URISA Newsletter Issue 193

BURISA
September 2012
193
The British Urban & Regional Information Systems Association
BURISA to merge with LARIA
The BURISA Board is pleased to
announce that BURISA will merge with
LARIA, the Local Area Research and
Intelligence Association (formerly the
Local Authorities Research and
Intelligence Association), from January
2013. A preliminary agreement to this
effect has been reached with the
LARIA Council and details will be
finalised in the coming months and
published in the final BURISA
newsletter 194 in early December. This
follows our announcement in newsletter
192 that BURISA could not continue in
its current form for very much longer.
LARIA will be familiar to many
BURISA subscribers and is a very
appropriate organisation to take on
BURISA’s legacy. Both associations
were established in the early 1970s and
have pursued many shared interests and
objectives over the last forty years.
Both have published regular newsletters
and organised conferences and other
events. BURISA has traditionally
focused on rather more technical topics,
including information systems, and
originally aimed at a wider audience
including health, central government,
commercial and academic organisations
as well as local government. However
in recent years LARIA has also
expanded its activities beyond local
government and its recent change of
name reflects this. The Board feels
strongly that it is an organisation that
will appeal to the interests of all our
current subscribers.
The arrangement will mean that:
•BURISA’s remaining funds(currently
estimated to be about £3000) will be
transferred to LARIA once all
outstanding commitments have been
met;
•These funds will be used to support
events to be organised by a new
BURISA activity group within LARIA
for a period of up to five years;
•BURISA’s electronic archive including
a complete set of newsletters dating
back to 1972 and conference
presentations will be safeguarded for the
future and accessible through the
LARIA website;
•Existing and recent BURISA
subscribers will be invited to join
LARIA;
•LARIA will provide a ‘home’ for the
continuation of BURISA activities such
as the publication of relevant articles
and the organisation of events;
•BURISA, within LARIA, could
continue to represent the views of users
of statistics in the Statistics Users
Forum and could have a presence on
Statsusernet.
BURISAActivity Group.
The extent to which BURISA activities
will continue within LARIA will of
course depend on the interest in this
among current BURISA subscribers and
the wider LARIA membership. It is
proposed that BURISA will form the
core of an “Activity Group” within
LARIA. The Group’s focus would be
on methodology for gathering,
accessing, analysing, understanding and
presenting data, including the use of
appropriate technology. The Group
could write or commission articles for
LARIA publications. It could also
organise events such as an annual
BURISA lecture, workshops, or sessions
at the LARIA conference, supported
initially by the funds transferred to
LARIA. We would invite BURISA
subscribers to enrol in the BURISA
activity group once the two
organisations have merged. Existing
LARIA members will also be invited to
join the BURISA activity group.
Contents
1 Announcement
2 Editorial
3 Census Outputs; Beyond 2011
4 BURISA/ LARIA conference
5 Census estimates
8 Census workplace data; NeSS;
Walking and cycling statistics
9 Digital repository
10 Measuring national wellbeing
12 URISA - 50 years
15 Localism Act
16 SIGnet; AGI Geocommunity
1 7 G e o p l a c e ; U K L o c a t i o n
Programme
18 Conference reminders
19 Statsusernet ; Statistics for
Olympic Years; BURISA website
20 B U R I S A a i m s ; B U R I S A
C o n t a c t s a n d B o a r d
M e m b e r s ; N o t e s f o r
Contributors
Long URLs
Long URLs which stretch over more
than one line of text are replaced
with shortened versions via:
http://Tinyurl.com/

LARIA Membership.
Full details of LARIA membership are available from
their website www.laria.gov.uk. Membership entitles
individuals to receive issues of Laria News and details
of LARIA events and publications.
The Board wishes to encourage all existing BURISA
subscribers to register for LARIA membership and to
continue to support BURISA activities by participation
in the proposed Activity Group. You will be contacted
later in the year detailing membership options as part of
LARIA’s end of year renewal process.
Additionally, LARIA intends shortly to review its own
communications (newsletter/e-mail/website) through a
consultation with its membership and has suggested that
this review should also include BURISA. This seems an
ideal opportunity to ensure that the views of BURISA
subscribers are taken into account and we will therefore
circulate the consultation and encourage all subscribers
to respond.
The Board is pleased that BURISA is becoming part of a
thriving organisation with a purpose and objectives that
are so close to those of BURISA and it believes that
LARIA will be further strengthened in the process. It is
also pleased that a home is found for the BURISA
archive and that there will be means for BURISA
activities to continue into the future.
Further details will be given at the half-day event to be
held on October 12th (see page 4) and in our final
newsletter 194 in early December.
Editorial
In the announcement on the front page, BURISA 193
reports on the outcome of subscriber feedback on the
future of BURISA leading to a statement agreed with the
LARIA Board about the continuation of BURISA within
LARIA.
The free half day conference on October 12th will
provide an opportunity for subscribers to receive updates
on census matters ; and also to understand better how
BURISA within LARIA will work. We look forward to
engaging further with subscribers at that event. There
will be a final statement about the merger in BURISA
194 (December 2012).
BURISA 191 highlighted the DCLG consultation on
various proposed changes to statistics it collates relating
to housing, land use and regional matters. The BURISA
Board remains particularly concerned at the potential
loss of regional statistics and awaits publication by
DCLG of the consultation response and subsequent
decisions.
BURISA 193 continues the census theme of previous
issues with the latest information about the first release
of data and plans for further dissemination of results
starting later this year and analysis capabilities.
It also updates on the consultation process “Beyond
2011” about alternatives to a full British census in 2021.
Also on the National Wellbeing project
There is a reminder about relevant conferences
scheduled during the year - by BSPS AGI, TWRI and
BURISA itself.
Further information is awaited about the launch of Ian
white’s “History of the Census”.
We publish the second part of an article from a sister
organisation - URISA based in the United States of
America, which commemorates its 50th anniverary. The
final part will appear in BURISA 194.
There are further updates on Geoplace, the UK
Location Programme and Neighbourhood Statistics.
New developments include the creation by the UK Data
Service of ESRC of a national digital repository; the
collation of cycling and walking statistics by DfT; a
proposal from the private sector to facilitate an evidence
based approach to Neighbourhood Planning; and
SIGnet, a tool available to local authorities from HCA
also designed to facilitate evidence based planning.
The SUF user engagement website statsuserner is now
being well used but a temporary setback may arise due
to the move of James Tucker from RSS to the Statistics
Authority; and the timelag in RSS appointing a
replacement to take forward statsusernet as part of the
Society’s user engagement activities.
Readers are very welcome to contribute items for the
final issue of the Newsletter, particularly now on how
BURISA has evolved during its 40 years; or on other
Olympics related statistics; or on new uses for census
data.
Cedric Knipe
BURISA Editor
editor@burisa.org.uk
BURISA 193 page 2 September 2012

