People focussed research priorities released

Geospatial research and development will focus more on what people actually need, thanks to the new Geospatial Research and Development Priorities and Opportunities document, Land Information Minister Louise Upston said today.

“The launch formed part of New Zealand’s first Geospatial Research Conference, held at the University of Canterbury, which is fitting as this document is the first of its kind for New Zealand,” says Minister Upston.

Geospatial information is information about where things are, and how they are connected. It is used in everyday products like in-car navigation systems, dynamic maps, and geotagged websites and apps.

“The document – released by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) – identifies opportunities for more focussed research and development, based on feedback from geospatial information users.

Areas identified include health, resilience to natural hazards, crowd sourcing and sustainable urban planning.

“What these R&D priorities will do is ensure we’re investing in areas that support what end users have said they need, for example building geospatial tools and services to help communities find the best spot for intensifying affordable housing, or informing government on how infrastructure can be managed more effectively,” says Minister Upston.

“I strongly believe that this approach will lead to an increasing number of successful R&D projects that it will, in turn, deliver bigger benefits to New Zealand socially, environmentally and economically.”  

The Geospatial Research and Development Priorities and Opportunities can be downloaded from the LINZ website: http://www.linz.govt.nz/about-linz/our-location-strategy/new-zealand-geospatial-research-and-development-priorities-and-opportunities