What is GIS?
To start with, here’s a bit of confusion. GIS is commonly used to stand for two different things: Geographic Information Systems, and Geographic Information Science.
Geographic information systems are specialist software packages which allow us to put data onto maps. The ‘science’ bit comes when we use advanced analysis techniques to turn points on a map into dynamic and meaningful intelligence which people can use to make decisions.
Geofutures uses GI science and a range of database, analysis and delivery technologies, and where we use ‘GIS’ below, we mean GI science.
The rapid uptake of web mapping – Google Maps, Virtual Earth, MultiMap to name a few – means that most web users have come across an online ‘slippy map’ by now. They’re easy to use, to move around and zoom into, and importantly, we can put data points onto them.
Addresses, postcodes, points of interest and users’ own information all fall into place and make sense when we see them in their correct location on a map. That’s the fundamental benefit of using these tools.
So does this mean we’re all GIS experts now? What do the slippy map revolution and Web 2.0 mean for GIS specialist companies like Geofutures?
If all we’re doing is sharing holiday photos (and there’s nothing wrong with that) then simple dots on a map are enough. Most business and government decision makers need much more than this. Even more technical ‘mashups’ are generally only point data on a map.A GIS application can bring lots of different kinds of data brought together for each location. It can ensure results are comparable across wide geographic areas, offer reliable interpretations and predictions, and provide results that are instantly incorporated into other management information. We call this spatial insight, of which more below.
Happily, Web 2.0 and mainstream mapping interfaces also mean we can deliver leaner, faster applications to help clients make the most of data and make decisions.
Spatial database technology and fast connectivity mean that clients who want to can download results online, rather than investing in their own database hardware and software. Or they can do both, keeping their own information in-house and taking feeds of external information for comparison and analysis too.Unlike the time when Geofutures started out in business, these developments mean users of these tools don’t need specialist training and the only software they require is a standard browser. GIS used to be too expensive for anyone but government departments and the biggest companies; now any organisation or data community can benefit.
What do we mean by ‘spatial insight’?
There are many kinds of information a business or government decision maker might find relevant in making a strategic decision, from population data to economic statistics, environmental measures to customer opinions. Knowing that x% of y group does one thing and not the other may provide basic information to help decide the way ahead.
If we take these same data and geo-locate them (place each data point in a specified location on a map, for example by giving the correct mapping co-ordinates to the middle point of a postcode area), two things happen: we can instantly perceive patterns by eye, and we can start to analyse these patterns using GIS techniques.
It’s a fundamental principle of geography (known as Tobler’s Law) that things that are close together are more likely to be similar than those which are further apart. It sounds simple, but many traditional statistical techniques ignore this altogether. GIS applies spatial statistical techniques to take account of spatial proximity, clusters and edges, providing insights into patterns and variations down to very fine spatial scales.
These techniques also allow us to do useful things like reliably predict values for locations where we don’t have point data, and to combine two or more datasets to see their combined effects across a geographic area.
Perhaps most significantly, they create simple, compelling visualisations of the results on maps. This is spatial insight that everyone can see, understand and use to make reliable decisions.
Working with data
Data are at the heart of GIS. The technology allows us to process huge volumes of records, and spatial analysis can add enormous value to basic data as a business asset. To achieve any of this, data have to be available at the outset, and they have to be up to date, accurate and in a usable format. [We sometimes get asked why we say “data are…” not “data is…”. Technically, the word “data” is the plural of “datum”, so this is correct – even if it can sound odd.]
There are issues of simple availability of data: if they have been collected at all, or their confidentiality or commercial ownership. Hard data often have to be combined with ‘soft knowledge’ about people’s opinions and experiences in order to get the full picture, which creates separate challenges (see more on how we do this in our sustainability work).
Then we have to obey important rules when it comes to combining datasets which differ in scale, age, type of spatial representation, etc. With the benefit of GIS technology and techniques it can often be done, but the results need to be interpreted accordingly.
Many government datasets are freely available to anyone, but having created a warehouse of over 350 datasets for use in GIS applications, we know preparing them for accurate, consistent mapping is a lengthy and demanding process.
Even expert GIS technicians working in-house for client organisations call on specialist providers like Geofutures to provide the data and analysis tools they need. SABRE, our warehouse of economic, social and environmental data is a valuable resource available to clients – see our Products section for more.