2011 Census Outputs
ONS
The first results of the 2011 Census in England and
Wales and Northern Ireland were published on 16 July
marking the beginning of the release of the vast amount
of information collected in the UK’s biggest statistical
operation.
The census was a great success, delivered on time, on
budget and to a high quality. The overall response level,
at 94 per cent, was comparable with 2001. A significant
area of improvement was in the consistency of response
across local authority areas with all recording responses
of 80 per cent or above. In fact only a dozen areas had a
response rate below 90 per cent, - a huge improvement
over 2001.
The statistics themselves show that the population of
England and Wales had grown by 7 per cent since 2001
to 56.1m. They also highlight key changes such as the
growth in the number of people over 65 and an
increasing birth rate.
The vast amount of data that comes out of the census
takes a considerable time to process, so the release of
statistics has to be phased over a period of months.
The second set of data is due to be published between
November 2012 and February 2013 and will itself be
released in phases during that period. Statistics will
include more detailed information on the age structure
of England and Wales, country of birth and ethnicity,
employment, main languages spoken, health and living
arrangements. This data will also be available down to
local authority ward level providing an even more
detailed picture of life in our cities, towns and villages.
The third and fourth data releases will take place
between March and June 2013, and July and October
2013 respectively with more specialised sets of statistics
following later.
One question that has arisen throughout the process is
whether or not 2011 was the last census of its type. The
plain fact is that ONS has to do a census by law –
however the law does not specify exactly how it should
be done, so the UK Statistics Authority has set up the
Beyond 2011 project to assess the alternatives to running
a census in 2021. This project is undertaking an
extensive programme of research and consultation and
will report its findings in 2014.
In the meantime, the breadth and depth of information
that comes out of the census will provide a rich resource
for policy makers, researchers and academics for years
to come.
Beyond 2011 programme – update
ONS
Many readers will be aware of the Beyond 2011
programme being undertaken by ONS which is looking
at options for meeting future user needs for ‘census-
type’ population and socio-demographic data.
The range of options being considered includes a
traditional field-work census but, because we know less
about them, most of the research work is focussing on
how to make efficient use of existing administrative and
other data sources. A full understanding of quality, user
needs, costs and the public acceptability of alternative
approaches will inform the recommendation on the way
forward, which will be made in September 2014.
Beyond 2011 has gone rather quiet recently – but not
due to lack of work or progress. We have had our heads
down focussing in on the real issues and challenges
around using administrative data and options for
supplementing this with surveys. We have also been
doing a great deal of thinking around how we are going
to assess the success or otherwise of the different
options. Research is underway on public acceptability
and we are in the early stages of privacy and equality
impact assessments.
An international review held in June, which included
experts from the US Census Bureau, Statistics Canada,
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Stats New Zealand, Stats
Netherlands and other key international offices,
provided very positive feedback and confirmation that
we are headed in the right direction.
We will start our full publication of research results and
the first thoughts on the rules we will use in developing
our recommendation in the next couple of months.
A newsletter providing more details of progress will be
published in the next month and a whole raft of research
and methodology reports will be published during the
Autumn.
These releases will be supported by a number of public
events in October and November – BURISA members
will be informed once dates are confirmed and are very
welcome to attend these.
If you would like to receive our (electronic) newsletter
and haven’t already registered an interest please contact
us at beyond2011@ons.gov.uk

BURISA/ LARIA Special Free Half Day Conference
Friday 12 October 2012
Starting 1pm
Royal Statistical Society, 12 Errol Street EC1Y 8LX
After forty years of continuous publication, the December issue of the BURISA newsletter will be
the last and BURISA will cease to exist as a separate organisation. As announced elsewhere, the
Association will merge with LARIA where its activities will be able to continue. To celebrate its
forty years BURISA invites anyone who has been involved with the organisation to a special half
day conference at the Royal Statistical Society.
Appropriately, the event will focus on what has been a regular theme in both the BURISA
newsletter and in previous conferences : the Population Census. Staff from the Office for National
Statistics will make a series of presentations on outputs and analysis from the 2011 Census and
there will be a look forward to what may replace the Census in future years.
Web Data Access - Callum Foster, WDA Product Owner - Presentation title - " Accessing ONS
data"
Outputs - Emma White, Head of Policy and Analysis 2011 Census Outputs - Presentation title -
"2011 Census Outputs"
Analysis - Craig Taylor, Census Analysis - Presentation title - "Census Analysis Plans"
Beyond 2011 - Alistair Calder, Head of Stakeholder Engagement and Communications, Beyond
2011- Presentation title - "Beyond 2011 - The future of population statistics.
A Private Sector Perspective - Keith Dugmore, Demographic Decisions
The conference will also provide an opportunity to look back over forty years of BURISA and to
announce further details of the planned merger with LARIA.
Speakers for this part of the event will include
Professor Denise Lievesley, Kings College, University of London
David Rhind
Mike Haslam, Chairman, BURISA Board
A LARIA Board representative
We very much hope you can join us for this free event at the Royal Statistical Society.
Please email business_manager@burisa.org.uk if you are proposing to attend

Explaining the Difference between the 2011 Census
Estimates and the Rolled-Forward Population
Estimates
ONS
The England and Wales March 2011 rolled-forward
population estimate is 476,000 lower than the 2011
Census estimates (see Table below). The difference is
made up of 144,000 fewer males and 332,000 fewer
females and in total is 0.9 per cent of the England and
Wales 2011 Census estimate of 56 million people.
Thousands
It is normal to find a difference between census
estimates and population estimates. The high response
rate for the 2011 Census combined with improved
methods of estimating the population developed as part
of the Migration Statistics Improvement Programme
should ensure that this difference is kept to a minimum
in the future.
In general terms, the population estimates over the 10-
year period since 2001 Census have been prepared by
starting with the 2001 Census-based population
estimates, and every year adding on births, subtracting
deaths, and adding in any net international migration
that has taken place since 2001.
Births and deaths data are very reliable as they are
underpinned by a comprehensive registration system.
This means the difference of 476,000 between the
rolled-forward population estimates and the 2011
Census estimates must be due to the 2001 Census
underestimating the population and net international
migration being underestimated over the 10-year period.
Initial research suggests that 209,000 (45 per cent) of the
difference might be attributed to an assumed shortfall in
the 2001 census day estimates which has been carried
forward in population estimates through the decade.
The remaining 267,000 (55 per cent) would then be
attributed to an underestimation of net international
migration over the decade.
Early investigations into differences at the local
authority level have identified some issues with internal
migration and with the population estimates of local
authorities with special populations such as armed
forces. A more detailed report is available as a pdf
download in this link:
http://tinyurl.com/9sf7wom
More information on differences for England and Wales
and at local authority level will be published in three
other reports over the coming months:
1. September 2012 – a high level report at local
authority level, in conjunction with the release of the
mid-2011 population estimates
2. December 2012 – a detailed report for England and
Wales
3. March 2013 – a detailed report at local authority
level
* New net international migration and births and deaths
data became available which led to an improved
estimation of the rolled-forward population. The
improved estimation is 52,000 larger than the rolled
forward estimate used for quality assuring the 2011
Census.
* Revised rolled-
forward
population
estimate*
2011 Census
estimates
Difference to
explain
Total 55,600 56,076 476
Males 27,429 27,573 144
Females 28,171 28,503 332

