Building Our Geospatial Capability

Author: Kevin Sweeney
Date: 1 July 2010

Building Our Geospatial Capability

When the New Zealand Geospatial Office (NZGO) work programme is discussed, it's often in the context of the four work streams directly related to the strategic goals found within the New Zealand Geospatial Strategy:

1. governance
2. priority datasets
3. data accessibility
4. data interoperability. 

Beyond these priorities, the NZGO is also involved with other streams of work to promote the growth of New Zealand's geospatial sector, including addressing the key barrier of capability.

In their 2007 report, Capability Mapping of the New Zealand Geospatial Sector, the Geospatial Research Centre identified capability shortcomings among their top five barriers to increased implementation of geospatial information and technologies in New Zealand. 

As noted in the 2009 Spatial Information in the New Zealand Economy report, these barriers in turn not only undermine the economic benefits of the use of geospatial but in fact exhibit an increasingly negative effect as time marches on and the pent up demand for and potential of geospatial implementation grows.

Recognising the significance of capability issues within the broader context of the Geospatial Strategy, NZGO has developed capability building as a key work stream within its overall work programme. 

The first step was approval by the Geospatial Executives Group (GEG). At the February GEG meeting, the NZGO offered a discussion paper authored by John Forne (see his 12 February blog), reviewing the issues and proposing a plan for government intervention.  The GEG approved the recommendations in that paper which included:

• influencing labour market strategy,
• improving the skills and capacity of government employees,
• supporting emerging initiatives in the education system.

I've had some experience developing geospatial curricula for tertiary education institutions in the US and a key lesson from that process (which is reflected in the NZGO proposal) is recognition of the various stakeholders affected by capability-building programmes. 

While many people need or want geospatial education, the form and ultimate purpose of that education can vary significantly.  Obviously, a secondary or intermediate student will gain from geospatial knowledge in ways different from a tertiary student, but both have different needs than a public sector professional in need of job-related skills. These skills differ from those required by a professional in the private sector working as a consultant.  And what about the needs of a researcher at a crown research institute or university research centre?  The list goes on and on.

The challenge is developing a stream of work that promotes a unified national view on improving overall geospatial capability, while also serving the needs of various sectors within that national community. 

The good news is that there are solutions to be realised in this challenging environment and plenty of opportunities for progress! Leadership is required to make things happen and I've developed a resource plan for the NZGO to include a geospatial capability coordinator role to oversee these efforts. Once on board, this capability coordinator will work across various sectors and build collaborative networks to foster learning opportunities for those at all levels in the educational system as well as professionals working in the public and private sectors. 

With the cross-sector perspective, the capability coordinator will be well-positioned to develop solutions to meet specific needs, while also supporting the broader goals of the Geospatial Strategy.