What’s Special About The Spatial?an academic service perspective

enhancing discoverability & context

Peter BurnhillDirector, EDINA & Edinburgh University Data Library

workshop to review the need for geospatial data services, 19th January 2010

Overview

• The Report A Big Welcome for focus on the geo-spatial

• 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 (ESDS and more)

• Present and future present activity Projects, Services & Infrastructure

• A Geospatial Data Advisory Service

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

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 [and students & teachers] in their use.

… its not all about Google, and YGM are out there, competing for eyeballs!

The Report: strategic context (ESRC and beyond)

“how social science 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 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 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 context1. 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 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 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”

• Support model based upon institutional responsibility 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• 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

• Most geographic and much geospatial data are generated outside the university sector• Long the case for lots of data used as evidence in social science enquiry

• OpenData …. Public release of OS mapping data …• Follow Jo Walsh (OKF & EDINA) on http://unlockdata.wordpress.com/

• UK academics have interest in data beyond the UK• 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

Report (rightly) says …

• Metadata is critical - that includes geo-referencing • Licensing matters - true even for CC open data!

• Need to attend to the Skills [and Awareness] Gap

• But less clear on who should be assisted to know what • 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. Scope & Remit2. Service Criteria3. 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

* Using GoGeo! to publish metadata to web; ShareGeo repository Recommend or procure geospatial data?

* How should it work with JISC Collections/ESRC/EduServ? Interworking with GEES?

* And other HE Academy Subject Centres

Geospatial Resources Advisory Service: Criteria

• Support should be close to need? a central service should not replace/undermine institutional

services/responsibility (view from the GWG)

• Support should: get leverage from existing provision draw upon critical mass of expertise engage low-cost (free) contribution from others

• Should support have domain-distributed relevance? be regional?

• How to measure/assess success or failure?

Geospatial Resources Advisory Service: Support ModelsDifferent approaches to support:

1. Helpdesk + 2nd line expertise (as per existing data service providers)

2. Helpdesk + events (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)