Development of a geographical framework for census
workplace data
David Martin, Samantha Cockings, Andrew Harfoot
Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A
July 2012
The paper, which can be downloaded as a pdf from the
Wiley publishers website, addresses problems arising
from the representation of workplace population data by
using geographical areas based on residential locations.
This widespread international practice detrimentally
affects publication of census workplace data.
A novel solution is proposed for the creation of new
workplace zones by using automated zone design
techniques and is applied to five prototype areas by
using England and Wales 2001 census microdata.
Particular workplace-based disclosure control challenges
are addressed and the characteristics of the proposed
workplace zones reviewed. This approach offers
important benefits for the international reporting of
workplace data and is currently being incorporated in
England and Wales 2011 census output plans.
Neighbourhood Statistics
Steve Mead, ONS, August 2012
The first results from the 2011 Census have now been
published on the ONS website, with the second release
of data taking place between November this year and
February 2013 via both the ONS and Neighbourhood
Statistics (NeSS) websites.
Most BURISA News readers will be familiar with NeSS
http://tinyurl.com/nesshome
but given its importance as a vehicle for the 2011
Census second release (publishing statistics at output
area and administrative geographical hierarchies) it's
worth taking a moment to remind you of what is
currently available on the website. In addition to a long
list of datasets (including the recent Personal Insolvency
Statistics which are available at local authority level) the
site also features:
• CommuterView, the interactive commuting
statistics product;
• the Local Area and Local Enterprise
Partnership Profiles;
• COTA - the Change Over Time Analysis tool;
• 2001 Census data;
• a range of analysis and guidance articles, ideal
for anybody with an interest in local area statistics.
Together these products form an invaluable resource for
researchers in local authorities and other organisations.
The 2011 Census Prospectus is your main source of
information on the Census publication schedule but for
news of NeSS and its related products you can request
regular email updates and/or join the ONS Regional and
Local Statistics Group on the Knowledge Hub.
Those of you who are already members of one or more
groups on the Hub will know that it's a useful and
immediate information-sharing tool. It provides the
means to give users links and background information to
products as soon as they are launched. You can sign up
for the RLS group by going to
https://knowledgehub.local.gov.uk/web/khub.
Requesting the NeSS Update is just as simple
http://tinyurl.com/nesshome
To contact us directly email better.info@ons.gsi.gov.uk
quoting reference BN312.
New statistical release - Local area walking and
cycling in England - 2010/1
Fay Tuddenham, Department for Transport
On 30 August, the Department for Transport published
new official statistics on walking and cycling. For the
first time, this release will present information about
walking and cycling at local authority level.
The new statistics will be based on data from the Active
People Survey, an annual household survey administered
by Sport England. The primary aim of the Active People
Survey is to collect information about physical activity
and participation in sport, but it does include questions
on walking and cycling, and with a sample size of over
160,000, it is large enough to enable analysis at local
authority level.
The new release will present information about walking
and cycling amongst adults in England during 2010/11,
including the frequency with which they walk and cycle
and for what purpose. For more information, including
details of DfT’s existing statistics on walking and
cycling, please visit
http://tinyurl.com/95ucyxg
Buses and Local Transport Statistics
Department for Transport | Great Minster House, 33
Horseferry Road, London SW1P 4DR
0207 944 6104

New national digital repository for social and
economic data
Economic and Social Research Council
UK Data Service
24 July 2012
Continuing access to the UK’s most valuable collection
of social and economic data has been secured with a £17
million investment over five years for the UK Data
Service. Funded by the Economic and Social Research
Council (ESRC) the new service which will start on the
1st October 2012 is structured to support researchers in
academia, business, third sector and all levels of
government.
The new service will provide a unified point of access to
the extensive range of high quality economic and social
data, including valuable census data. It is designed to
provide seamless access and support to meet the current
and future research demands of both academic and non-
academic users, and to help them maximise the impact
of their work.
The UK Data Service will:
•Act as a trusted national digital repository for a wide
range of data providers and users
•Provide a single point of access and support to a broad
range of high-quality economic and social research data
•Provide controlled access to sensitive and/or disclosive
data through secure settings
•Raise the awareness of the data held by the UK Data
Service amongst those who are not yet using the service,
especially among those in business, third sector and at
all levels of government
•Extend use of its data holdings to the widest possible
academic, policy and practitioner communities for
generating greater impact
•Develop and promote common standards and agreed
strategies for data preparation, processing,
documentation and preservation to promote data sharing
and re-use
•Help the social science community to develop the
skills necessary to use the data available
•Work with a wide range of stakeholders in the UK and
overseas, including data suppliers, data funders and
users, institutional repositories and Doctoral Training
Centres
"The UK Data Service represents a significant step
forward in our strategy," says ESRC’s Chief Executive,
Professor Paul Boyle. "As data are the lifeblood of
research, our aim is to consolidate resources in a way
that expands both the reach and impact of these vital
investments. It will become a cornerstone for UK
research; the place to go for high quality data and
support."
The UK Data Service will be created from the
integration of the Economic and Social Data Service
(ESDS), the Census Programme, the Secure Data
Service and other elements of the data service
infrastructure currently provided by the ESRC. The
integration follows an economic evaluation of ESDS,
which reveals that for every pound currently invested in
data and infrastructure, the service returns £5.40 in net
economic value to users and other stakeholders. This
compares favourably with the return on investment
previously demonstrated for the British Library and for
UK academic libraries in general.
"Between our services we have an impressive collection
of rich research data," says Dr Matthew Woollard,
Director of the Economic and Social Data Service
(ESDS) and the UK Data Archive. "We are dedicated to
the re-use, sharing and archiving of data because we
know the effect it can have on the wider society.
Together, we look forward to becoming the UK Data
Service so we can continue to build on these excellent
data and services to generate even more impact."
Leadership from four UK universities
The UK Data Service will be a distributed service led by
Dr Matthew Woollard (University of Essex) in
collaboration with deputy directors Keith Cole
(University of Manchester), Professor David Martin
(University of Southampton) and Professor James
Nazroo (University of Manchester). It will incorporate
the new Census Support Service led by Professor John
Stillwell (University of Leeds). All of the host
organisations are making a significant contribution to
running the new service.
The ESRC is now establishing a UK Data Service
Governing Board that will have the responsibility and
authority to ensure that the service is developed,
managed and maintained in a manner that maximises its
benefit as a long-term world class data resource. The
Governing Board will be chaired by Professor Gordon
Marshall, Director of Leverhulme Trust.
Further Census support
The ESRC is also establishing Research Support Units
for the England and Wales (University College London),
Scotland (University of St Andrews) and Northern
Ireland (Queen's University Belfast) Census
Longitudinal Studies to provide expert support to
research users of the Census Longitudinal Studies and to
promote the studies within the academic, policy, and
practitioner communities. The UK Census Longitudinal
Study Development Hub (University of St Andrews)
will co-ordinate the common functions of the units and
improve harmonisation across the Census Longitudinal
Studies. The Hub and Units will also seek to promote a
UK-wide Longitudinal Study, in collaboration with other
stakeholders. The Hub and Units will start on 1 August
2012 and will be closely affiliated with the newly
established UK Data Service.

