Informed Solutions actively participate in professional associations, conferences, seminars and special interest groups that work for the greater good of the industry.

We also regularly organise and host a number of Key Industry Issues Seminars each year which focus on a range of leading edge IT and Spatial technology topics that have a particular value to our clients.

Informed Solutions supports MapAction's efforts in Haiti

Following the devastating earthquakes that have struck Haiti, Informed Solutions has provided financial support to MapAction's work in the country.

MapAction, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), deployed a team to Haiti immediately after the disaster, and their volunteers will play a vital role in supporting relief coordination. The MapAction team will gather information on the ground and, through the use of geographical information systems (GIS) and satellite location systems, will create maps that will provide aid agencies with a critical insight into the disaster scene, enabling them to identify the most affected areas and locations where relief has already been provided. This information will help aid agencies to develop a shared operational picture and support decision making, ensuring that humanitarian aid is efficiently distributed and delivered to the correct places.

Informed Solutions has a long standing association with MapAction and understands the pivotal importance of the work that the organisation undertakes in times of disaster. Informed Solutions is proud to help MapAction's relief efforts and wishes them every success in their support for the delivery of aid in Haiti.



Informed Solutions Rewards High Achievers in GIS

As part of its collaboration programme with Edinburgh University, Informed Solutions has once again presented awards to high achievers on this year's MSc in GIS course.

The awards were presented at the School of Geosciences graduation ceremony on 26^th November by Alex Bell – a principal consultant with Informed Solutions and former course student. Awards were presented to Ian MacKenzie and Melissa Fedrigo for achieving distinctions on the course and Andrew Henry and Paschalis Tsopanoglou for producing exceptional dissertations.

Elizabeth Vega – the Chief Executive of Informed Solutions – said: "Informed Solutions is delighted to support the excellent work of the School of Geosciences at Edinburgh University through the presentation of awards, for the third successive year. Skills development is a core element of our company ethos. Through our graduate framework we aim to support leading academic institutions – such as Edinburgh University - in encouraging their students to achieve their potential. We also look to offer collaboration which assists graduates to leave university with a range of relevant learning and applicable skills, helping to make them more employable".

Neil Stuart, currently the director of the MSc in GIS programme at Edinburgh University, said: "We are delighted that Informed Solutions continues to support the department and reward the hard work of our most successful students through the presentation of awards. Achieving such an accolade – from a leading organisation in the GIS field – is a real acknowledgment of the effort and dedication that these individuals have invested into their work".

Alex Bell – who also acts as an external industry examiner for the course – said: "I am very pleased to present these awards on behalf of Informed Solutions. As a former student on the course, I can recall the hard work and commitment that is required to succeed, and therefore acknowledge the importance of reflecting upon and rewarding these remarkable achievements. Informed Solutions would like to wish all of the graduates from this year's course the very best of luck as they embark on their careers within the GIS industry".



CLG and Informed Solutions Celebrate National Rollout of Fire and Rescue Service Incident Recording System

National deployment of the Fire and Rescue Service Incident Recording System has now been completed, with users in Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) across the UK now using the system to log, store and disseminate attended incident data.

The Incident Recording System (IRS) – developed by Informed Solutions in cooperation with Communities and Local Government (CLG) – is a fully automated data capture and sharing system, which enables data on all incidents attended by UK FRSs to be collected electronically and verified at source. Designed according to an innovative and scalable architecture, the IRS has joined FRSs onto a single, central hub, allowing them to log data via a dual access channel, either through a standard web browser or an existing local system using web services.

The system will greatly increase the volume, timeliness and accuracy of incident data available to CLG for analysis, assisting with the formulation of policy and facilitating progress towards targets aimed at reducing the numbers of accidental fire-related deaths and deliberate fires.

Justin Hassall – Informed Solutions' Director of Programmes – said "Informed Solutions have been involved in the delivery of the IRS from strategy inception through to design and development and subsequent rollout and support. Delivery of the system represents the transformation of a previously paper-based process through successful application of an innovative strategy. The result is much more efficient incident recording, and a potentially much richer evidence base for analysis by CLG".

