Ben Hutchins

Location intelligence is helping solve the most significant challenges facing local and central government - and society more generally. Paul Clarke has a unique insight and this article is an inspiring exploration, with some great examples - well worth a read!

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🌐 Do you use #GIS or mapping data at work? Do you wish you could visualise and layer a range of data for specific locations to help influence planning decisions? Meet the NERC Digital Solutions Hub 👇 📍 Launching in 2025, the NERC Digital Solutions Hub will be a free open-access mapping toolkit which will allow you to easily visualise a whole range of environmental, economic, social and health data using #UPRN location accuracy. 🗺️ The Hub will revolutionise #planning decisions, ensuring that, for example, new infrastructure, transport or housing developments are data-informed and allow for a truly healthy and climate ready nation. 🐦 Sign up now to be an early-bird and receive exclusive access to the Hub on launch - https://lnkd.in/euuxYhgH School of Environment, Education and Development at The University of Manchester Sustainable Futures at The University of Manchester Digital Futures at The University of Manchester Healthier Futures at The University of Manchester Richard Kingston #NERCdsh #transport #housing #infrastructure #ukplanning

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Transforming public services through the power of data is more than just an aspiration — it’s happening, and the Civil Service Data Challenge showcases just that. Earlier this week, we witnessed inspiring innovation in action as talented teams pitched groundbreaking ideas to improve how public services are delivered. From optimising NHS visits to harnessing chatbots and data algorithms, the creativity and passion on display was nothing short of remarkable. A special thank you to our government partners, including the Cabinet Office, Office for National Statistics - and to NTT DATA UK&I, as well as the dedicated judges and the Global Government Forum team, whose support made this year's challenge possible. Congratulations to all the finalists for their incredible work, and to the winning team for pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. 🎉 Watch the highlights and get inspired by how data is reshaping the future of public services! #CivilServiceDataChallenge #CSDC #DigitalTransformation #DataInnovation #GovTech #AIinGovernment #DataDriven #GovData #PublicSectorInnovation #SmartGovernment #FutureOfWork #GovDigital #DigitalGovernment #DataForGood #GovernmentInnovation" #globalgovernmentforum #data #government

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If you are involved in Blue Green Infrastructure in Yorkshire (for example, natural flood management and sustainable urban development), it would be a great help if you could complete this online survey - and encourage your teams and networks to do so. It is aimed at staff in Flood Risk Management Agencies and their wider teams such as Highways and Planning, Rivers Trusts and other charities, Internal Drainage Boards, and contractors. We are in the final two weeks of supporting the West Yorkshire Flood Alleviation Programme (WYFLIP) to gain the information that they need using this Blue Green Infrastructure Needs Analysis Tool. The final deadline is Monday 08 July 2024.    It is important because WYFLIP and Environment Agency have identified capacity and skills as a risk to delivery of Blue Green Infrastructure. As a result, a programme of training and skills development is being developed for partners across Yorkshire - The Blue Green Infrastructure Training Programme - funded by local levy funding through the Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.  The focus of this will be on Flood and Water Management Act 2010 Schedule 3 (introduction of a SuDS approving body), and Climate Resilience and Readiness. The outputs from this survey will be analysed by iCASP and used to produce training from Autumn 2024. Our online survey is to address a critical capacity and skills gap to reduce flood risk and improve flood resilience across Yorkshire. The results will help us to understand the needs of flood risk managers and be used to put together the training programme which will be delivered later this year. The ultimate aim is to upskill our workforce so that we can provide more resilient infrastructure, deliver projects which have a positive impact on the environment and address the challenges of climate change. This will ultimately result in greater support for businesses, landowners and economic benefits for the region and beyond. If you want to find out more about the project email us [email protected] Please spread the word and help us by completing this survey https://bit.ly/3WOhuUj #flooding #floodresilience #bluegreeninfrastructure #WYFLIP Andy Bray The Aire Rivers Trust Sam Ramsden Jonathan Moxon Aire Resilience Company Geoff Roberts Yorkshire Water Rosa Foster Joseph Holden

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Excited to share this insightful opinion piece by Scott Goodwin, divisional director of Land, Property, and Public Protection at Idox, on how rapid access to easily consumed data can revolutionise the efficiency of planning teams! Dive into the article on LocalGov to learn more: https://lnkd.in/e4Uz9HWE #LocalGovernment #LPA #Planning #DataDriven