Measuring National Well-being in the UK
Rachel O'Brien, ONS
On 24 July 2012, ONS published the latest update from
the Measuring National Wellbeing (MNW) programme,
which was set up in November 2010 to develop and
publish an accepted and trusted set of National Statistics
which help people to understand and monitor national
well-being.
Domains and measures for MNW
ONS published a detailed report on the domains and
measures consultation and a revised list of domains and
measures. This reports on the response to the
consultation ONS held between October 2011 and
January 2012 to gather feedback on proposed domains
and measures of well-being. ONS received an excellent
response to the consultation of nearly 1,800. There was
broad support for the approach taken and ONS has
revised some of the measures in light of comments
received while continuing to evaluate the feasibility of
other suggestions.
ONS is proposing 10 domains (or aspects) that are
important to measuring national well-being with 3 to 5
headline measures within each of these domains to
illustrate overall national well-being. The headline
measures are a mixture of objective and subjective
measures both of which are important to gain a fuller
picture of national well-being.
10 domains for MNW
· Individual well-being
Factors directly affecting individual well-being
· Health
· Our relationships
· Personal finance
· Education and skills
· What we do
· Where we live
Contextual
· Governance
· The economy
· Natural environment
Detailed domain analyses
To accompany the headline measures ONS is publishing
a series of domain level analyses which focus on
selected areas in more detail using the headline and
other measures. The latest articles on ‘Health’ and
‘Where we live’ were also published on 24 July.
Health was one of the areas that people said mattered
most for their well-being during the national debate
which was carried out at the start of the programme in
November 2010. This article explores the relationship
between health and well-being including an exploration
of the proposed ONS headline measures of health (life
expectancy, self reported health and a measure of mental
well-being) and wider contextual measures such as
mortality, ill health, social care and lifestyles.
Where we live can have a significant impact on our
sense of well-being. Homes which meet our individual
needs and provide us with shelter and security are made
all the better by having easy access to local shops and
services and green spaces to walk or play in, which in
turn can help people to live healthier and happier lives.
Annual subjective well-being estimates
On 24 July ONS also published the first annual
experimental subjective well-being dataset from the
Annual Population Survey (APS), with analysis for sub-
groups of the population and sub-UK geographies.
It included results from questions asked during Apr 2011
- March 2012. The table shows the overall estimates of
subjective well-being. Three-quarters (75.9 per cent) of
people aged 16 and over rated their overall ‘life
satisfaction’ as 7 or more (on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0
is ‘not at all’ and 10 is ‘completely’). This compares
with 80.0 per cent of people who gave a rating of 7 or
more when asked whether they felt the things they did in
their life were ‘worthwhile’. 10.9 per cent of people in
the UK rated their ‘happiness yesterday’ as less than 5
out of 10 (indicating lower happiness). For the ‘anxious
yesterday’ question, 21.8 per cent reported a rating of
more than 5 (indicating higher anxiety).
See table on next page showing overall subjective well-
being results.
ONS also published an interactive tool for comparing
the subjective well-being of residents in specific areas in
the UK. These include regions and countries within the
UK and information about local authority areas within
English regions, Scotland and Wales. A map is also
available which compares information about local
authority areas in England, Wales and Scotland.
See screenshot on next page of map for life satisfaction.
Next steps
Measuring national well-being is a long term
development programme. ONS will be publishing
further domain articles on Personal finance, The
economy, The natural environment and Governance in
the coming months, as well as estimates of human
capital and articles on children and young people’s well-
being. In November 2012, ONS will be hosting an event
to highlight the achievements of the Measuring National
Well-being programme two years on, where we will
present a firmer set of domains and indicators with data
visualisation tools, an article on what the national well-
being measures tell us about the state of the nation and
further details of our analysis and development plans.
For further information please visit our web pages or
contact nationalwell-being@ons.gov.uk

