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Maps generated by GeoConcept Internet Server that illustrate and analyse patterns and trends in local and regional education can be downloaded directly over the Internet by clients using a brand new portal Web site launched this month. It is the product of Map Analysis Ltd, a geographic information systems consultancy specialising in the education sector. GeoConcept is supplied in the UK by Kingswood MapMechanics, which also provided map data and support for the project.
The system revolutionises the way people in education-related organisations such as colleges and research consultancies can access geographically-based information, says managing director Katherine Button. |
“It means they can call up relevant material on demand, in a range of formats that suit their particular requirements. They can focus on specific geographical areas, call up a range of map views and reports based on different criteria, and print out the results.” She adds: “The great thing is that they can now do all this from their desks through the new Web portal, without having to speak to us or request additional research. It means much greater empowerment for them, coupled with cost savings all round.”
A further benefit of the system, she says, is that it provides a showcase for the attractions of mapping in the education sector. “It’s difficult to explain the benefits of mapping and GIS in words alone, but when you put maps on screen, people immediately understand how useful they can be.”
Users are expected to adopt the system for a range of tasks such as analysing catchment areas of individual colleges, travel patterns to educational establishments, age profiles of students in different areas, and relative levels of education funding. GeoConcept can display the results vividly on maps in the form of graphs, pie charts, shading, flow diagrams and similar devices.
Director Andrew Button says GeoConcept Internet Server has proved particularly effective in setting up the system. “It allows us to run the initial analysis required by each customer, save a selection of map views, themes and positions, and then make these accessible to users via simple on-screen tabs and drop-down boxes. And if we need to change the setup later, we can simply add another tab.”
Users for their part can access pre-defined areas of maps or related data in a whole range of different permutations. They can then navigate round the maps, perform their analysis, and print out the required results. “This is far better than with our old system, where users might not know at the outset exactly what they wanted, and had to keep coming back to us to request additional maps. By mixing and matching the elements of their initial setup, they can now achieve most of what they want with their standard package.”
“They also avoid the waste involved in requesting massive sheaves of hard-copy print-outs, just to make sure that these include anything they might need later. Now they can be selective, knowing that they have full access to whatever they need when they need it.”
Map Analysis has used digital map data supplied by Kingswood MapMechanics for several years as part of its consultancy service, and Andrew Button says he discovered through his contact with the company how effective GeoConcept could be. He says is particularly impressed with the way it gathers all the mapping resource files together in one place.
“This means we only have one file to put on our Web server. That makes version management much easier, because if we update a customer application, there’s just one file to upload to the server.”
The GeoConcept Internet Server version also makes updating a smoother process, Andrew Button says. “With previous systems, clients had to take responsibility for notifying us of things like boundary changes. With GeoConcept, the updating can be done quickly and centrally.
"With our previous systems," he adds, "when clients required editorial changes such as use of different boundary colours, they had to wait for us to export or print, then mail them the changes. With the new system the updating can be done very quickly, and new versions can be uploaded to the Internet site for immediate viewing by the client."
The Map Analysis service draws on a range of standard data held by the company, including for instance Census data and the full National Training Records database produced by the Government’s Learning & Skills Council. These are linked with mapping such as Ordnance Survey’s latest map data.
“Some users might want to incorporate data of their own, although it’s not an essential part of the service,” Andrew Button says. “But eventually we aim to make it possible for them to upload their own data via the portal.”
He points out: “Budgets in the education sector are inevitably tight, and few organisations have the funding or human resources to embark on major GIS projects, even though these offer so many benefits. They have to rely on external consultancy.
“This new portal service goes further than anything available in the past towards offering such organisations on-demand GIS capability that’s powerful yet intuitive enough for non-experts to use, along with an online ‘library’ of maps and data.” |