To support the deployment of the system, Informed Solutions have worked in close collaboration with CLG's Staff to provide user training for FRS representatives from across the UK. Justin Hassall commented, "We have received extremely positive feedback from all of the training sessions, which we hope will help to ensure that FRSs transition to using the IRS in an efficient and timely fashion".



Energy Infrastructure Portal Drives Efficient Regulatory Services

The Energy Infrastructure Portal, delivered by Informed Solutions on behalf of The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), continues to deliver positive regulatory reform with the launch of a new service that helps the UK Electricity Industry to apply for consent to develop and maintain Overhead Electric Lines (Section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989).

Stewart Robinson, Energy Resources Consultant with DECC, said: "Working in close collaboration with our partners Informed Solutions, we have delivered a highly effective and responsive service that will streamline the Electricity Development Consent process for all stakeholders and will proliferate better working practices within the industry".

DECC received over 1000 applications from Electricity Network Operators to develop or maintain Overhead Lines in 2008/2009, and this new service will significantly improve their ability to manage these often complex applications. The new service has made the entire application process more efficient, considerably reducing the time taken to produce and exchange legally admissible consent documents.

Electricity Development Consent involves a diverse range of organisations, including DECC, Electricity Network Operators, Local Planning Authorities and other statutory bodies such as Natural England and the Ministry of Defence. Informed Solutions consulted with representatives from across this stakeholder community to deliver an innovative and intuitive service which has satisfied the needs of all parties.

Tom Weeks, Informed Solutions' Lead Consultant for the project, said: "All Electricity Network Operators in England and Wales have registered to use the Portal, with many using the service on a daily basis. The Portal allows Network Operators, Planning Authorities and Statutory Bodies to fully manage applications for consent using only a standard Internet browser. Each community can more easily participate in the consent process in a way that supports how their individual organisations like to work, without the need for any new investment".

The Energy Infrastructure Portal provides an online, paperless service for managing the development and maintenance of the UK Electricity Network, which will receive some £5.7 billion of investment between 2005 and 2010. The Portal makes key regulatory services more accessible and coordinated, joining up and improving communications between all key stakeholders from across government and industry.



Places Database Enhanced and Enriched

Communities and Local Government (CLG) and Informed Solutions have delivered a series of updates to the award-winning Places Database, enhancing usability and enriching access to over 4,000 datasets relating to 70,000 places in England and Wales.

Building upon the previous success of the programme, the latest updates have focused upon adding new and improved functionality to the public-facing Places web site. One of the key new features is an "Indicator Discovery" function which enables users to quickly find specific information through key word searches, making Places' substantial data holdings more accessible. Additionally, improvements have been made to the web site's mapping, charting and reporting functionality, enabling more intuitive, flexible and in-depth presentation and analysis of data.

Louise Day, programme manager for Places at CLG, said: "The effective partnership between CLG, Informed Solutions and the user community has ensured another successful delivery within the Places programme. This latest extension of the Places web site makes it easier for users to locate, explore and visualise relevant data, further increasing its value as a tool which enables informed decision-making and policy development across the department".

The Places Database is an innovative national geographic data warehouse that integrates community-related knowledge and a wide range of statistics around the concept of place. This rich source of information is made available to the general public, policy analysts and delivery partners through a family of user friendly web sites, which are extensively used for policy analysis and performance management. In December 2008, the Places programme was awarded the Whitehall and Westminster World Civil Service Award for Knowledge Management.



Informed Solutions Crowned AGI Football Champions

Informed Solutions are delighted to have won their first ever Association of Geographic Information (AGI) 5-a-side football tournament. The team battled stern opposition and inclement weather conditions to triumph in the competition, which was held at Kensington Sports Centre on Thursday 23^rd July.