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URISA’s 50 Years as an International Organization
Greg Babinski URISA
CONTINUED
International content and contributors to URISA
Journal
The URISA Journal is the Association’s flagship
publication. While its focus is academic, its purpose is
to explore and analyze the planning and application of
urban and regional information systems for
operational purposes. Between 1989 and 2010, the
URISA Journal has published 372 articles. Of these,
21 articles (6%) had a Canadian orientation. A further
64 articles (17%) represented authors or content
outside the U.S. and Canada, including the U.K.,
Egypt, Tunisia, the Netherlands, Australia, South
Korea, Republic of South Africa, Hong Kong, France,
and the E.U.
The URISA Journal’s record of international authors
and content has been an effective means of achieving
the Association’s international goals by fostering the
exchange of ideas without regard to national
boundaries.
International board members & presidents
Of a total of 46 Presidents in URISA’s history four
have been from Canada: Barry S. Wellar (1977-1978),
O. E. Dial (1979-1980), Laurel McKay (1993-1992),
and Dianne Haley (2004-2005). In addition, URISA
has had many non-U.S. Board members. During the
past ten years, of 30 individual Board members, five
(16%) have been non-U.S. The only known non-
North American Board member was Mr. Bijan Azad,
from Lebanon in 1995-1998.
In 2011, the URISA Bylaws were revised to require
that at least one international member always serves
on the Board of Directors.
International chapters
URISA has developed a network of six international
chapters but the proportion of international to U.S.
chapters (6 vs. 24) remains low. Current international
chapters include: Alberta, British Columbia,
Caribbean, Ontario, Quebec, and United Arab
Emirates. URISA UAE is our newest chapter. I had
the privilege of speaking at their inaugural event
‘Towards Geospatial Society’ on 3 May 2012, in
Dubai.
International conferences
The URISA Policy Manual states the Annual
Conference will be held in Canada at a minimum of
every 9 years. Since 1974, URISA has met or
exceeded its policy on conferences in Canada.
Nevertheless international conferences have been
limited to the URISA Annual Conference in Canada
and a number of Caribbean Conferences. There have
been no URISA specialty conferences offered outside
the U.S. URISA’s past international conferences
include:
· 1974: URISAAC in Montreal, Canada
· 1980: URISAAC in Toronto, Canada
· 1985, URISAAC in Ottawa, Canada
· 1990: URISAAC in Edmonton, Canada
· 1997: URISAAC in Toronto, Canada
· 2001: URISA Caribbean GIS Conference in
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Barbados
· 2006: URISAAC in Vancouver, Canada
· 2006 URISA Caribbean GIS Conference in the
Bahamas
Grand Cayman
· 2010: URISA Caribbean Conference in Trinidad
and Tobago
The 2012 URISA Caribbean Conference will be held
in Montego Bay, Jamaica, 12-16 November 2012.
Australia & New Zealand - SSSI
In the early 1980’s interest in geospatial technology
led a number of individuals from Australia to attend
URISA conferences. In 1983 the Australasian Urban
and Regional Information Systems Association
(AURISA) was formed.
Almost immediately exchange of members between
URISA and AURISA began occurring. By the late
1980’s there was an International Column in the
URISA News and by the early 1990’s occasional
exchange of board members and officers.
Several years ago AURISA merged with other
professional and industry organizations in Australia
and New Zealand to form SSI – the Spatial Sciences
Institute. Two years ago, SSI merged with the
surveying organizations in Australia and New Zealand
to form SSSI - the Surveying and Spatial Sciences
Institute.
The recent practice between SSSI and URISA has
been for an annual exchange of presidents. Typically,
the URISA President will visit Australia and possibly
New Zealand to speak at various national and regional
conferences and seminars. Likewise, the President of
SSSI will visit North America and participate in the
URISA Annual Conference and possibly local, state or
provincial conferences. The SSSI representative
typically sits in on the URISA Board meetings that
occur before and after the AC.
In 2010, SSSI licensed a URISA workshop for
presentation across Australia and New Zealand. This
pilot project might lead to licensing the entire portfolio
of URISA workshops by SSSI. In 2011, SSSI and
URISA initiated a conference call between Executive
Committees and agreed to develop a small number of
joint cooperative initiatives. A formal SSSI-URISA
Five-year MOU was signed in 2010.

International award winners
URISA’s Exemplary Systems in Government Awards,
inaugurated in 1980, recognize extraordinary
achievement by government agencies in the use of
automated information systems. This achievement is
defined as the effective application of computer
technology that can be measured in terms of improved
government services and increased benefits to citizens.
The award competition is open to all public agencies at
the national, state/provincial, regional and local levels.
Since its inception, 202 ESIG awards or Distinguished
System Awards have been made. Of these, a total of 24
(12%) have been awarded to Canadian agencies. A
further 22 (11%) have been awarded to other non-U.S.
agencies, including those in Australia, Singapore, Qatar,
Sweden, and Egypt.
Regular interest in ESIG and achievement outside North
America demonstrates the continued international
character of URISA.
GIS Certification
URISA initiated the concept of professional GIS
certification. The formation of a new organization, the
GIS Certification Institute (GISCI), was the direct result.
GISCI has awarded certification to a considerable
number of international (non-U.S.) professionals.
Currently 4.7% of GISP’s are held outside of the U.S.,
with three out of four non-U.S. GISPs being Canadians.
There are 11 GISPs from Caribbean countries and 16
from the Middle East region. This suggests that where
GISP certification is understood outside the U.S., it is
perceived as a valuable indication of professional
competency. Furthermore, SSSI used the GISP
qualifications to establish their own version of GIS
professional certification, called GISP-AP (Asia Pacific),
in 2007. The program operates under a Memorandum of
Understanding between GISCI and SSSI. GISP
certification is recognized as being equivalent to GISP-
AP certification.
While GISCI is not a part of URISA, its international
focus certainly reflects URISA influence and URISA
serves on the GISCI Board along with representatives
from four other professional associations.
GISCorps
GISCorps was the idea of longtime URISA member
Shoreh Elhami. She presented her idea to the URISA
International Task Force shortly after she joined the ITF
in 2001. Her idea was embraced by the ITF as well as by
the URISA community. In 2003 the Board unanimously
endorsed GISCorps as a URISA initiative. To date
(2011), the Corps has deployed 250 volunteers to 100
missions in 39 countries around the world.
GISCorps’ mission is to coordinate short term, volunteer
based GIS services to underprivileged communities.
Since 2004, GISCorps has deployed URISA volunteers to
work on projects to benefit programs and people in every
continent except Antarctica. Several GISCorps missions
have been focused on the U.S., mostly in response to
natural disasters. However, the vast majority of missions
have focused outside the U.S. A review of GISCorps’
international deployments makes clear that it is truly
needy communities that the program benefits, from
multiple missions to Haiti, Guatemala, Afghanistan, and
Mozambique, to desperate regions like the Darfur/Eastern
Chad border, North Korea, Myanmar, and Somalia.
Much of the work of GISCorps goes unrecognized by
those it helps – refugees, the hungry, and people who
benefit from land-mine clearance programs likely are
never aware of GISCorps’ helping hand. Recognition is
not the motivation for GISCorps, although in 2012
President Barrack Obama awarded GISCorps the
Presidential Volunteer Agency Award. GISCorps
implements URISA's vision of advancing the effective
use of spatial information technologies without regard to
national borders.
International Members
In October 2011, of URISA’s total membership, 90.3%
were from the U.S., 6.1% from Canada, and 3.6% from
other countries. It is interesting to observe that that the
proportion of non-U.S. URISA members is lower than the
proportion of non-U.S. URISA Conference papers,
URISA Journal articles, and ESIG award winners. This
might suggest that the stature of URISA in the
international community is such that it attracts mostly the
‘best and the brightest’ outside the U.S.
These membership numbers cause us to ask though, with
the technological advances of the past 25 years and the
reduction in real communication and travel costs, why
isn’t the proportion of URISA members outside the U.S.
much higher? For a truly international organization,
shouldn’t we expect that more than 50% of URISA’s
members would be from outside North America? This
question suggests that we should look at areas where
URISA has not ensured a balanced international focus.
Ensuring and Improving URISA’s International
Focus
Just as ‘all politics is local’ as the late U.S. Senator Tipp
O’Neil said, so all GIS data and applications are local, or
developed for some defined geographic limits. Very
rarely are GIS systems developed to be truly international
in scope. This does not this mean however, that URISA
should not concern itself with examining its appropriate
international mission. Just as a university benefits from
diversity, so too the international GIS community and
those anywhere with an interest in urban and regional
information systems benefit from an exchange of ideas,
technology, applications, and policies from wherever
geospatial professionals study and work.
There are some areas where URISA’s past and current
programs have not recognized the benefit of an
international focus as envisioned by our constitution.
This does not mean that URISA should discontinue any
programs, but we should do a comprehensive review to
identify where the international focus may have been
forgotten and consider ways to enhance our services and
programs to be more broadly relevant.
BURISA 189 page 13September 2011

