AGI Council members join Open Data User Group

The first meeting of the Open Data User Group today heralded the announcement of the names of its 13 members.

The group met in London’s Tech City under the chairmanship of Heather Savory, who was appointed in May. The Government cites the group as being made up of "open data experts drawn from the worlds of business (including a significant SME representation as well as large national companies such as Sainsbury’s and Experian), civil society, academia and local government".

Amongst these members is Robert Barr, a member of the AGI Council and a former AGI chair. Also Gesche Schmid, Programme Manager, Transparency, Local Government Association, who is also a member of the AGI Council. Several other members of the GI community are also included, including Mick Corey of the UK Location User Group.

The complete member list is as follows: 

• Heather Savory, Open Data User Group Chair
• Robert Barr, Chairman, Manchester Geomatics
• Jennie Campbell, Managing Director, MeteoGroup Ltd
• Mick Cory, Chair, UK Location User Group
• Sarah Hitchcock, Head of Network & Planning, Sainsbury’s
• Dominique Lazanski, Head of Digital Policy, Taxpayers’ Alliance
• Andrew Mackenzie, Open Mercia, and freelance consultant
• Paul Malyon, Product Manager, Experian QAS
• Christopher Royles, CTO, Pitney Bowes Software
• Gesche Schmidt, Programme Manager, Transparency, Local Government Association
• Jacqui Taylor, CEO, Flying Binary
• Roger Taylor, Director of Research and Public Affairs, Dr Foster
• Jeni Tennison, Director of Jeni Tennison, Consulting Ltd
• Adam Tickell, Pro Vice Chancellor, University of Birmingham

The official announcement that "the group will advise the Government on what public sector data it believes will have the greatest economic and social benefits for the UK and should therefore be released as open data".

To see the official announcement click HERE.

Editors note:

The GI Customer Group, Public Weather Service Customer Group and the Open Data Group are part of the Data Strategy Board (DSB).

The four BIS Trading Funds: Companies House, Land Registry, Met Office and Ordnance Survey are represented on the Public Data Group (PDG).

DSB and PDG chairs announced by Government

The respective chairs of the user-facing Data Strategy Board (DSB) and the supplier-facing Public Data Group (PDG) have been announced by the Government.

Claudia Arney takes up the position as the PDG chair.

Claudia Arney was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Halfords PLC in January 2011. Previously Claudia was Group Managing Director, Digital at EMAP where she led the development and execution of the online publishing strategy and managed the Public Sector and Media divisions. Prior to this she was Director of the Enterprise and Growth Unit at HM Treasury, and she is a former Executive Director of Goldman Sachs where she worked on new product development and e-publishing. She also worked as the Head of Product Development at FT.Com. She started her career at Mckinsey & Co. Claudia is currently a member of the Advisory Group to the Shareholder Executive of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, an Advisory Board Member of Huawei UK and a Non-Executive Director of Which?

Stephan Shakespeare takes up the position as the DSB chair.

Stephan Shakespeare is CEO and Co-founder of YouGov, the international market research agency. He has been a school-teacher, writer and campaigner, and founded PoliticsHome.com. Stephan sits on the Public Policy External Advisory Board of the University of Cambridge, he is co-founder if Opigram, sat on the LSE's Polis Advisory Board and is a former Justice of the Peace. Stephan studied English at Oxford.

This announcement was made as part of the Open Data White Paper announcement made by Francis Maude. More details can be found HERE.

Editors note:

The GI Customer Group, Public Weather Service Customer Group and the Open Data Group are part of the DSB.

The four BIS Trading Funds: Companies House, Land Registry, Met Office and Ordnance Survey are represented on the PDG.

Announcing the AGI GeoCommunity Top Tens!

We are pleased to announce that there is a new opportunity to present at this year’s AGI GeoCommunity’12 conference - the 'Top Tens'.

This is a replacement for the previous, informal 'soapbox' sessions.

So, what is it and how will it work?

In true Top Ten style let's start the countdown:

10)  These are informal sessions in the conference centre Atrium at the end of day 1

9)   Presentations can be on any Geography/GI/GIS related subject

8)  Presentations can be serious ... or not

7)  Individual or group presentations are welcome

6)  Up-to 5 minutes per presentation

5)   10 slides per presentation, up-to 30 seconds per slide 

4)   1 bullet per slide...

3)   ...or a picture

2)  The presentation template is available HERE

1)  Like all top ten’s 1 is the top of the chart!

To register your interest in presenting a 'Top Ten', or to discuss it further with the Top Tens chair, please contact the Conference team HERE.

To sponsor the 'Top Tens' contact Claire Huppertz at AGI.

More about AGI GeoCommunity '12

AGI GeoCommunity '12: Sharing the Power of Place will be held at East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham on 18 - 20 September 2012.

AGI GeoCommunity is the largest and most comprehensive independent conference in the UK digital mapping and geospatial calendar. The conference provides real insight and leadership in current geographic information and location based issues via a range of keynote addresses and conference papers as well as by hands on training and face to face delegate networking.