Team Captain Paul Collins said: "We're incredibly pleased to have won what was a very competitive and highly enjoyable tournament. The standard is pretty high, so we knew we'd have to play well as a team to win. Thankfully, we had a strong squad which we were able to rotate between matches, with everyone putting in good performances. We always enjoy playing in this tournament, but to win it is even better".

Informed Solutions beat off strong challenges from ESRI, Infotech, Buchanan Computing and the Ordnance Survey to lift the AGI trophy, with three wins and a draw proving enough to secure victory.

Company Chairman and past Chair of the AGI John Alderson commented: "We have been participating in the AGI 5-a-side tournament for a number of years now. It's a great event which is very effective in bringing together the GI community, and therefore it is always a highlight of our sporting calendar. I'm delighted that we've finally managed to win the trophy after some near misses in the past, and offer my congratulations to the team".

Paul Collins added: "We'd all like to thank Claire Huppertz at the AGI for organising this event, and look forward to returning next year to defend the trophy".



Informed Solutions and 'Places' Transform Performance Management of Local Area Agreements

Following the launch of the Places Analysis Tool (PAT) in May, users from across government and the general public will, for the first time, be able to view a national picture of Local Area Performance. The PAT – developed by Informed Solutions on behalf of Communities and Local Government – integrates advanced features of Business Intelligence and Web 2.0 technologies to provide a dynamic and intuitive web tool to explore national information relating to Local Area Agreements (LAAs).

Louise Day – the Places Programme Manager at CLG – commented. "Using the Places Framework, PAT will allow our local and regional partners to analyse LAAs in new and powerful ways".

"Delivery of the PAT is a ground breaking advance" Seth Finegan, Informed Solutions' Director of Consulting Services, said. "For the first time, people can view and explore the national LAA picture, enabling better understanding and more consistent analysis of local performance, and facilitating more effective performance management of LAAs".

David Lawton, Informed Solutions' Lead Consultant for the PAT project, said "We have worked extremely closely with CLG to develop a web site which is usable, intuitive, and fully aligned with the needs of its users. By utilising the latest Web 2.0 technologies, the PAT provides a range of polished analytical outputs - including dynamic reports, maps, graphs and tables – which enable users to fully explore the national LAA picture". Louise Day added, "PAT represents a step change in usability for national government data systems".

In June 2008, the government introduced LAAs as a mechanism to allow local areas to set out their priorities and agree these with central government and other key partners at the local level, forming a Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). The performance of the local area against its agreed targets contributes to the funding received by that area, which amounts to millions of pounds nationally.

http://www.pat.communities.gov.uk/pat/



Informed Solutions Further Connect Local Partnerships and Central Government with Latest Release of Data Interchange Hub

The latest development of the Data Interchange Hub ('the Hub') has further connected Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) and Central Government, advancing the exchange of information across government and the effective management of Local Area Agreements (LAAs).

The new release enables LSP users to submit data directly into the Hub for 14 locally collected National Indicators (used to monitor LAA performance), to a strict timetable and in accordance with the level of information required for each indicator. The Hub intelligently calculates total values for indicators with multiple components, and enables validation and quality assurance of data before it is submitted.

Seth Finegan, Informed Solutions' Director of Consultancy, said: "This latest extension of the Hub's functionality enhances the immense value it can offer in joining up local and central government through the secure and timely exchange of data".

Louise Day, programme manager for the Hub project at CLG, said: "The continued success of the Hub project is the result of effective collaboration between CLG, our partner Informed Solutions, and other stakeholders from across central, regional and local government. This latest development of the Hub further reduces the burden of data submission for LSPs, and ensures that an accurate evidence base is available to Government Offices, improving their ability to manage LAAs and make decisions that will drive improved outcomes at a local level".

LAAs are sets of priorities for local areas agreed between Central Government and LSPs, and are used to allocate millions of pounds of government funding. The Hub underpins the management of LAAs by providing a single, central, access-controlled repository for users from across government to view, update, approve, download and disseminate data on national indicators and LAA targets. It has been developed according to a flexible, standards-based framework which enables future expansion and the incorporation of additional functionality.



