Land Information New Zealand has said it intends to put more effort into promoting the use and re-use of New Zealand’s geospatial information in the future.
The body traditionally exists to maintain private property rights in New Zealand, and to make available geographic information about New Zealand that underpins property rights.
But the new statement of intent comes after a review of the government agency’s work found that while the agency is progressing its work well, more could be done to promote geospatial information to a wider audience.
“LINZ core business is operating well and it is seen as being a responsive, technically competent and focused organization,” says the review.
“However, the challenge emerging for LINZ is how it maintains current performance levels while it responds to changing customer expectations about the type of data available and its accessibility and its leadership role to implement the Government’s Geospatial Strategy.”
The New Zealand Spatial Strategy was developed in 2006 to better coordinate and manage the use of New Zealand's geospatial resources across all tiers of society.
It addresses the increasing reliance on geospatial information in New Zealand and the opportunities offered by the new digital environment for efficiencies in the collection, management and provision of that information.
The organisational implications that the Geospatial Strategy may have on Land Information New Zealand are currently uncertain as the strategic plan is still at an early stage.
But the reviewers believe it is critical in the next few months that priorities are set, the next steps in the development of the strategy are identified and the pace of implementation accelerates.
The review emphasises that the economic growth opportunities for New Zealand from effective geospatial services are considerable.
“Accordingly, Land Information New Zealand will need to work in a different way to generate more of a mandated commitment from ministers and the heads of other government agencies to allow it to assume an effective leadership role in this area,” says the review.
