Inputs invited for “The need for National level strategy for Open Principles in Geospatial”

For those of you planning to attend FOSS4G UK conference at  Ordnance Survey in Southampton (June 14th to 16th 2016 ), i would like to bring to your attention to the discussion session on  “The need for National level strategy for Open Principles in Geospatial” and i invite your inputs and contributions to the discussions and action plans.

There are now lot of examples of  successful migration to open source GIS in full swing in local authorities and government organisations across UK . For example, Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead migrated to using open source GIS in 2015 and has found significant efficiencies in staff time, cost savings and an increase in the number of departments using GIS. Details at https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/2016/03/using-open-source-gis-in-the-public-sector/

The provisional timetable is at http://uk.osgeo.org/foss4guk2016/timetable.html   and details of how to how to register are at http://uk.osgeo.org/foss4guk2016/

The need for National level strategy for Open Principles in Geospatial
15th June 2016 (Wednesday)
11:30-13:00
Venue: – Ordnance Survey, Explorer House, Southampton

This  session aims to bring together interested delegates from government, industry and academia to discuss ideas on best practices in open source geospatial implementations, open data, open standards, opportunities for geo industry, migration to open source GIS ,economic benefits, accelerating innovation ecosystems , skills development and educational opportunities, creating  highly skilled jobs, expanding startups and accelerating the digital economy.

It is important that central/local governments should look at the big picture and long term view (and join forces and efforts) for mechanisms   to train and support GIS teams for local government. There should be a National Centre for Open Government with expertise in Open Technologies and Open Data to build best practices in open source geospatial implementations and open data  . There needs to be support and training facilities availble the local GIS departments.  Investing in people is important. Scalability (without worring about exponential increases in licensing costs) will also be a important factor in cost savings and efficiencies[1].

I have summarized some of my initial  thoughts/ideas on the need for National level strategy for Open Principles in Geospatial at https://opensourcegeospatial.icaci.org/2016/03/national-level-strategy-for-open-principles-in-geospatial-ideas-and-inputs-needed/

It will also help other countries around the world to build upon these ideas . FOSS4G UK 2016 conference in Southampton   will provide a good opportunity to discuss these ideas. I am looking forward to see many of you there and discuss ideas for the future. If you are aiming to attend the session and contribute your ideas for this session, please do let me know asap.

Best wishes,

Suchith

Dr. Suchith Anand
http://www.geoforall.org/

Geo for All – Building and expanding Open Geospatial Science

[1] https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-and-government/case-studies/warwickshire-county-council-new-web-gis.html

Open Innovation, Open Science, Open to the World

The way that science works is fundamentally changing and an equally important transformation is taking place in how companies and societies innovate. The advent of digital technologies is making science and innovation more open, collaborative and global. In this light Commissioner Carlos Moedas has set three goals for EU research and innovation policy: Open Innovation, Open Science and Open to the World. These three goals were first discussed by Commissioner Moedas in a speech in June 2015, showing how research and innovation contribute across the political priorities of the European Commission. These goals do not represent a new policy initiative or funding programme as such, but a way to reinforce existing programmes such as Horizon 2020, and reinvigorate existing policies such as the European Research Area. The book Open Innovation, Open Science, Open to the World – a vision for Europe brings together some of the key conceptual insights behind the “Three Os” and highlights actions that are already taking place or are being prepared at time of publication in May 2016. It is hoped that the ideas and initiatives described in the book will stimulate anyone interested in European research and innovation, and encourage debate and lead to new ideas on what the European Union should do, should not do, or do differently.[1]

You can download the book from the EU Bookshop at http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/open-innovation-open-science-open-to-the-world-pbKI0416263/

Extract from the book on Open Science below

A Vision of the Future

The year is 2030. Open Science has become a reality and is offering a whole range of new, unlimited opportunities for research and discovery worldwide. Scientists, citizens, publishers, research institutions, public and private research funders, students and education professionals as well as companies from around the globe are sharing an open, virtual environment, called The Lab. Open source communities and scientists, publishing companies and the high-tech industry have pushed the EU and UNESCO to develop common open research standards, establishing a virtual learning gateway, offering free public access to all scientific data as well as to all publicly funded research. The OECD as well as many countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America have adopted these new standards, allowing users to share a common platform to exchange knowledge at a global scale. High-tech start-ups and small public-private partnerships have spread across the globe to become the service providers of the new digital science learning network, empowering researchers, citizens, educators, innovators and students worldwide to share knowledge by using the best available technology. Free and open, high quality and crowd-sourced science, focusing on the grand societal challenges of our time, shapes the daily life of a new generation of researchers.

I would recommend you to read this book for getting a glimpse of future developments. There is also lot of synergies and will add momentum for our vision for Open Geospatial Science [2],[3],[4].

Best wishes,

Suchith

Dr. Suchith Anand
http://www.geoforall.org/

Geo for All – Building and expanding Open Geospatial Science

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/research/openvision/index.cfm
[2] https://opensourcegeospatial.icaci.org/2016/04/open-geospatial-science-2/
[3] http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijgi/special_issues/science-applications
[4] http://opengeospatialdata.springeropen.com/about/editorial-board

Invitation to Geo4All Webinar on Humanitarian Mapathons for Children

On behalf of Geo4All we would like to welcome you to the “Open Geospatial Science & Applications” webinar series. Thanks to Dr. Rafael Moreno and colleagues at University of Colorado Denver for organising the Geo4All webinar series. If you are interested to do a webinar for the Geo4All webinar series please contact Rafael (email- rafael.moreno@ucdenver.edu ) and he will be happy to discuss ideas.

Webinar details below:

  • Date and Time : May 5, 2016 (Thursday) at 1:00 PM Greenwich Mean Time (7:00 AM US/Canada Mountain Time)
  • Topic : Humanitarian Mapathons for Children
  • Presenters: Maria Antonia Brovelli, Marco Minghini, Aldo Torrebruno (Politecnico di Milano), and Tyler Radford (Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT)

Talk abstract:

This webinar will provide an introduction on humanitarian mapathons for children, which represent a remarkable educational experience as they combine geography and awareness about our world, technology and humanitarian aspects. Following the successful experiences of Politecnico di Milano (Italy), the most important educational and technical aspects of humanitarian mapathons with children will be outlined. The purpose is to provide the GeoForAll community, and specially the teachers involved (at all levels), with some practical instructions on how to set up and run their own mapathons. The webinar is organized in collaboration with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) under the umbrella of the United Nations Open Geospatial (UNOGeo) initiative of which GeoForAll and OSGeo are partners.

See webinar description in the Geo4All webinars page: http://www.geoforall.org/webinars/

Please join us here at https://ucdenver.zoom.us/j/350696659

Recording and slides will be posted in the Geo4All webinars page after presentation: http://www.geoforall.org/webinars/

For more details of the webinar series, contact University of Colorado Denver FOSS4G Lab at http://geospatial.ucdenver.edu/foss4g/

The background of this webinar is at https://hotosm.org/updates/2016-03-09_200_kids_map_swaziland_for_malaria_elimination

Thanks to Maria Brovelli, Marco Minghini and all Politecnico di Milano colleagues for thier excellent work. They have been leading all our humanitarian mapathons (Nepal, Japan, Equador) [1], [2] and it will be a great opportunity to hear and learn from thier experiences.

So please join this Geo4All webinar on 5th May 2016.

[1] https://opensourcegeospatial.icaci.org/2016/04/humanitarian-mapathons-for-japan-and-ecuador/
[2] https://opensourcegeospatial.icaci.org/2015/04/mapping-response-contributions-for-nepal/