E-government and GIS The British Experience

Dr Robert Barr Manchester Regional Research Laboratory School of Geography University of Manchester UK

Overview

�

� The UK Government perspective � Social Exclusion and

Neighbourhood Regeneration � Applications � Necessary spatial data infrastructures � Conclusions

GIS - a governance issue?

� GIS is NOT a governance issue but geography and geographical referencing are

� electronically the link between place and service may be broken

� Reliable mechanisms are often needed to re-establish that link. These involve frameworks to identify individuals and places

� Places can only be recognised within a reliable geographical referencing framework.

� That framework both requires and enables GIS

GIS - a governance issue?

When a citizen accesses government services

Citizens’ views of government � Despite their consistent evidence to the contrary

citizens appear to assume that:

� Governments are omniscient (or at least they know most of what’s going on)

� Government departments talk to each other � That government departments can and do

exchange data reliably � That government departments can assess need

on the basis of past needs and learn from experience

E-citizens? �

contact

� machine than with a human being

�

they live in

� They will expect information to be available

� But they will also expect confidentiality to be respected

Citizens using E-government services are likely to have higher expectations than those involved in face to face

They will have less tolerance of failure when dealing with a

They will expect systems to know about ‘context’ for example which health authority and which local authority

The British context � New Labour government in 1997 � Re-elected 2001 � In first term respected the spending plans of the

previous Conservative administration � Has a strong agenda of re-inventing government � Modernise public services � Involve the private and the voluntary sectors � Use private finance

� Has kept firm control over public spending

� Retained a commitment to a fairer society through a policy of reducing ‘Social Exclusion’

Social Exclusion Unit

Cabi

Social Exclusion Unit

net Office - January 2001

Social Exclusion Unit � Established in the Prime Minister’s office

with his personal backing � Minimal funding but able to encourage re­

direction of departmental spending � Aimed to change civil service practice and

break down the ‘silo’ mentality of both service provision and information

� Based on the premise that social exclusion is both an individual and a geographical phenomenon

Social Exclusion Unit � Reports with a geographic theme: �

exclusion � National strategy for Neighbourhood Renwal � Unpopular Housing � Improving shopping access � Closing the digital divide: Information and

Communications Technologies in Deprived Areas � Better information

Making the connection – transport and social

at the neighbourhood level because this is where the sharpest disparities are seen. Looking at a larger scale, such as a region or local authority conceals the most extreme pockets of deprivation”

SEU – What is a neighbourhood?

“The SEU’s work has focused on deprivation

“There is no exact definition of what makes a neighbourhood. Local perceptions of

changes in housing design or tenure, or the

such as schools or transport links. Neighbourhoods vary in size, but tend to be made up of several thousand people. Many are dominated by local authority or housing association property, but others have a higher proportion of privately-owned housing.”

SEU – What is a neighbourhood?

neighbourhoods may be defined by natural dividing lines such as roads and rivers,

sense of community generated around centres

“To get an idea of what is going on at neighbourhood level, statistics from electoral wards are often used. This is only a

we have. Some wards include several neighbourhoods and some neighbourhoods cross ward boundaries. Getting better statistics about small neighbourhoods is one of the priorities of the National Strategy.”

SEU – What is a neighbourhood?

proxy – but at the moment it is the best one

Two Examples

�Burglaries

�Hard to let housing

Burglaries

ii

ii

iBa

sed

upon

the

Ord

nanc

e Su

rvey

map

ping

wth

the

perm

iss

on o

f Her

Maj

esty

's S

tatio

nery

Off

ce. ©

Cro

wn

Cop

yrgh

t. U

naut

horis

ed re

prod

uctio

n in

fring

es C

row

n C

opyr

ght a

nd m

ay le

ad to

pro

secu

tion

or c

ivil

proc

eedi

ngs.

Police Beats and Enumeration Districts

ii

ii

i

Postcode units Enumeration Districts

Base

d up

on th

e O

rdna

nce

Surv

ey m

appi

ng w

th th

e pe

rmis

son

of H

er M

ajes

ty's

Sta

tione

ry O

ffce

. © C

row

n C

opyr

ght.