The AGI GeoCommunity series has a proven reputation as a 'must-attend' event for a range of service delivery managers and information management and technology professionals. Previous delegates and speakers have been drawn from Central and Local Government, Utilities, Health, Emergency Services, Infrastructure, Insurance, Marketing, Business Intelligence, Finance and Technology sectors.

AGI GeoCommunity '12 will open on the 18th September with the popular pre-conference 'Icebreaker' evening event and offer two full days of thought leadership, practical education, knowledge transfer and real world best practice and case studies.

AGI GeoCommunity ‘11 attracted 450 delegates. The residential format, introduced in 2007, is now well established and the event has proven its growth and sustainability. Feedback from last year’s delegates indicated that 97% of those polled thought the event offered value for money and 89% felt it fulfilled their expectations. 97% said the venue was ‘good’ or ‘excellent. A full report of delegate feedback is available on the AGI website.

AGI GeoCommunity '12 will also offer a select number of sponsorship spaces to showcase new products and services and network with delegates both at the sponsors' exhibition pods and in the conference sessions and social events. Prices are frozen for existing sponsorship packages and a new category has been created for Small Business and Education Members, plus companies that are AGI members can get additional booking discounts. The conference format will offer our sponsors an unrivalled opportunity to meet and network with the key practitioners and influencers across government and the commercial sectors.

AGI GeoCommunity Website: www.agigeocommunity.com

The AGI response to Cabinet Office Open Standards Consultation

Recently the Cabinet Office ran a consultation entitled Open Standards: Open Opportunities - Flexibility and efficiency in Government IT. The details of this consultation are available HERE.

The AGI, drawing upon the specialist expertise of the AGI Standards Committee, formulated a response which is now available for download in PDF form HERE.

Chris Holcroft, AGI Director & CEO.

The UK Location Programme sponsors AGI GeoCommunity '12

The AGI is delighted to announce another Silver Sponsor for this year's AGI GeoCommunity conference - the UK Location Programme (UKLP).

The UKLP was set up to help and advise organisations to implement the UK Location Strategy and INSPIRE. The programme is intended to deliver significant changes in the management of location information – one that introduces a new, innovative, and joined up service for government, business and citizens.

David Cope, UK Location Programme Director said: "The UK Location Programme is pleased to be a Silver Sponsor of the 2012 AGI Geo Community Conference in recognition that it is the largest and most comprehensive conference for the Geographical Information community in the UK.

Understandably there is currently a lot of interest in the role that the UK Location Programme is playing in the construction of the UK Location Infrastructure and by having a stand, and the benefits afforded by the other opportunities that sponsorship provides, it will enable us to provide feedback and demonstrations of the work of the Programme.

The Geographical Information community is and will continue to be both a key contributor to, and a key beneficiary of, the UK Location Infrastructure because it represents one of the leading sectors where we expect to see the most immediate benefit from the work of the Programme."

Chris Holcroft, AGI Chief Executive added: "The AGI has been closely involved with the UKLP since its inception in a variety of areas. We are extremely pleased that the AGI GeoCommunity '12 conference is seen as an ideal platform for the programme to promote its important national activity, as well as a vehicle to engage with the broader geocommunity. We hope the UKLP Team have a successful and enjoyable event with us in September".

To learn more about the UK Location Programme see:  http://location.defra.gov.uk/

More about AGI GeoCommunity

AGI GeoCommunity '12: Sharing the Power of Place will be held at East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham on 18 - 20 September 2012.

AGI GeoCommunity is the largest and most comprehensive independent conference in the UK digital mapping and geospatial calendar. The conference provides real insight and leadership in current geographic information and location based issues via a range of keynote addresses and conference papers as well as by hands on training and face to face delegate networking.

The AGI GeoCommunity series has a proven reputation as a 'must-attend' event for a range of service delivery managers and information management and technology professionals. Previous delegates and speakers have been drawn from Central and Local Government, Utilities, Health, Emergency Services, Infrastructure, Insurance, Marketing, Business Intelligence, Finance and Technology sectors.

AGI GeoCommunity '12 will open on the 18th September with the popular pre-conference 'Icebreaker' evening event and offer two full days of thought leadership, practical education, knowledge transfer and real world best practice and case studies.

AGI GeoCommunity ‘11 attracted 450 delegates. The residential format, introduced in 2007, is now well established and the event has proven its growth and sustainability. Feedback from last year’s delegates indicated that 97% of those polled thought the event offered value for money and 89% felt it fulfilled their expectations. 97% said the venue was ‘good’ or ‘excellent. A full report of delegate feedback is available on the AGI website.

AGI GeoCommunity '12 will also offer a select number of sponsorship spaces to showcase new products and services and network with delegates both at the sponsors' exhibition pods and in the conference sessions and social events. Prices are frozen for existing sponsorship packages and a new category has been created for Small Business and Education Members, plus companies that are AGI members can get additional booking discounts. The conference format will offer our sponsors an unrivalled opportunity to meet and network with the key practitioners and influencers across government and the commercial sectors.

AGI GeoCommunity Website: www.agigeocommunity.com