Informed Solutions named on Greater London Authority Web Support, Maintenance and Development Framework

Informed Solutions is delighted to announce that it has successfully tendered for and is now one of only five firms included on the Enterprise GIS preferred consultants and suppliers list of the Greater London Authority (GLA) Web Support, Maintenance and Development Framework.

Seth Finegan, Informed Solutions' Director of Consulting Services, said: "Informed Solutions has a well established and distinguished reputation for delivering innovative GIS and location based projects for key London stakeholder organisations and central government departments. We are, therefore, naturally delighted to have been named on the new GLA Web Support, Maintenance and Development Framework. We believe that a well considered and architectured set of geospatial services would contribute significantly to the effective 'joining up' of London and we welcome the opportunity to be involved".

One of the main aims of the new Web Support, Maintenance and Development Framework is to facilitate the redevelopment of a new London website, which will offer a one-stop-shop for many diverse forms of information relating to London - providing residents and visitors with easy access to details about public, commercial and not-for-profit services. However, the framework is not restricted to the redevelopment of the London website alone, and will also encompass maintenance and support services for current web-based systems and analysis, development and consultancy services for any other GLA group requirements.

The GLA is a region-wide governing body that is responsible for the strategic administration of the Greater London area. It is headed by a directly elected Mayor – the Mayor of London – with a separately elected Assembly which reviews the Mayor's recommendations and activities. The GLA has overall responsibility for the functional bodies, which together with the GLA is known as the GLA Group. These organisations include Transport for London, the London Development Agency, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.



Informed Solutions "continue to set the standard for e-GIF compliance"

Informed Solutions is delighted to announce that it has been successfully reaccredited under the e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF), following its annual accreditation audit.

The audit was undertaken by the e-GIF Accreditation Authority, which is operated by the National Computing Centre (NCC) on behalf of the Cabinet Office. For the second consecutive year since first obtaining the accreditation, Informed Solutions was praised for achieving an "exceptional standard of performance" in relation to e-GIF standards. Nigel Bragg, Assessor for the e-GIF Accreditation Authority, asserted that "Informed Solutions continue to set the standard for e-GIF compliance. In doing so, they have ideally positioned themselves to deliver high quality, efficient and effective enterprise systems solutions to the public sector".

This welcomed feedback underlines Informed Solutions' commitment to maintaining close alignment with current recommended public sector interoperability policies and standards. Alex Bell, a Principal Consultant and Solutions Architect with Informed Solutions, said: "the feedback from this audit was extremely pleasing and demonstrates the close regard that Informed Solutions pays to e-GIF standards. We will continue to work closely with the NCC to ensure that our practices remain fully aligned with the framework, thereby ensuring that the solutions that we deliver continue to be as innovative, open and interoperable as possible".

The e-GIF defines the technical policies and specifications governing information flows across government and the public sector and is specifically concerned with introducing maximum interoperability between public sector IT systems.



Peter Capell of Informed Solutions is Elected to Association of Geographic Information (AGI) Council.

Peter Capell, a Principal Consultant with Informed Solutions, has been elected to the 2009 Association of Geographic Information (AGI) Council. Peter, who has fulfilled the role of Junior Chair, Senior Chair, Vice Chair and Chair on previous councils, will now serve until 2011. Peter was elected to one of four seats for which there was a particularly strong field of fourteen applicants this year.

The AGI, established in 1988, represents the interests of the UK’s geographic information (GI) industry, and seeks to bring the GI community together to share ideas on best practice, experience and innovation. Membership consists of a wide ranging group of public and private sector organisations with an interest in GI, suppliers of GI software, hardware, data and services, consultants, academics and other interested parties. The entire AGI membership is eligible to vote for Council members.

