Friday, 18 October 2013

Geo Information in 2014 – and the rest of 2013

Next year is the 25th anniversary of the AGI and we are already putting a lot of effort in to our event programme to ensure it is more diverse and challenging than ever. However we don’t want 2014 to just be a self indulgent celebration of what we’ve done over the last 25 years (or last four months in my case). Instead we want to use it as an opportunity to take stock of GI in the UK and look at what are the major themes facing GI in 2014.

The idea for this partly comes from a conversation I had last night at our networking drinks with the INSPIRE SIG. They are currently looking at broadening the SIG beyond just the INSPIRE policy to look at the wider theme of Location within the Government’s National Information Infrastructure. This followed nicely on from discussions we had been having about running each showcase event around a certain theme in the industry with a view to informing our next Foresight report in 2015 (see here for the last foresight report).

Several themes spring to mind straight away, the already mention ‘location’ along with open data and open source, cloud technology and SMART cities. However we want our members input on what they think these themes should be. Is SMART too specific? Should we be looking at GI and infrastructure and GI and the citizen instead? Should open data and open source be considered separately and is cloud a theme of its own or something that should be lumped in under the wider auspices of technology?

These are the questions we hope to answer going in to 2014 and we want our members’ thoughts and opinions on these questions. We will be framing the questions more clearly as the programme for next year unfolds but in the meantime we want to hear from you on twitter and LinkedIn, through the blog, the SIGs and regions and any smaller event we hold throughout the year.

Not to forget the rest of 2013...

We still have plenty left to do in 2013 with Showcase events in York (14/11) and Cardiff (3/12) (a perfect opportunity to share your thoughts with us). Rounding this all off is the AGI Annual Awards on the 6th December. As well as announcing our programme and plans for 2014 the Annual Awards are the opportunity for you to be recognised for any innovative work you have undertaken this year. Winning an award gives you the plaudits of your peers in the community and is a great addition to both your professional profile and that of the organisation you belong to. You can view the list of awards, past winner and nominate someone (or yourself) for an award here.


As always we look forward to hearing your ideas around the industry in 2014 and also any more nominations for the awards!  

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