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Draft NPPF now available, makes an interesting read. For Local Authorities part way through creating a new Local Plan or in the final plan-making stages but with plans that do not meet the newly proposed minimum housing quota, it seems there could potentially be a lot of hard work ahead and for some perhaps back to the drawing board... “For the purposes of plan-making. The policies in this Framework (published on [publication date]) will apply for the purpose of preparing local plans from [publication date + one month] unless one or more of the following apply:   a. the emerging annual housing requirement in a local plan that reaches or has reached Regulation 19 on or before the [publication date + one month] is no more than 200 dwellings below the published relevant Local Housing Need figure; b. the local plan is a Part 2 plan that does not introduce new strategic policies setting the housing requirement unless the relevant Local Plan Part 1 has been prepared applying the policies in this version of the Framework; c. the local plan is or has been submitted for examination under Regulation 22 on or before [publication date + one month]. Where a, b or c applies, the plan will be examined under the relevant previous version of the Framework. 227. Where paragraph 226 c) applies, local plans that reach adoption with an annual housing requirement that is more than 200 dwellings lower than the relevant published Local Housing Need figure will be expected to commence plan-making in the new plan-making system at the earliest opportunity to address the shortfall in housing need. 228. After applying the policies of this version of the Framework, local plans that have reached Regulation 19 on or before [publication date + one month] with an emerging annual housing requirement that is more than 200 dwellings lower than the relevant Local Housing Need figure should proceed to examination within a maximum of 18 months from [publication date].” #NPPF #LocalPlan #LocalGov #OpusConsult #PlanMaking #Housing

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This is a great example showcasing #OS NGD Land Use Sites. I'd also add that the coverage is due to the scope of what things from the built and natural environment customers have asked OS to include in this data. To learn more about, go to https://lnkd.in/eVYZynvf.

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Climate adaptation is critical to ensure that communities, businesses and natural systems are resilient to the impacts of #ClimateChange, including more frequent and severe flooding, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events. However, the UK faces significant challenges in adapting to climate change. While current policy is coordinated via the National Adaptation Programme (NAP) in England, there remain critical gaps in implementation and effectiveness. Imperial Policy Forum & the Grantham Institute convened a series of workshops to identify priorities for future research in climate adaptation, with a focus on integrating climate resilience into health, water management, and the built environment. Written by Jenny B. and Ines Wittke. 📰 https://ow.ly/6zIr50Tum9L

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How big is the UK geospatial sector? How many geospatial companies are there in the UK? How many people do they employ? These are some of the questions Karina Matjuhhina, our Civil Service Fast Stream Analyst, explores in our latest blog. Find out more: 👇  https://lnkd.in/gcu5Dqjv

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Do you work in #localauthority #GIS? We have a brilliant blog for you to share with colleagues. Written with the award-winning Tracy Lister from Walsall Council, it's a non-technical look at how geospatial systems and data help authorities achieve their objectives. We even manage to squeeze in info about all-important UPRNs (or, as Tracy describes them, 'golden threads'), the 'single source of the truth' (aka a spatial data warehouse) and a quick PESTLE analysis. https://bit.ly/lagis Socitm GeoPlace

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Oooh just found out the great news of who I am working with at this years NWG (Northumbrian Water Group) Innovation Festival...... I am thrilled to be the Innovation SuperNetwork lead facilitator working with the one and only Esri UK alongside the fab team at NWG (Northumbrian Water Group) including my co-lead Jack Hutchinson, the innovation guru that is Lauren Briggs and the equally wonderful NWG Leads John Douglas, Callum Jackson and Brad King. This year we have such a great challenge to explore... ESSENTIALS ASSEMBLE - Can a national unified utility incident alert service minimise the impacts on other asset owners and operators? This sprint is going to be a popular one so you will have to register fast by clicking the link below. Looking forward to seeing you there! This four day sprint is taking place at Newcastle Racecourse 8th - 11th July 2024. It may be of interest to Utilities (water, gas, power, communications - possible nuclear, COMAH sites, transport sectors) - Emergency Planners, IS/GIS, Control Room and networks.   A major incident with any Utility (water, Gas, Electric, Telco) is likely to have an impact on the other utilities in the local area. Water ingress can cause havoc on utility network infrastructure maintained by other utility organisations, especially telecom and gas distribution network operators.   A power cut, unless properly managed by a Water company, can lead to pump failures and loss of supply. A mobile network outage can lead to communications failures with remote assets and the inability to remotely manage network assets for any utility. https://lnkd.in/egWCfngw

