The UK will seek to unlock billions of pounds worth of economic development by capitalising on technologies such as AI, satellite imaging and real-time data to boost location-powered innovation.

That effort, which is at the heart of the UK Geospatial Commission’s newly released Geospatial Strategy 2030, will be used to drive the application of location data in property, transport, utilities and many other sectors.

“Location data and technologies power our economy and our Geospatial Strategy 2030 will ensure the UK remains an innovating world leader, by building on our successes and harnessing new opportunities from rapidly evolving technologies,” said Viscount Camrose, Minister for AI and Intellectual Property, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

“Our new strategy will grow our economy, embed the application of geospatial data in key decisions that affect our day-to-day lives while driving the private and public sector creativity needed to cement the UK’s status as a global science and technology superpower.”

The 2030 strategy renews and revises a similar strategy document issued in 2020, which set the scene for early developments in geospatial uptake across the UK.

The new strategy outlines three missions. Mission 1 is to “Embrace enabling technologies to accelerate geospatial innovation,” which, the Commission says, “will require effective partnerships across academia, industry and the public sector, to focus on research and development, and the fostering of innovation from seed to scale-up and implementation”.

Specific Mission 1 targets include:

• Building an understanding of the geospatial ecosystem to provide an informed view of the potential impacts of disruptive technologies and outlining the opportunities and risks that they present.
• Working with public sector partners to drive coordination and direction in public sector funding for geospatial research and development.
• By the northern autumn of 2024, following the conclusion of an Earth observation (EO) pilot, publish key findings covering how the public sector’s access to and innovative use of EO data can be supported.
• By the end of 2024, conduct a review of the remote sensing market, including a review of the existing collective procurement of aerial photography for the public sector, with a view to exploring longer-term access models.
• By the middle of 2024, publish an assessment of the market for data about population movement, including its strategic importance, privacy and security implications and it use within the public sector.

Mission 2 will seek to “build awareness of the power of location data, technology and services [that] can be achieved by driving and publicising the delivery of high value geospatial applications”. Its targets will include:

• By the northern spring of 2024, roll out the current, minimum viable product version of the National Underground Asset Register all across England and Northern Ireland, and have it fully operational by the end of 2025.
• By the end of 2024, explore the creation of a Land Use Analysis Taskforce to provide a spatially explicit evidence base that will help inform the delivery of key national priorities.
• Consider how government, academia and industry practitioners involved in land use decision making can improve links.
• By early 2024, develop with partners a standard taxonomy for key land use data.
• Publish findings on opportunities to unlock greater value across the property ecosystem through location data, technologies and services.
• By the end of 2024, publish a report identifying the challenges and opportunities for location data in the health sector.
• By early 2024, conduct a review of the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement to ensure it remains fit for purpose over the remaining seven years of the agreement.

Mission 3 will involve building confidence in the future geospatial ecosystem, by:

• Remaining committed to the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).
• In 2024, partnering with UK stakeholders to deliver an international geospatial conference on the power of location.
• By the middle of 2024, publish an evaluation of the Data, Digital, Diversity Training pilot programme to assess the value of this approach to upskilling geographic experts with digital skills.
• By the middle of 2024, work with universities to publish best practice as a first step towards embedding geospatial into data science and geography courses.

“Location-based insights have proven their enduring value again and again — during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, tracking outbreaks across the country was critical to inform public health decisions,” said Sir Bernard Silverman, Chair of the Geospatial Commission.

“The power of location will continue to underpin solutions to our biggest challenges including climate change, energy security and economic growth.”