The following section suggests some areas where
URISA’s international focus can be improved.
U.S. focus in educational offerings
URISA Workshops and the URISA Leadership Academy
(ULA) have been developed primarily by U.S. authors.
Because URISA educational content is typically
developed by working professionals, it is highly
influenced by the authors’ personal experiences.
Workshops typically include some proportion of
theoretical framework (technology, data, policy, or
organizational), but also include frequent use of ‘real-
world’ case studies. These case studies help to make the
learning objectives relevant to students.
However, URISA Workshops with case studies that are
solely U.S.-centric often fail to provide the same degree
of relevance to non-U.S. students. This is borne out by
frequent student evaluation comments from non-U.S.
students or from students in URISA Workshops taught in
non-U.S. venues, commenting about the lack of
localized content.
U.S. focus in publications
The URISA Journal and The GIS Professional have a
good record of soliciting and including articles from
non-U.S. authors, as indicated above.
However, many URISA publications suffer from the
prevalence of U.S.-centric case studies. URISA Books,
URISA Compendiums, and URISA Quick-Studies are
typically written about general topics of interest to our
membership. But as with URISA Workshops, the
authors often rely on U.S.-centric case studies to the
detriment of non-U.S. readers.
U.S. policy focus
URISA’s Policy Advisory Committee is charged with
recommending formal policy positions to the URISA
Board. There is very low recognition on the part of non-
U.S. URISA members or chapters that non-U.S. issues
can be referred to the Policy Advisory Committee or that
the URISA Board would consider them.
U.S. focus of liaisons
URISA currently has 14 designated liaisons to other
organizations and professional groups, but none of them
are to non-U.S. organizations.
Leadership and Decision Making
As indicated above, URISA has had four presidents
and several Board members from Canada and one
from outside North America. However there has never
been a president from outside the U.S. or Canada, and
since 1998 no one from outside North America has
served on the Board.
While URISA’s Caribbean, Canadian, and UAE
chapters have liaison to URISA via the Chapter
Relations Committee, quarterly Chapter Leaders’
Conference Calls, and the annual Chapter Leaders’
Forum, these do not represent direct international
participation in URISA’s decision making process.
There is no direct liaison at all for individual URISA
members outside the US, Canada, the UAE, and the
Caribbean.
Lack of chapters outside North America
As outlined above, there were initial discussions 10
years or more ago regarding possible URISA chapters
outside the US and Canada, but only the Caribbean
and UAE chapters succeeded in formation.
Lack of affiliations and alliances outside of the U.S.
URISA’s affiliation with SSSI (the successor to
AURISA) has been its only active international
affiliation. Opportunities to nurture mutually
beneficial affiliations or alliances with BURISA and
EDMS in the past were not pursued.
Lack of focused international outreach and
initiatives
URISA has lacked a sustained, high-level focus on its
international mission in the areas of education,
publications, policy, liaisons, affiliations and decision
making, as outlined above. The potential benefits of
international outreach were considered on a systematic
basis by the ITF in 2002-2003. But no comprehensive
plan has been adopted and implemented to maximize
our international mission.
The Future of URISA as an International
Organization
The factors outlined above that hindered URISA’s
ability in its early years to pursue its original vision as
an international organization have now largely been
eliminated. International travel for local government
administrators, although still limited, is now more
feasible. The Cold War is over and countries once
enemies of the West are now allies in many cases, and
most are active trading partners. ‘Third World’ is a
description applied to few countries today and rapidly
developing economies are actively implementing
urban and regional information systems.
The list of technology developed since URISA’s
founding is staggering. This has a two-fold
consequence. Urban and regional information systems
now capitalize on these technologies, primarily related
to geospatial and allied technologies.
In addition, the Internet now allows anyone anywhere
with an interest in urban and regional information
systems to come together as a virtual international
community. Cheap international air travel allows us to
come together face to face. The Internet and cheap
telephony allows us to come together as a virtual
community via conference calls, webinars, video
conferences, etc.
TO BE CONTINUED

Online submissions under the Localism Act
Nigel Dore, Swift Datapro
The aim of the Localism Act is to provide
neighbourhood groups with an ability to make
meaningful contributions to the Local Plan regime
which many local groups see as remote, detached and
almost otherworldly. The solution is to encourage
neighbourhood groups to create their own
Neighbourhood Plans which, whilst having real power,
will shelter under the umbrella of national and Local
Plans.
A new and very important facility is granted by the
Localism Act for neighbourhood groups, which could
comprise an existing body such as a Town or Parish
Council or a more temporary grouping, to assemble a
draft plan reflecting a specific interest for a
neighbourhood.
Whilst these Neighbourhood Plans must comply with
national or formal Local Plan requirements, they are
potentially wide ranging and could vary from a Building
design policy through to a scheme negotiated with a
developer at local level for a scheme of mutual benefit.
The Neighbourhood Plans will tend to encompass those
local and small scale issues which are beyond the broad
sweep of other Plans and policies.
The Localism Act recognises that these Neighbourhood
interest groups may lack technical and professional
skills as well as administrative and data capabilities but
hopes to encourage them to develop knowledge and
pursue their plans by exploiting the capabilities of the
Local Authorities who will be required by law to
provide services as well as professional advice.
Local government software specialist, Swift Datapro,
has been carefully monitoring the progress of the
Localism Act. It is not straightforward for any
software supplier to identify all the groups that could
come together to formulate a Neighbourhood Plan; a
Group could be formed on an adhoc basis for a specific
purpose and, provided it is of sufficient size, quickly
assembled to meet a temporary need.
Given these factors, the company is focussing on
designing an online formal submission that would be
provided by an Authority for use by Neighbourhood
Groups, enabling them to submit the style of submission
required. This new functionality can be delivered
rapidly by capitalising on elements from existing Swift
Datapro Planning modules. It is important that any
software development reflects the fact that the Council
is acting with the Neighbourhood group and that all data
and related information is jointly owned – the main
principle must be one of common access to all
information.
The Neighbourhood Plan module is expected to provide
a number of elements all linked to the various individual
proposed plans.
! A facility to record the nature of the
Neighbourhood group, its number of members and
constitution
! A complete record of the proposed Plan and all
the preparatory work put into the Plan by the proposers
! An ability to record all those details with the
Council and to receive a formal acceptance from the
Council that they will accept responsibility with details
of the time scales they intend to adopt
! The module will be provided with map and
gazetteer links to enable collection of information on
planning issues
! The Council officers will collate information and
arrange events and meet with the proposer to generally
advise. The system will use work flow elements to
impose and seek to follow an agreed time scale.
! The system will allow interchange of questions
and responses with the proposer by email or post and
record meetings and discussions
! Using the Council Address gazetteer, the system
will permit sampling of reaction to the Neighbourhood
Plan and recording replies over the web and by more
conventional postal methods
! The module will record all details of the formal
examination of the proposed Neighbourhood Plan and
include its adoption
! The spatial extent of the Neighbourhood Plan and
text will be recorded and automatically revealed when
applications for development within an affected area are
submitted
! The software will be able to simultaneously
handle multiple requests from multiple groups and this
will enable the Council to monitor calls upon their
resources
Swift Datapro say that they have a number of concerns
regarding aspects of the operation of Neighbourhood
Plans although they expect these to be resolved as
further details are released. These concerns are mostly
centered on the handling of applications submitted for
development in accordance with a Neighbourhood Plan.
It seems that, in some cases, the Neighbourhood group
can grant permission which raises questions over the
administration of applications generally as well as the
formal Decision processes used. SwiftDataPro
anticipates that the Council will still act as the centre for
applications even though the decision will flow from the
Neighbourhood Plan considerations rather than their
own Local Plan.
Other potential causes for concern include Appeals
where a proposal breaches a Neighbourhood Plan - who
professionally represents the Neighbourhood Group? –
and the Community Infrastructure Levy should the
Neighbourhood Group effectively grant permission.
Although there are a number of issues to be resolved,
Swift DataPro is already able to demonstrate elements of
a solution and will work with its customers to provide
the necessary enhancements.
The company will be holding a Workshop session in the
autumn, offering a forum for Local Authorities to
discuss their ideas and concerns with their peers and
providing feedback that will inform the development of
Swift DataPro’s Neighbourhood Plans Module. For
more information, please email info@swiftdatapro.com.

