1. Malcolm Gorton
Senior Scientist
Environment Agency
Science - Technology Group
Lower Bristol Rd
Bath BA2 2QS
United Kingdom

2. Part 2: Other information services
This session will consist of:
Part 1: WIYBY
Part 2: Other information services
Part 3: Next Steps
Part 4: Workshop

3. the Environment Agency
Non Departmental Public Body responsible to UK Governments Department of the Environment - (Defra)
Wide range of duties and powers relating to environmental management
11,000 staff across England and Wales
8 Regional Offices, 26 Area Offices
Approximately100 staff respond to >350,000 requests
We place a high priority on the provision of information in achieving environmental goals

4. Part 1: WIYBY

5. What’s in Your Backyard
What’s in Your Backyard?- (WIYBY) a GIS, Internet based national web application (
Users can find information from a national level, right down to their local environment: locating areas of interest, displaying data to a chosen scale, formulating individual queries on the datasets, gaining background on information of interest, and downloading data for their own use off line.

6. What’s in Your Backyard
51% of map requests are flooding related

7. WIYBY: One service fits all
Local communities
Students
Schoolchildren
Teachers
Consultants
Solicitors
Business
Data
WIYBY

8. Part 2: Other information services

9. Public Registers Purpose To provide public register information
in a modern electronic manner
that befits the environment, our customers
and our business
Driver
Government modernising targets
Defra Legislative Review group
Requirement to operate openly
Reduction of travel to our Area offices

10. Public Registers: …the process
Application
Consultation
Responses
Monitoring
Advert
Licence
Action
Public Register

11. Public access: does it work?
Are people aware?
Are paper files convenient?
Is the information presented meaningfully?
Is location in offices convenient?
Do we reach a wide cross-section of society?
Could we do better?!

12. Property Search: our old approach
Customer Contact
Up to 12
functions
Log and
track
Distribute
for answers
Compile
response
Send out
and log
request
Acknowledge
Finance
Re-allocation of resources
Confirmation of payment
Cheque
Reconciliation
Exceptions
Receipt
it costs a lot of time and money
to provide inconsistent information
at the wrong time

13. Property Search: a new approach
Internet
Analysis - Mapping
Application Server
Control Logic
Map Services
Feature Services
Geospatial
Database

14. Property Search system

15. Property Search system

16. Old Service New Service
Property Search system
Old Service New Service
6 week response 6 minute response
Adhoc replies Tailored reports
Resource drain Income stream
Cost recovery €75 Service charge €37
30,000 requests Possible 1M+ requests

17. Environmental Facts and Figures
Aims of EFF
National overview of the whole environment to meet statutory duty under the Environment Act 1995
Live and up to date state of the environment reporting on the web
Steps back from Agency to report state of the environment through facts and figures

18. EFF Content
130 pages covering a range of environmental topics

19. A brief history of EFF
First release of Snapshot of environment coincided with launch of the Environment Agency to meet statutory duty to report on SoE and show breadth of areas that new Agency covered
Snapshot of environment on the web followed shortly after using view points/stresses & strains framework
1997 to SoE online developed & expanded and Information Scientists take on update/author role
Indicators developed
Environment 2000 & Beyond released
Environmental Facts & Figures developed with a simpler structure & style and incorporation of Indicators

20. EFF Approach Outline the issue Plain English based on sound science
Facts & figures not opinion
Results at top of page
How it is changing over time
What is being done, but avoid selling the Agency
Brief details of legislation (if appropriate)
Where to find out more

21. Intended audience Interested lay people A-Level/GCSE students
Undergraduates
Journalists
Agency staff
Local authority officers
Councillors
MPs
Environmental consultants
Businesses

22. Results of a user survey
Reasons for visiting
work 36%
personal interest 31%
study 23% (mainly higher education)
Did you find what you wanted?
yes fairly easily 59%
no 32%
yes with difficulty 9%

23. Part 3: Our next steps

24. Our Way Forward Electronic access to actual documents
Real time ‘flagging’ of live decisions
Research into social aspects of engagement
Partnerships with local community groups
Electronic ‘open forums’
Record interests and provide relevant information
Assess impacts on our own organisation

25. Engaging Citizens Make information relevant to everyday lives
Link Information Systems to Participation Systems
Provide access without effort, where and when required
Use novel techniques to reach all of society
(Please tell us how to do it!)

26. ...from singular information systems
Data
WIYBY
Data
Flood Warning
Data
Reporting
Data
Internal

27. ...to Integrated Information Services
Financial Investment
Financial Services
Reporting
Insurance, Consultancies and other spin offs
Residential
Data
Property Search
Land Development
Commercial
WIYBY V2
Individuals
Company identifier
Communitiese.g. libraries - what’s happening in your area
eDecisions
Documents
Education - What’s happening/have your say, local data to analyse, etc.
Publications
Local Government

28. Interoperability Interoperable GIS Data - Standards
Architecture and Standards
Interoperability Interoperable GIS Data - Standards

29. Interoperability - What is it?
‘capability to communicate, execute programs, or transfer data among various functional units in a manner that requires the user to have little knowledge of the unique characteristics of those units’ [ISO ]

30. Interoperability - What is it?
In other words:
‘the ability of systems to talk to one another in an agreed manner’
Adoption of standards is the keystone to interoperability (SOAP, WMS, WFS, SQL, HTML, XML)

31. Interoperable GIS - What is it?
Spatial components and standards that allow the communication described above
A standardised manner of discovering, querying, retrieving, and disseminating digital geographic information.

32. Environmental Services
Interoperability-What does this mean
Local Government
Work
Local Maps
(ESRI SDE)
Standards
Environmental Services
Mobile
Hazards
(Intergraph)
Standards
Network
Home
Routes and
Timetables
(MapInfo)
Standards
School
Registers
(ORACLE)
Transport Services
Standards
Central Government

33. Why do we want interoperable GIS
Greater access to decision support information.
Opening-up isolated data islands.
Better customer/citizen service.
Real-time access and delivery of a wider range of data sources and services.

34. Why do we want interoperable GIS
More efficient system implementations
No re-invention of the wheel
Reduced reliance on proprietary/vendor specific platforms, data sources, and components
Ability to swap-out components in best-of-breed architectures

35. Drivers - Simple Accessibility
Interoperability can be the glue that binds multiple, complex resources into more simple views
Data Providers
Commercial
Services
N.G.O’s
Schools
Service
Agencies
Government
Departments
Local
Authorities
Interoperability SOAP - XML - GML - WFS - WMS - HTTP - ISO Interoperability
Planning Portal
INSPIRE
GI Gateway

36. Data - Standards
Data interfaces that conform to defined model standards allow diverse systems to...

37. Part 4: Workshop

38. EA/UNEP Project: Background
EA/UNEP collaboration since 2000
Building upon experience
Senior Support

39. Project Proposal Capacity Building Develop pilots/proof of concepts
Deliver a framework
common requirements
engender consistency
identification of funding streams
identification of user needs
… linked to EU ‘INSPIRE’ initiative

40. Project: Current Status
‘Seedcorn’ funding
Bid to UK FCO funding
Seeking Partners
… and advice, comments, information ...

41. EA/UNEP Project Framework
From Inspiration to practice ...
EA/UNEP Project Framework
Reference Data and Metadata
Architecture & Standards
Environmental Thematic Data
Implementation Structures & Funding
Impact Analysis
Data Policy & Legal Issues