Una

utho

rised

repr

oduc

tion

infri

nges

Cro

wn

Cop

yrgh

t and

may

lead

to p

rose

cutio

n or

civ

il pr

ocee

ding

s.

100m grid squares 200m grid squares

Postcode sectors

500m grid squares

ii

ii

i

Quantile

Quantile

200m grid

500m grid

Base

d up

on th

e O

rdna

nce

Surv

ey m

appi

ng w

th th

e pe

rmis

son

of H

er M

ajes

ty's

Sta

tione

ry O

ffce

. © C

row

n C

opyr

ght.

Una

utho

rised

repr

oduc

tion

infri

nges

Cro

wn

Cop

yrgh

t and

may

lead

to p

rose

cutio

n or

civ

il pr

ocee

ding

s.

Equal Count

Equal Count

Equal Ranges

Equal Ranges

ii

ii

iBa

sed

upon

the

Ord

nanc

e Su

rvey

map

ping

wth

the

perm

iss

on o

f Her

Maj

esty

's S

tatio

nery

Off

ce. ©

Cro

wn

Cop

yrgh

t. U

naut

horis

ed re

prod

uctio

n in

fring

es C

row

n C

opyr

ght a

nd m

ay le

ad to

pro

secu

tion

or c

ivil

proc

eedi

ngs.

Hard to let housing

Based upon the Ordnance Survey mapping with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.

GARTH ROAD

WALNEY ROAD

RENTON ROAD

KENNINGHALL ROADOAKMERE CLOSE

NEARBROOK ROAD

ASHC

OTT AVEN

UE

BROADLEY AVENUE

DELWOODGARDENSDENS

E LANE

47

2

75

29

20

27

28

2

12

17

2

8

1

18

40

36

20 16

10

46

44 4238

52

27

15

1

15

39

1618

189

26

242220

419

620

220

0

206

212

1

1

2

188

190 175

2

159173

174

162

7

63

54

60

57

55

9

4

214

2

2

1

1

201

56

7

8

198

1210

119

8

15

27

1

11

131917

21

15

10

1

22

107

11112

120

23

109115

12

2

28

114

14

16

17

2

12

142018

2228

137

125

27

16

24

2123

24

141

Based upon the Ordnance Survey mapping with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.

ii

ii

iBa

sed

upon

the

Ord

nanc

e Su

rvey

map

ping

wth

the

perm

iss

on o

f Her

Maj

esty

's S

tatio

nery

Off

ce. ©

Cro

wn

Cop

yrgh

t. U

naut

horis

ed re

prod

uctio

n in

fring

es C

row

n C

opyr

ght a

nd m

ay le

ad to

pro

secu

tion

or c

ivil

proc

eedi

ngs.

ii

ii

iBa

sed

upon

the

Ord

nanc

e Su

rvey

map

ping

wth

the

perm

iss

on o

f Her

Maj

esty

's S

tatio

nery

Off

ce. ©

Cro

wn

Cop

yrgh

t. U

naut

horis

ed re

prod

uctio

n in

fring

es C

row

n C

opyr

ght a

nd m

ay le

ad to

pro

secu

tion

or c

ivil

proc

eedi

ngs.

