OpenGeoscience is a free web service from the British Geological Survey that provides geological information for non-commercial and innovation use. Available resources include geological maps at street-level scale for the whole GB (delivered via Web Map Services using ESRI technologies), nearly 50,000 photographic images from our national collection, access to databases such as the rock classification scheme and lexicon of named rock units, an open research archive and software downloads such as the ArcMap-based digital field data capture system.
www.bgs.ac.uk/opengeoscience

The last five years has seen the Forestry Commission develop ‘Forester’ into a world class corporate GIS solution. Forester encompasses the majority of our business functions including: recreation, conservation, land ownership, and engineering. This common platform now allows us to manage all aspects of our estate whilst the controlled workflow permits 1000 non-expert GIS users who know the business to manage the business. At a corporate level, Forester provides the ability to make effective informed decisions regarding the future of the estate for the benefit of Britain.

The Project brief was to develop a set of cached map tiles for use on Bristol’s GIS web application Pinpoint using Ordnance Survey map data and provide the ability to offer both detailed OS raster base mapping and a new set of clear uncluttered street views at a variety of scales. The driver for this project was to provide base mapping comparable to Google maps with the advantage of being able to legally display derived data against it.
http://maps.bristol.gov.uk

When the States of Guernsey went out to consultation for a new, simple, transparent, equitable property tax system, Digimap proposed using GIS. 18months later, the highly innovative ‘Tax on Real Property’ system was hailed as a great success. GIS technology has played a major part in the development of the new system for measuring and rating properties for the purpose of property taxation in the Islands of Guernsey and Alderney. This revolutionary new system replaced an archaic method that had been in place since 1947. Using GIS to map and calculate the plan view area of properties, together with a straightforward and accurate way of assessing the number of storeys etc., provides a simple, transparent and equitable system.

The IMS2 project was a follow-on phase from an earlier prototype. The project was to provide an easy to use interactive web based mapping system for every member of staff that displays, Crimes and ASB, Intelligence, stop & search and other data down to local neighbourhood street level in a single view. At the touch of simple buttons staff can view aoristic clocks showing the times offences and incidents occur and any location of reoccurrence allowing timely and effective resource deployment to tackle neighbourhood issues and improve citizen focus.

The Offshore EnergyGateway is an online GIS mapping and data system that enables Infield to offer its clients a global geographic reference tool, to view data covering; oil and gas fields, operators, ownership, licence blocks, platforms, associated pipelines, bathymetry, terminals, ports and heliports. The service can be accessed through any Internet browser where the user can utilise a series of tools to search, interrogate, download data and export maps as well upload and integrate their own GIS data and graphics.
www.offshoreenergygateway.com

The 110 year restoration programme for the Sellafield nuclear site in West Cumbria is a complex task involving many spatial and temporal considerations. The challenge of developing an approach to planning which allows for all these considerations is being met by the use of a GIS, with ArcGIS desktop and its Tracking Analyst extension the chosen software. The solution provides visualisation of the complex interaction of all aspects of the programme, including spatial animation of programme timelines, enabling more efficient and effective site planning and asset management, producing expected multi-million pound savings.

Corporate GIS replacement and consolidation project undertaken by one of the UK’s largest water and wastewater companies. Implemented, used and operated in a blended in house / outsourced organisation environment. Close integration with third party systems, in particular SAP, across a SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) platform. Serves desktop, Intranet, mobile and Internet users (internal and external user bases), both through GIS and non-GIS clients. Phase II already being planned.

Wales & West Utilities has implemented a corporate Geographic Information System (GIS), linked to SAP, that provides a single, joined up view of all of its business assets and operations and which is easily accessible across the company. The solution has streamlined business processes and contributed to efficiency gains in many areas. This also allows customers to view position of gas pipes from our Internet Maps service.

Fieldwork in geoscience develops skills and enhance understanding in the real world. Kingston University’s Centre for GIS places a strong focus on fieldwork and has developed methodologies that takes GIS out of the classroom which harness developments in mobile GIS. Students utilize ArcPad and ArcGIS Mobile via an innovative in-the-field Arc Server implementation to rapidly collect data in the field, share it on the fly with each other and teaching staff and collaborate to build a shared understanding.

The Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset and East Devon encompasses 185 million years of Earth’s history in just 95 miles of coast. Much of this history is charted through its rocks, fossils and landforms. In some areas, the fossils are under threat due to coastal erosion. Through a Nuffield Foundation grant, school pupil Thomas Hearing mapped rapidly eroding fossil-rich ledges using differential GPS and ArcGIS 9.3. The results are being used as a baseline study for future surveys.

Strategic Health Asset Planning and Evaluation (SHAPE) is a web-based, planning software application aimed primarily at Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to inform and support delivery of service reconfiguration within a whole health economy in England. SHAPE provides SHAs and PCTS with a unique and comprehensive, robust, evidence-based resource system, bringing together existing national data sets of clinical activity, human geography and healthcare estate assets, supported by ESRI Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology.

Decision support for assessment and marine spatial planning of UK Seas
MaRS is a decision support system used by the Marine Spatial Planning Team to identify areas of opportunity in UK waters and resolve planning conflicts in a transparent, evidence-based manner.

With a comprehensive database of over 500 GIS layers, MaRS uses multi criteria analysis to investigate areas with the most development potential and least risk.

MaRS’ suite of tools appraises consenting risk, technical constraints, sustainable development and investment criteria to guide decision making in UK waters. The resultant outputs, maps and reports then allow auditable decision making and rationale to be available to stakeholders and opinion formers enhancing certainty in planning decisions.

The last five years has seen the Forestry Commission develop ‘Forester’ into a world class corporate GIS solution. Forester encompasses the majority of our business functions including: recreation, conservation, land ownership, and engineering. This common platform now allows us to manage all aspects of our estate whilst the controlled workflow permits 1000 non-expert GIS users who know the business to manage the business. At a corporate level, Forester provides the ability to make effective informed decisions regarding the future of the estate for the benefit of Britain.

When the States of Guernsey went out to consultation for a new, simple, transparent, equitable property tax system, Digimap proposed using GIS. 18months later, the highly innovative ‘Tax on Real Property’ system was hailed as a great success. GIS technology has played a major part in the development of the new system for measuring and rating properties for the purpose of property taxation in the Islands of Guernsey and Alderney. This revolutionary new system replaced an archaic method that had been in place since 1947. Using GIS to map and calculate the plan view area of properties, together with a straightforward and accurate way of assessing the number of storeys etc., provides a simple, transparent and equitable system.