Despite being in the 'Information Age', we still have problems getting the appropriate information to help us make the right decisions. Too often poor decisions are made because we don't know who holds the information we require and we don't know how to get hold of it. Even when we have identified what we want, we often find that the information cannot be cross referenced and combined because the data does not use common references for geographical or administrative areas.
As much as 80% of the information collected in Britain today has a geospatial reference - for example, a National Grid reference, the postal address of your house or an administrative area, much of it is inconsistent. The data collected does not have to conform to any set quality standards and this means that datasets which would be useful if combined, cannot be, and their integration is at best difficult, and at worst impossible.
The NGDF initiative will help address and overcome these problems by:
The NGDF Gateway will be established to provide a central point of access over the Internet to a wide variety of information (metadata) about spatially related data owned by public and private sector organisations. As well as providing details such as the geographical extent of the data and when it was last updated, it will also tell you who the supplier of the data is and how you can get hold of it.
the NGDF will support the establishment of the UK Standard Geographic Base. The UKSGB will provide a single, easy to use and definite source of information about commonly used geographic units and the key datasets that support these units. By using the UKSGB as the source of the geographic references in their data, suppliers and users will improve access to, and the quality and consistency of geographic data. By standardising around the UKSGB, users can "join up" the many different geographies that exist in the UK, and realise the potential of sharing data from the many sources within government and beyond.
The National Land Information Service conveyancing application, which is used during the transfer of legal ownership of land, is an excellent illustration of what can be achieved when information from different sources is brought into common formats. During transfer of land ownership, information from a wide range of sources is required, such as Ordnance Survey, City Councils, British Geological Survey, Coal Authorities, Environment Agency, HM Land Registry and Valuation Office to name but a few. At present this is mainly done by post and can take many weeks to complete. But by the use of standards to enable accurate cross-referencing of datasets and Internet technology, conveyancers will be able to obtain quick and easy access to all of the information they require.
A diverse range of organisations and individuals are already involved in making the NGDF happen, including government departments, private companies and academics. Their aim is to work together to improve data quality, adopt common standards, avoid duplication and provide much better information about data availability.
Together, we are convinced this initiative will generate huge benefits within both the public and private sectors and will in turn directly help you.