial data not being realised by
economic and social scientists at the present time.
2. ESRC should lead to establish, in collaboration with other
funding bodies, a Geospatial Resources Advisory Service.
Preliminary aside as brief reflection
1.
Advantage of historical perspective
 Memories of IUSC & mid-census ESRC RRL Initiative, late 1980s
* Has since been end to (‘privileged-only’) access to key geographic data
 Key role of Population Census, 1981, 1991 & 2001
* and now 2011?
2.
That academic service perspective …
The academy / university perspective
Our central task
as policy makers and as academic services [nationally or locally]
is to ensure ease and continuity of access to
[geo-enabled] resources
&
to help empower researchers
in their use.
[and students & teachers]
… its not all about Google, and YGM are out there, competing for eyeballs!
The Report: strategic context (ESRC and beyond)
“how
research community can take advantage of
the emerging plethora of spatial data sources … to improve the
quality of research and more effectively address key
research questions.”
•
One of 14 Actions listed in National Data Strategy
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5 other Actions relevant & others would benefit from geo-enabling
Of the six Strategic Challenges that feature in the ESRC
Strategic Plan, five have obvious spatial dimension
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social science
Is similar true for other domains of science & scholarship?
Empirical grounding to Report’s conclusions

based on survey of 510 users of ESDS (UKDA/Mimas) + some
JISC and JISC-related context
1.
The JISC Strategy had focus on resources for research,
with emphasis on research data, altho’ no mention of geospatial
NB input to JISC Strategy consultation from EDINA is available
2.
But, in practice, JISC does have good track record of funding
geo-spatial projects & services … <about which more later>
… and for attempting to place in context of support for
an Integrated Information Environment
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based on interoperability, web services & open standards
with investigations into how this can inter-work with an
academic Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and
Advice to JISC
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GWG Vision, January 2007 [+ Peter Halls’ paper]
Survey of 85 local support staff (1/3rd lecturers or researchers)
Context: JISC/ESRC-funded EDINA delivery
Significant increase in provision of Geographic data
… over past 15 years has enhanced research:
1. UKBORDERS: digitised boundaries. ESRC project; service since 1994
2. Digimap: OS topographic mapping. JISC project; service since 2000
 ease of access to what was formerly affordable only by the few
“GIS at [] was almost solely a Geography Dept thing, now it used widely across campus”

Many other services on databases of geographic data
*
Postcode directory, Landmap satellite data, marine and waterways, etc
+ gamut of services providing access to geo-spatial data
*
with and without explicit facility to exploit their ‘geo-spatial-ness’
“the methodology was proven and illustrated with Ordnance Survey and census data…
it has put the UK in the forefront of international research in this field”
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Support model based upon institutional responsibility
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EDINA/Mimas Site Reps who promote and support their patrons
Plus outreach and advice/support for end users
Discover geo-spatial data using Go-Geo! (and
unlock)
• GoGeo! provides -access point to JISC’s IIE
•
Only recently launched as JISC service
– knowledge of its existence may not yet be widespread
• Aims to promote awareness of geospatial data
– helps make more (effective) use of increasing datasets
– one of few metadata tools that meets INSPIRE/GEMINI2 requirements
• could be facility for other agencies to augment in-house data
•
Recent launch of JISC-funded unlock
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geo-coding by extracting placenames from documents
• Scope for benefit through programme to geo-enable data
•
could deliver significant and material strategic benefit
Conclusion: what is special about the geospatial?
It’s referencing!
•
That provides linkage to other geo-referenced information
and encoded data as well as mapping to base geography
•
That enables discoverability through enhanced metadata &
context for analysis/understanding
•
To be really useful, it should be really be geo-temporal
 Social meaning is given via time&place referencing/context
* applies not only to the economic and social sciences.
On then, to the Report and its recommendations …
Report (rightly) has its focus on Geospatial Data
Within an academic Spatial Data Infrastructure

key to unlock benefit from variety of data provision
and
… on geospatial thematic data
•
(not just geographic)
for research that could & should be enhanced
Sidebar remarks
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Most geographic and much geospatial data are generated
outside the university sector
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OpenData …. Public release of OS mapping data …
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Follow Jo Walsh (OKF & EDINA) on http://unlockdata.wordpress.com/
UK academics have interest in data beyond the UK
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Long the case for lots of data used as evidence in social science enquiry
Importance of discovery tools (eg GoGeo!)
and networks of experts (eg www.iassistdata.org and thematic nodes)
Special role for universities and research councils to curate
geo-spatial data over time
•
Data needed to analyse change over time also has value for supply (back) to
policy and commercial research
•
Geo-spatial mapping & linkage integrates the document
tradition [construct stories from documentary sources / direct observation]
and the computation tradition [from social arithmetic/statistical inference]
Report (rightly) has its focus on Geospatial Data
... on the claim/finding is that researchers lack awareness
• of availability of geospatial data
• of how to use geospatial data
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Database management skills
Statistical and other analytical techniques
of data quality issues & impact on research results
Key role/significance of
(upcoming 2011)
Pop. Census
Report (rightly) says …
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Metadata is critical - that includes geo-referencing
Licensing matters - true even for CC open data!
Need to attend to the Skills [and Awareness] Gap
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But less clear on who should be assisted to know what
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end-user education and training
vs assistance to national & local services
vs policy/strategic level
and how to effect the desired change ..
So what of Geospatial Resources Advisory Service
recommended in the Report?
Geospatial Resources Advisory Service
1.
2.
3.
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Scope & Remit
Service Criteria
Support Models
Central/single/distributed location?
Existing/new organisation?
Geospatial Resources Advisory Service: Scope & Remit
 Advising whom?
*
end-users, other national service providers, infrastructure developers,
policy makers, or all of them?
 Advising on what?
*
<draw up your own list>
‘centre of expertise’: should it do more than advise?
advocacy, consultancy; geo-enabling; geo-data management; analysis?
 Promote geo-enabling?
*
Using Unlock tools
 Promote sharing of geo-spatial data
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Using GoGeo! to publish metadata to web; ShareGeo repository
 Recommend or procure geospatial data?
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How should it work with JISC Collections/ESRC/EduServ?
 Interworking with GEES?
*
And other HE Academy Subject Centres
Geospatial Resources Advisory Service: Criteria
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Support should be close to need?
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Support should:
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get leverage from existing provision
draw upon critical mass of expertise
engage low-cost (free) contribution from others
Should support
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a central service should not replace/undermine institutional
services/responsibility (view from the GWG)
have domain-distributed relevance?
be regional?
How to measure/assess success or failure?
Geospatial Resources Advisory Service: Support Models
Different approaches to support:
1. Helpdesk + 2nd line expertise
2. Helpdesk + events
(as per existing data service providers)
(eg DCC and JISC advisory services)
3. Training events from data providers
(eg ESRC Census Programme)
4. High quality training courses, no helpdesk
(eg Netskills)
5. Train the trainers - building data expertise by training librarians /
support staff in universities (eg as used in Canada)
6. Peer2peer network where members help each other, and events
(eg DCC Associates Network)
7. Network of academics who pool for an expert to assist members
across the network (eg ESRC-funded Scottish AQMeN)