The geographical referencing framework

Base

d up

on th

e O

rdna

nce

Surv

ey m

appi

ng w

ith th

e pe

rmis

sion

of H

er M

ajes

ty's

Sta

tione

ry O

ffice

. © C

row

n C

opyr

ight

.U

naut

horis

ed re

prod

uctio

n in

fring

es C

row

n C

opyr

ight

and

may

lead

to p

rose

cutio

n or

civ

il pr

ocee

ding

s.Address geocoding

32

PH

41

1

60

34

30

25

9

28

29

2

11

38

52

60

54

62

76

36

55

42

1

9

22

20

75

43

53

65

88

14

2

2

17

31

1

26

33

55

3129 47

45

53

3020 18

12

15

110

9393

10483

100

22

10

26

15

14

24

202250

52

144 146 14

0

52

6770

62605856

54

3638

2830

1

11

21

1

1

294951

47

31 Depot

Ross Place

ShakespeareNursery School

30

4

32

13

27

9

2

68

85

8183

87

24

PH

156

3840

5436

13

77

3032

79

31

15

1719

4 2

7173 75

76

47

88

59

12 10

1820

44

24

39

42

1413

115

37

259395

71

7375

66

97

107

45

33

1

15

59

57

49

13

4648

1

9

11

2

27

31

432

4244

34

30

2018

1614

51

24

11

13

49 51

4

2

62

10

2

4848

24

2

22

21 23

27

13

22

30

212325

29

1921

27

22

16

Hall

Rectory

9

12

2

11

13

Church

68

4

10

14

2

St Luke thePhysician

26

18

14 16

28

1416

2325

1012

4

7072

14

10 122

1820

2

101

103

119

10

1

26

154

82

89

24

84

77

57

73 75

65 67

53 5559

6668

14

2

2

6

8

13

4

57

11

23

12

2

13

7

45

33

17

1315

Base

d up

on th

e O

rdna

nce

Surv

ey m

appi

ng w

ith th

e pe

rmis

sion

of H

er M

ajes

ty's

Sta

tione

ry O

ffice

. © C

row

n C

opyr

ight

.U

naut

horis

ed re

prod

uctio

n in

fring

es C

row

n C

opyr

ight

and

may

lead

to p

rose

cutio

n or

civ

il pr

ocee

ding

s.Address assignment to buildings

Caistor

Yarborough

Yarborough

Immingham

Wold Parishes

Freshney Marsh North-

HenSouth

Scartho

Holt

ii

ii

iWard change

Base

d up

on th

e O

rdna

nce

Surv

ey m

appi

ng w

th th

e pe

rmis

son

of H

er M

ajes

ty's

Sta

tione

ry O

ffce

. © C

row

n C

opyr

ght.

Una

utho

rised

repr

oduc

tion

infri

nges

Cro

wn

Cop

yrgh

t and

may

lead

to p

rose

cutio

n or

civ

il pr

ocee

ding

s.

Address Points

UK Postcode �

M13 9PL WA13 9DH

� � �

� � Change rate

� �

� exploited by Royal Mail

� Widely used for statistical purposes

Alphanumeric code e.g

Over 2 million postcodes Minimum 1 delivery point Mean 14 Delivery points Maximum 99 delivery points

Individual level Postcode Address File available

Over 100,000 addresses per month Over 10,000 postcodes affected

Owned by Postal Regulator administered and commercially

Postcodes

Postcode Thiessen Polygons

Draft 2001 Output Areas

1991 EDs

Blocks

Bas

ed u

pon

the

Ord

nanc

e Su

rvey

map

ping

with

the

perm

issi

on o

f Her

Maj

esty

's St

atio

nery

Off

ice.

© C

row

n C

opyr

ight

. U

naut

horis

ed re

prod

uctio

n in

frin

ges C

row

n C

opyr

ight

and

may

lead

to p

rose

cutio

n or

civ

il pr

ocee

ding

s.

Bas

ed u

pon

the

Ord

nanc

e Su

rvey

map

ping

with

the

perm

issi

on o

f Her

Maj

esty

's St

atio

nery

Off

ice.

© C

row

n C

opyr

ight

. U

naut

horis

ed re

prod

uctio

n in

frin

ges C

row

n C

opyr

ight

and

may

lead

to p

rose

cutio

n or

civ

il pr

ocee

ding

s.

LandLine to MasterMap

Landline

Inte

lligen

t

Intelligent data ... OS MasterMap

Inte

lligen

t

Intelligent data ... True polygon data

Inte

lligen

t

Intelligent data ... Inferred links

Inte

lligen

t

Intelligent data ...

Identifiers (TOIDS) Topographic

Inte

lligen

t

Themes Land

Buildings

Roads, tracks and paths

Rail

Water

Admin. Boundaries

Terrain and height

Heritage and antiquities

Structures

Def

initiv

eObject attributes ...

