NZGO Activity Update

Date: 17 July 2009

This July update covers our recent involvement in:

• project activity under the Geospatial Strategy
• LINZ Planning (includes an update on LINZ structural changes & recruitment)
• coordinating ANZLIC activity
• brokering LINZ support for the CRCSI-2 rebid
• communication of LINZ's emerging plans around geospatial.

Project activity under the Geospatial Strategy

Our three main areas of focus in this area have been around:

The report on the value of spatial information to the New Zealand economy

This report is being finalised and will be available on this site later in July. People from a wide range of sectors have provided valuable contributions to the report - a workshop held on 10 June was an important input into this. Some initial planning has been done around communicating the report findings. We'd like your input and ideas, and will be issuing a draft communications plan for comments before 24 July.

Standards

A report on geospatial data standards has been completed. It recommends a more active role for government in this area through the establishment of a geospatial data standards coordination function. Many thanks to the advisory group that had a crucial role in developing the report. The approach identified in the report will need to be endorsed by GEG, requires funding, and will need to be aligned with a number of related initiatives. GAC members have the opportunity to help identify options around this over the next couple of months. Alongside this, we have been working with the State Services Commission on a proposal to replace the existing e-GIF (e-Governnment Interoperability Framework) geospatial metadata standard (NZGMS) with the ANZLIC Metadata Profile v1.1, which is aligned with recent international standard changes. For more information on these initiatives, please contact us.

Online inventory

The Ministry of Research, Science and Technology has led some exploratory work looking at enabling improved discovery of geodata through simple online catalogues. Given that multiple services already exist and that a number of related initiatives are underway, the team is looking at what development options might compliment existing solutions. For example, there may be short term, tactical opportunities to improve data discoverability through existing, user friendly and easily accessible online data catalogues, such as www.opengovt.org.nz. This does not replace, and will ideally contribute to, longer term, strategic support for ANZLIC-endorsed infrastructure and tools that can form a robust national infrastructure.

Planning, structural changes & recruitment

We've been involved in contributing to LINZ planning activities - focused on making LINZ's commitment to the Geospatial Strategy more explicit. The latest LINZ Statement of Intent reflects the high level direction, and LINZ's commitment to establishing more of a leadership role in the geospatial arena.

As part of wider structural changes within LINZ, NZGO now sits within a new business group - Strategic Development and Support. This group will be led by Sue Gordon, who starts on 3 August 2009. Sue joins LINZ from the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) where she has been the Deputy Secretary Organisational Development and Support for six years.  In this role, Sue has been responsible for organisational development strategy and the Communications, Finance and Facilities Management, Human Resources, Information Technology, Knowledge Management, Legal and Programme Management functions.  Before joining MED, Sue previously held organisational development roles in Fonterra, including managing structural changes in early 2003 and previous work on a series of development initiatives. Prior to that, Sue led the organisational development practice area at Sheffield (Wellington). Sue has also held roles at the Ministry of Health and Housing New Zealand, and started her career at the Ministry of Defence.  She has an honours degree in Political Studies from the University of Otago and an LLB from Victoria University.

For an update on other senior LINZ appointments, see the LINZ website.

Recruitment for the new role of Geospatial Custodian (working title only) is underway. Interviews have now been completed and a decision around appointment is likely to occur within the next two weeks.

Coordinating ANZLIC activity

LINZ Chief Executive Colin MacDonald attended an Australia New Zealand Land Information Council (ANZLIC) meeting in Sydney on Thursday 2 July 2009.  Items covered at the meeting included a revised ANZLIC Strategic Plan, a proposal for an Australia New Zealand spatial infrastructure initiative and future work under the ANZLIC Resource Discovery and Access Program. ANZLIC National Office will be producing a summary from each Council meeting tailored for wide distribution.  A copy from the July meeting will be placed on this site when it becomes available. Three geospatial metadata workshops related to the ANZLIC Resource Discovery and Access Program are being held in New Zealand in August.

Brokering LINZ support for the CRCSI-2 rebid

LINZ has committed to a closer association with the Collaborative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) to more fully realise the benefits of spatial information in New Zealand. Established in 2003, CRCSI is an Australian joint venture that brings together the strengths of academia, government and industry with a powerful vision of realising a spatially enabled Australia.  Encouraged by the results produced over the last six years, CRCSI has prepared a bid to create CRCSI-2, which will run from 2009-2017. This comprises over 96 partners and has raised over AUD$28 million of cash and AUD$101 million of in-kind support, to invest in spatial research, business development and education. The results of the bid will be known by August 2009. If approved, LINZ will work with interested New Zealand entities to establish a CRCSI ‘node' of activity in New Zealand. Our intentions in forming this partnership are to:

• accelerate New Zealand's progress in developing a national spatial data infrastructure by leveraging CRCSI-2 activities in this area
• actively identify and broker opportunities for New Zealand agencies (Government, Academia & CRIs) to participate in, and benefit from, CRCSI-2 activities. This activities are areas such as:
  • natural resources management
  • positioning
  • remote sensing and feature extraction
  • climate change
  • health
  • urban planning and development
  • economic development.

LINZ CEO communicates LINZ's emerging plans around geospatial

LINZ Chief Executive Colin MacDonald gave the opening address at the 2nd Annual Geospatial Information System (GIS) Summit on 22 June. The focus of his speech was LINZ's commitment to taking a more active leadership role in geospatial information. He also spoke at the inaugural spatial@gov Conference in Canberra, Australia, on 15 June. In this address, Colin focused on New Zealand's geospatial sector, LINZ's role, and the opportunity for New Zealand and Australia to work more closely together in the geospatial arena.

What's your news?

We're making changes to this site in August that will make it easier for you to post your news, events or items of interest. In the meantime, feel free to contact us if you know of something that could be added to this site.