The role of the Council is to set AGI policy and maintain its constitution; to ensure that the AGI is appropriately managed financially, adequately resourced and performs its legally responsible duties; to actively encourage the promotion of the AGI, and to ensure that it is kept informed of developments that may impact upon its policy.

Informed Solutions has been an active member of the AGI for over 10 years, with a number of consultants who have been members of past Councils, and two ex-Chairs. Peter’s election to the Council, along with fellow consultant Phil Francis’ appointment as the AGI representative on the National Underground Assets Group (NUAG) Steering Group Committee and Tom Christian’s recent commitment to AGI North, represents Informed Solutions’ continuing desire to support the work of the organisation and remain at the forefront of the GI industry.

Peter said: 'I am very honoured to have been re elected as a member of AGI Council for a further 3 years and am very pleased that Informed Solutions continues to support the AGI in a number of practical ways. I look forward to making a contribution to the further delivery of the aims of the AGI, with a particular emphasis on liaison with existing and potential future members and on developments in public policy, for example through the opportunities created by the establishment of the new Location Strategy'.



Department for Communities and Local Government and Informed Solutions celebrate Civil Service Award for the Places Database.

Communities and Local Government’s (CLG) innovative knowledge management programme, the Places Database, has been awarded the Whitehall and Westminster World Civil Service Award for Knowledge Management and Analysis.

The awards are an annual showcase for innovation and improvement in the Civil Service, which this year saw over 700 entries across 13 categories. The winners were announced at an awards ceremony held at Lancaster House in London, on the evening of Wednesday 26th November 2008, with Gordon Brown in attendance.

Developed by CLG in partnership with Informed Solutions, ‘Places’ is a national geographic data warehouse that integrates community-related knowledge and a wide range of statistics around the concept of place. This rich source of information is a treasure trove for the general public, policy analysts, and delivery partners alike and is made available through a family of easy to use websites and services.

The award represents an acknowledgment at the highest level of the innovative and effective way in which CLG and Informed Solutions have worked to create the strategy for and deliver the Places programme, establishing a clear vision which places robust evidence and analysis at the heart of the decision making process and drawing information from inside and outside of government to influence policy development and deliver better results.

Permanent Secretary Peter Housden commended the winners by saying: "Congratulations to everyone involved. I am delighted that their hard work has been recognised with fully deserved awards”, whilst Deputy-Director David Fry, Head of the Geographical and Statistical Evidence Division at CLG, said: “We are thrilled to have won this prestigious award, which is the result of an excellent collaborative partnership we maintain with our supplier Informed Solutions”.

Seth Finegan, Director of Consulting Services at Informed Solutions said: “We are delighted for CLG that the value of the ‘Places’ approach has been independently recognised. Places is a Government IT success-story that has its roots in the development of creative strategy, the delivery of innovative solutions, and a genuinely collaborative working partnership.”

The Places Database and related websites can be found at www.communities.gov.uk/placescommunity.


For more information contact us on: Tel: 0161 942 2000 or email pauline.wrench@informed.com



Phil Francis Appointed as AGI Representative on the National Underground Assets Group (NUAG) Steering Group Committee.

NUAG was established in 2005 to encourage relevant stakeholders, including utilities, highways organisations, the UK government and other representative bodies, to exchange information on underground assets to facilitate better street works cooperation. The group’s aims are to protect the health and safety of those working or living near to underground assets, ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of works on underground assets and support the successful delivery of relevant Traffic Management Act and other legislative targets.

To achieve these aims, the group brings together stakeholders to ensure that the most effective and efficient means of recording, storing, sharing and displaying information on underground assets and appropriate associated above ground assets are achieved. The Steering Group Committee is responsible for the management and strategic direction of NUAG, ensuring that its aims are met.

Informed Solutions has had a strong presence in the utilities and telecommunications industries for a number of years, and since joining the company Phil Francis has played a prominent role in a variety of projects within these sectors. These have typically involved the development of systems which use open standards to join up industry stakeholders, enabling efficient network management through the sharing of asset information for regulatory and other purposes.

