The Association for Geographic Information (AGI), the membership group for organisations and individuals working in the geospatial sector, has announced, for the first time, the appointment of Co-Chairs as it celebrates a year of success and change. Following a change in the AGI’s Articles of Association, voted for by members of the at the Annual AGM, Fergus Craig of NV5 Geospatial and Peter ter Haar of Ter Haar Geoinnovation will now share the Chair position to build on recent success, continuing to grow a thriving community and support career and skills development within the sector.
Other new appointments to the AGI Council include Andrew Cameron of the Crown Estate, Kenna Dallaway from Ordnance Survey, Liz Scott of Satellite Applications Catapult, Dr Sara Stewart of United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and Vida Williams from Jacobs.
“I am delighted, after a six-year break, to once again be in a position to share my experience and reach to support the AGI,” commented Peter ter Haar, Co-Chair of the Association of Geographic Information. “This is an exciting time as we welcome new Council Members who bring with them a wealth of experience and skills and we are all really keen to build on recent announcements and milestones.”
Fergus Craig, Co-Chair of the AGI added, “Many of you will know me already from the GeoCom working group. I hope to build the hard work of recent years, and the relationships developed, to re-establish Special Interest Groups to further grow our community, and to support the relaunch of the AGI Awards to showcase innovation, achievements and best practice.”
“I am hugely proud of what we have achieved, as a collective, over the last 12 months,” added Adam Burke, Chair of the AGI from 2022-23. “One of the most significant highlights is our membership growth which has been achieved, in part, through strong leadership from our Council and Working Group members, structured comms programmes and channels, and defined relationships with other groups and organisations. Work that I am confident that Fergus and Peter will continue.”
2023 saw the culmination of a period of sustained growth for the AGI, which has seen a rise in individual memberships of nearly 25 percent and corporate membership of 20 percent. During this time the Association has also strengthened its relationship with partner organisations including the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), the British Cartographic Society and the Government Geography Profession.
Looking forward to 2024, the AGI has already announced the re-launch of its highly popular awards for excellence within the geospatial sector (AGI Awards 2024 – Association For Geographic Information) and has recently released the date for its flagship event GeoCom (AGI GeoCom – Association For Geographic Information) which will take place on the 28th November in London.
“My final honour as outgoing Chair is to thank all those individuals and organisations that give their time, experience and professional expertise, to support the work of the Association for the good of the geospatial community in the UK. Specific mention must go to fellow Council Members Morgan Commins, James Cutler, Richard Duffield, Anne Robertson and Katherine Smyth, as they step down.”
The Association for Geographic Information (AGI) is the UK’s geospatial membership organisation; leading, connecting and developing a community of members who use and benefit from geographic information. An independent and impartial organisation, the AGI works with members and the wider community alongside government policy makers, delivers professional development and provides a lead for best practice across the industry.
Further information on the activities and successes of the AGI can be found at https://www.agi.org.uk/agi-review-2023/