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Do you work in emergency planning or disaster recovery - especially in health, housing or social care, water, gas, power, communications, nuclear, COMAH sites, transport sectors, IS/GIS, Control Room and networks? Could your vital service be impacted if an incident with any Utility (Water, Gas, Electric, Telco) impacted on the other utilities in the local area? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then register for our Sprint at the NWG (Northumbrian Water Group) Innovation Festival using the link below to help us understand how we can best work together and share data to avoid risks and minimise minor incidents turning into major ones! 🙏 Please share and tag any contacts who you think could help us work on such an important issue that could help avoid unnecessary disruptions in vital utility services that impacts on every household but especially our most vulnerable. Thank you in advance ☺️

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Great case study below. Want to learn more about how #EdinburghNapier supports multiple industries & organisations through consultancy & collaborative projects? 🤔 Visit our Innovation Hub today! >>> https://lnkd.in/ePvXz_m3 #MustbeNapier

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ICYMI 🔈 Aberdeenshire Employment Land Prospectus In a bid to attract #developers, Aberdeenshire Council has created an Employment Land Prospectus. The digital interactive mapping tool has site commentary and informative data for individual sites ranging from 2ha to 20ha and those above 20ha. Cllr Alan Turner, chair of the council’s Infrastructure Services Committee, said: “As can be seen from our new digital prospectus, Aberdeenshire has a wealth of sites currently lying undeveloped but which, with investment, could be transformed for employment uses. Our region is home to a wide range of sectors from energy and renewables to life sciences, technology and digital, and our aim is to continue working with partners to fulfill demand and further increase our business environment through development opportunities.” To read the full news release, please click this link: 📰 https://lnkd.in/em9T85a4 To access the Employment Land Prospectus, please click this link: ➡ https://lnkd.in/em9T85a4 For enquiries, please email: 📧 [email protected] #Prospectus #EmploymentLandProspectus #Developers #Investors #DevelopmentOpportunities #Sites #InwardInvestment #MappingTool #DigitalInteractiveMappingTool #InvestmentOpportunities #Energy #Renewables #LifeSciences #Technology #Digital #Agriculture #Fishing #Food #Drink #Tourism Aberdeenshire Council

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Every year, the public sector in Scotland receives thousands of requests for data to be shared. This data is used to inform policy and operational decisions. Is there a way to streamline approvals from data owners to overcome legal and organisational barriers, and, in turn, enhance data analysis for public good? The Scottish Government, Chief Data Office, Directorate for Digital is sponsoring Challenge 10.4 of #CivTechRound10 to explore this further. The challenge in detail: "How can technology make the sharing of data across organisations with separate legal obligations as seamless and easy to manage as possible, and so encourage activity that could maximise public good outcomes, including but not limited to the use of AI and automated data analysis?" Data sharing in the Scottish public sector is crucial for creating accurate statistics and analyses that guide policy and operations. However, different legal obligations and a lack of unified processes make data sharing difficult. Addressing this issue will lead to more effective data sharing, resulting in better decisions and greater public benefits. All it takes is one idea. Contract value = £650K Apply by 10 Sep >> https://lnkd.in/egkHHQfq We highly encourage and support people of all backgrounds, abilities, ages, identities and communities to apply. #DataSharing #PublicSector #DataProtection #DigitalInnovation #DigitalTransformation #Innovation #ScotlandNow

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Explore the Public Sector’s AI Resources! Discover helpful AI resources tailored for the Public Sector with the Scottish AI Playbook. Extensive stakeholder engagement has helped us identify and cater to the unique needs of this user group. Explore resources such as: • A Guide to Using Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector • Enabling Responsible Access to Demographic Data to Make AI Systems Fairer • Governing AI for Humanity • And more… Explore today: https://lnkd.in/ecKuiENj #publicsector #ai #publicsectorai #demographicdata #fairai #ethicalai #aiforhumanity #governingai #aipolicy

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🚀 Exciting News! Our deliverable summarising the current state of FAIRWork’s research collection is now available on our website! 🌐 This comprehensive document outlines the research tracks we are following in FAIRWork and their current status. Our research focuses on: - Democratisation of Decision-Making in Socio-Technical Settings - Digital Human Factors Analytics - AI supported Optimisation in Decision Support Systems - AI-Enriched Decision Support Systems - Decision-Making Using Multi-Agent Systems - Model-Based Knowledge Engineering for Decision Support - Reliable and Trustworthy AI Each track not only includes a brief summary but also discusses practical applications within the project and prototypes, particularly those focusing on AI algorithms. We also provide an outlook on our ethical watchdog approach, emphasising explainability and fairness within our AI services. 📄 Interested in diving deeper? Access the document here: https://lnkd.in/dkNqJnJn

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