Def

initiv

eData Association

+ 356475

ID: 356475UPRN: 26635528TITLE: 364TR/23No: 2Street: Bystock CloseTown: Farnborough

Def

initiv

eData Association

TOID: 1652783983768334

TOID: 1652783983768335

TOID: 1652783983768336

TITLE: 364TR/23TOID_COUNT: 3TOID: 1652783983768334 TOID: 1652783983768335TOID: 1652783983768336

TITLE: 364TR/23No: 2Street: Bystock CloseTown: Farnborough

Basic Spatial Units

� Building � Property parcel � Elementary Street Unit �

� Block �Area of land bounded by streets or other

identifiable linear features such as railways /

(comprises 2 sides – left / right)

rivers / canals / coastline / cliffs

Basic geographical references � Direct � Map reference � GPS derived co-ordinates

� Indirect � UPRN (Universal Property Reference Number) � Building ID � Street name � Address � Postcode � Area code �

code or FIPS code in the United States e.g. any Standard name or code such as a ward

An axiom

No geographical object is permanent. All geographical objects are subject to one or more of the following processes: � Creation � Destruction � Fusion � Fission � Movement

Joined-up-geography � A set of basic spatial units that comprise the

� of identifiers

� A logical relationship between the units should exist which, in turn, ensures consistency in the use of the identifiers

� The process of creating the geography must be regulated (self regulation is possible) to ensure consistency, non-duplication and timeliness

� for each of the units and identifiers in the system –

services

geography must be defined Those units must be referenced using a consistent set

A single definitive reference source should be available

this should be available for free query using web

How close are we to having a joined up geography?

� In the UK 6 types of agencies are involved:

� Local Government � Electoral commissions � Postal Authority � National Mapping Agency � Statistical Agency � Land Registries

Which of these has a primary responsibility for geographical referencing?

NONE

Which of these create geographical references?

ALL

How joined up are the references?

� Theoretically a common set of references for addresses and administrative / statistical / electoral areas are used by all the bodies involved �

� ONS Royal Mail and OS has helped � Discussions on the address base continue � However there is a long way to go to

achieve the objectives outlined above.

In practice ?????? Gridlink – common geocoding used by

The address fiasco � A stand-off has existed for a number of years between

Local Government, Royal Mail and Ordnance Survey

� A maintained and affordable national address master file is essential to deliver many elements of e-government

� Each of these three protagonists is concerned withcontrol of addresses to secure income

� standards and dissemination has become a war over intellectual property rights

� This is due to government’s unwillingness to fund the

government

over the ‘ownership of addresses’

What should be a discussion about technical

spatial data infrastructure required to support e-

Regulators �

� �

� itself

� �

like special pleading � HMSO

� placed to regulate trading funds or secure reources

� E-envoys office �

� Commission

The issue of an NSDI for Britain could be resolved if government was advised by and had the services of independent regulators These might include

National Mapping Agency But undermined because of the need to recover costs and can’t regulate

A ministry e.g. ODPM It is the major user of geographic information in government so it looks

Regulates the free access to government information and is poorly

Well placed and dong a good job on technical standards but unable to secure funding and is a time limited office of government

But a single regulatory body would be better – perhaps a Geographic

E-envoy key areas of work

Conclusions � e-government involves GIS because the relationship

between government and citizen is frequently geographically based

� e-government places a greater reliance on the

has considerable scope for error

� e-government requires an e-geography i.e. a National Spatial Data Infrastructure

� Attempts to fund an NSDI by cost recovery in the UK have been good at improving mapping but poor at making it widely available and maximising its usage

robustness of information – geographic information

Relevant web links

� http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk � http://www.govtalk.gov.uk � http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk � http://www.nlis.org.uk � http://www.nlpg.org.uk � http://www.ordnancesurvey.gov.uk � http://www.planningportal.gov.uk � http://www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk

That’s it!

Dr Robert Barr University of Manchester