Phil’s commitment to the NUAG Steering Group Committee demonstrates Informed Solutions’ ongoing dedication to the activities of the AGI and to the GI sector in general. Phil commented: “being part of NUAG is an exciting challenge; in its work to date the group has successfully demonstrated a clear willingness from both government and industry to improve the way asset data is shared among stakeholders. It is now the intention of the group to plan a roadmap for taking forward the incremental development of a data exchange hub and achieve the necessary buy in and momentum to turn the vision in to a reality”.



Informed Solutions pass annual e-GIF accreditation audit with an exceptional standard of performance.

Informed Solutions is extremely pleased to announce that it has successfully passed its annual e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF) accreditation audit, with the accolade that this was achieved with an "exceptional standard of performance".

This achievement underlines the Company’s commitment to service excellence and risk managing innovation within a pragmatic business solutions landscape. The highly favourable feedback obtained from the e-GIF Accreditation Authority (operated by the National Computing Centre (NCC) on behalf of the Cabinet Office) reflects our ability to deliver high-quality public sector services which pay close regard to recommended public sector interoperability policies and standards.

The recent e-GIF audit, undertaken by Alan Bellinger, Assessor for the e-GIF Accreditation Authority, reported that Informed Solutions offers clients an “environment in which providing e-GIF compliant solutions is 'business as normal'”. Alan also went on to remark that Informed Solutions "are ideally placed to ensure that clients' interoperability goals are achieved". Andy Hopkirk (NCC’s Director e-GIF Programme) agreed that "it is evident that you have created a very strong, quality-based operation that is also able to maintain its agility and deliver e-GIF compliance for its clients".

This highly welcomed feedback highlights Informed Solutions' commitment to offering efficient and effective e-GIF compliant enterprise systems solutions. That is, independent consulting and accredited systems integration services that: comply with government standards and respect recommended working practices; protect individual client's investment, as well as create economies in broader related public sector IT spend; minimise the on-going costs of ownership by adherence to published, non-propriety, open systems standards; and, thereby, maximise and sustain the realisation of the business benefits the solution underpins

Informed Solutions tops quality benchmark and is awarded OGCbuying.solutions Catalist framework agreement in all Geographic Information Services and Solutions (GISS) categories.

Informed Solutions is pleased to announce that it has recently been awarded an OGCbuying.solutions Catalist framework agreement for Geographic Information Services and Solutions (GISS). Furthermore, we are one of only three companies to be successfully awarded contracts in all three GISS categories - end to end solutions, map making and data capture.

As one of the largest suppliers of GI services under the previous GI framework, we acknowledge that our re-appointment owes much to the successful working relationships we built with members of OGCbuying.solutions' buying community over the previous four years. We are appreciative of the trust our Clients have placed in us by appointing Informed Solutions to deliver, on their behalf, some of the most significant and high profile GIS projects to be awarded in the UK , and our Clients' testimonials attest to the success of these projects and longevity of the partnerships we have forged with them.

As one of the UK's leading providers of independent GIS consultancy services, we are clearly delighted with this outcome, particularly as it reinforces our long established reputation for providing quality systems and professional services, as well as consistently achieving very high levels of Client satisfaction.

Under this new framework agreement, we look forward to continuing to work with our existing Clients, as well as forging and developing new relationships across the public sector. We certainly won't be resting on our laurels, and will continue to commit to delivering significant and measurable benefits to a Client's business - adding value through leveraging geographic and location based intelligence - in key business areas, such as policy formulation, performance management, logistics and evidence based decision making.

 

 

If you think we may be able to support or assist your organisation, and for more information, please contact Pauline Wrench at Informed Solutions on:

Tel: +44 161 942 2000

Fax: +44 161 942 2015

Email: pauline.wrench@informed.com

Please contact us for more details on our future programme using the contact details listed below.