Spatial Analysis tool for local authorities
Homes and Communities Agency (HCA)
Local Authorities can use spatial data to build a picture
of development and better inform investment
decisions in their areas , thanks to a powerful enabling
tool available from the Homes and Communities
Agency.
SIGnet – the Spatial Intelligence Geographic network
– is a free resource developed by the HCA to bring
together data from organisations such as Ordnance
Survey, the Office for National Statistics, Local
Authorities, and the Environment Agency in a single
place, allowing it to be viewed on a map and printed
as plans or spreadsheet tables.
Users of SIGnet will be able to analyse the data, for
example looking at investment compared with land
supply, planning constraints and local infrastructure
when deciding where to build new and affordable
homes in their communities; or map empty homes
hotspots showing the relationship with population
statistics such as housing need and indices of
deprivation.
Oliver Russell, GIS Project Officer at Hampshire
County Council, who helped test SIGnet during the
pilot phase, has said:
"Clearly we already know how many homes we have
in the County, or schools, or hospitals; but SIGnet
allows us to drill down to individual street level and
present data in an easy to use format – such as a map
or plan – that anyone can understand. We tested
SIGnet and were impressed by its potential not least as
an extremely useful tool, but also because it could
save us money on buying GIS resource."
Pat Ritchie, Chief Executive of the HCA, said:
"SIGnet makes it easy for councils to build a picture of
where buildings such as homes or hospitals or schools
are situated in their area; and identify where more are
needed based on land availability and population
statistics.
"In providing users with a single place to view data
that has only previously been available in varying
formats and from a number of different sources,
SIGnet can be an invaluable planning tool and further
strengthens our enabling offer to Local Authorities."
SIGnet is a web-based Geographic Information
System which was launched following testing by 11
local authorities over a 7 month pilot period. It
displays spatially referenced data – information which
can be located at a specific point on the ground – such
as a site boundary, the location of a specific hospital,
school or other piece of infrastructure, or population
statistics linked to a given area. Local Authorities can
look at data on a county-wide basis or drill down to an
individual street level, and by using data that has been
spatially referenced, SIGnet can help identify
relationships between these datasets.
The tool provides a platform to share data across
government departments and local authorities,
increase transparency by making it easier to access
information and puts the power of spatial analysis in
the hands of organisations that do not have access to a
geographic information system, as well as being of
additional value to those that do.
SIGnet includes the Empty Homes Mapping Toolkit
also from the HCA and is accessible for free to all of
the HCA’s Local Authority or central government
partners that are covered by the Public Sector
Mapping Agreement.
Those interested in accessing SIGnet should email
SIGnet@hca.gsx.gov.uk for more information.
AGI GeoCommunity '12: Sharing the Power of Place
18-20 September 2012
East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham
AGI GeoCommunity is the largest and most
comprehensive independent conference in the UK
digital mapping and geospatial calendar. The
conference provides real insight and leadership in
current geographic information and location based
issues via a range of keynote addresses and conference
papers as well as by hands on training and face to face
delegate networking. You can hear outstanding,
visionary and thought- provoking plenary speakers.
You can learn from and meet leading industry experts
and thought leaders - stay on the leading edge of
industry and technical issues. You can hear from
around 50 speakers on topics covering a wide range of
pertinent topics in today’s geocommunity.

GeoPlace update
Gayle Gander
GeoPlace is continuing to work closely with local
authorities across England and Wales to ensure regular
updates to the National Address Gazetteer, maintained
by GeoPlace and from which AddressBaseTM products
are produced. The relationship with local authorities is a
crucial one. Not only are local authorities the prime
providers of ‘on the ground’ change intelligence; each
year, they work towards continuous improvement by
following an improvement plan, developed and agreed
by elected regional Chairs. This is part of the process
of achieving year-on-year continuous improvement
which is fed back to end users through the AddressBase
range of products.
Rewarding excellence
Excellence in address and street information enabled
service delivery across local government is celebrated
each year though the GeoPlace Exemplar Awards with
backing from the Society of IT Management (Socitm),
UK Location, the Local Government Association (LGA)
and Ordnance Survey, as Award supporters. Each of the
supporting organisations recognises the need for
accurate, up-to-date information on local addresses and
streets and the impact that this has across the economy
and the whole of the public sector. Knowing where
people and assets are, makes a substantial difference to
the efficiency with which public services are delivered.
‘The Services Award’, seeks to identify projects that
assist with the streamlining and joining-up of services
from different departments. Socitm’s remit is to provide
a forum for the promotion, use and development of ICT
good practice and for information enabled local public
services transformation in the UK. By supporting this
Award, Socitm underlines the crucial role of its
members in employing address and street information to
join-up and transform services.
UK Location is supporting the ‘Citizen Award’ which
will be awarded to the organisation with the best
example of a project underpinned by address or street
data that delivers services to citizens. UK Location
focuses on improving the sharing and re-use of public
sector location information to enable joined up services
for government, business and citizens. The LGA, with
its focus on supporting, promoting and improving local
government is supporting the ‘Improvement and
Efficiency Award’ which will identify projects that have
led to efficiency savings, or innovation or improvement
for local government. As local government has the
statutory responsibility for street naming and
numbering, the LGA is also supporting the ‘Best
Example of Street Naming and Numbering Policy
Implementation Award’. Ordnance Survey’s role is to
collect, maintain and distribute the most accurate and
up-to-date geographic information of the whole country.
Supporting the ‘Integration Award’ with its emphasis on
how addressing and street datasets are linked to council
services or local partnerships provides a natural linkage
to its role.
For more information about the Exemplar Awards and
how to enter, see www.geoplace.co.uk.
With the continual improvements mentioned above, the
inclusion of Scotland in AddressBase and the
availability of change only updates to licencees, the
AddressBase range of products is well and truly
established.
New data.gov.uk and the UK Location Programme
David Buck DEFRA
With the challenge of making the best government data
portal into something even better, the data.gov.uk team
have risen to that challenge with the new
http://data.gov.uk
So what’s changed?
· The reliability of search for data has been increased
and the records that will be returned will only ever
change as the result of the data publisher actions, for
example if they have added or removed datasets
· The amount of information on each dataset has been
expanded to provide a better understanding including
details such as the email address for the data publishers
for each data set
· It is now possible to produce visualisations of
spreadsheet data directly on the site
· Some of the more complex aspects expected by the
seasoned user, such as API’s, have been extended to
included additional features
· Metadata histories are now maintained to allow
users to compare changes in metadata
· As well as searching for data via a text or map
based search you can now peruse through the list of data
publishers and tags.
In addition the engagement aspects of the site have also
been revised to be more comprehensive, dynamic and
sustainable. As well as the introduction of the new
location space and labs. Defra’s UK Location
Programme has made a big contribution to the revamped
site, we have provided content on location data and
linked data, we have updated the map based search and
map preview tools with our partners at OS and we have
advised on the presentation of metadata. We have also
made a longer term commitment to the site by agreeing
to migrate our existing website to data.gov.uk, this will
provide those with an interest in data with a single point
of access to metadata, standards, guidance, news and
more. With all the new, and improved functions across
the site, the best way is to try it for yourself. If you
would like to contribute, comment or suggest an
improvement the best way is to do that directly on the
site.

British Society for Population Studies Annual Conference 2012
Monday 10 - Wednesday 12 September 2012, The University of
Nottingham
The 2012 BSPS Conference will be held at the University of Nottingham from
10-12 September. All Conference sessions will be held on site, where
Conference catering and accommodation will also be available at very
reasonable rates. Booking forms will be available from early June, together with
a provisional timetable. Access the BSPS website for further details at:
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/socialPolicy/BSPS/annualConference/2012/Home.aspx
There will be a full programme of simultaneous strand sessions of submitted
papers. Strand headings are: ageing; census issues; families and households;
fertility; kin and fertility; health and mortality; historical demography; the life
course; local government and planning; longitudinal studies; methods, models
and projections (including qualitative & mixed-methods research in population
studies; migration.
Some sessions within strands have been suggested and these will be organised
by the person named as session organiser, within an overall strand. Sessions
within strands are shown beneath the overall strand title.
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www.twri.org.uk% %%%%%% %%%%%%%
Tel:0191-2211 222, Email: twri@twri.org.uk
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2011 Census Conference
!Making best use of the 2011 Census"
The TWRI Policy and Research Conference on the 2011 Census wi!!"#$"%$!&"'(")("*+!!+',-."
College, York on Friday 5th
October 2012, 10.00 a.m. / 4.30 p.m.
The Conference will feature presentations from ONS, local government, other public sector
and academic users of the census and census data suppliers and cover the following issues:-
What data the 2011 Census will provide and when
Opportunities and challenges for public sector, local government and academia
Alternative routes to accessing the 2011 Census
Area profiles - developing and presenting census results at a range of geographic
levels.
The Conference will give attendees an opportunity to engage with presenters, exhibitors and
other delegates about the census data and its usage.
The Conference is aimed at researchers, practitioners and policy makers across the public and
private sectors.
Booking form is available for download on TWRI website: www.twri.org.uk
Conference fee is £135 (including lunch and refreshments) discounted to £105 if booked
before 1st
August 2012.
This Conference is sponsored by SASPAC and InstantAtlas.
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Statsusernet
Dr James Tucker
User Engagement Programme Manager
StatsUserNet, the Royal Statistical Society’s
interactive website for all users of official statistics,
has reached 1,000 members since its launch in March
2012.
The members span a wide variety of sectors including
central and local government, academia, business, the
voluntary sector, and the general public.
The site was set up to fulfil the widely recognised
need for improvement in communication between
users, and between users and producers, of official
statistics. It makes use of the latest social networking
technologies, providing facilities for discussion,
sharing of resources, interactive content and blogging.
There is also a selection of featured articles and
multimedia on the homepage.
James Tucker, user engagement programme manager,
has overseen the development of the site. ‘It is already
home to a selection of topic based communities, which
have hosted debates on high-profile issues such as the
future of the Consumer Price Index,’ he explains. ‘It is
also progressing towards being a one-stop-shop for
resources, such as presentations, articles and useful
links.
Take a look at the 2011 census community to see this
in action.’
This online approach has helped broaden the reach of
existing user groups in the RSS’s Statistics User
Forum, and has also provided the flexibility for
communication outside of face-to-face meetings.
‘The site is free to use, and anyone can join and
participate simply by signing up at
www.statsusernet.org.uk and finding a community of
interest,’ James continues. ‘We aim to expand the site
to cover an even broader range of subject areas and
users, so if users have an idea for a community, please
get in touch.’
Dr James Tucker
User Engagement Programme Manager
Tel: 020 7614 3917
The Royal Statistical Society, 12 Errol Street, London
EC1Y 8LX
StatsUserNet – the community site for all users of
official statistics
Follow us on Twitter
Statistics for Olympic years
Statisticians in the House of Commons Library have
published “Olympic Britain” on social and economic
change between the London Games years 1908, 1948
and 2012.
Long runs of official and non-official statistics are
presented using data visualisations showing how
standards of living, the work we do, leisure activities
and lifestyles have changed; a document is available
via
www.parliament.uk
BURISA website
The BURISA website is
www.burisa.org.uk
The site includes in contact details for the BURISA
Editorial Board details of forthcoming events and
conference slides and back copies of the Newsletter
and other archive material.
Please email Jenny Boag with any updates for posting
on the website.
webmaster@burisa.org.uk
Discussions are continuing with the RSS and LARIA
to establish BURISA website content as part of
Statsusernet.

BURISA?
BURISA is an association for people with an
interest in the development, management and
use of information supporting services to the
public. It covers planning, housing, health and
many more fields in government and other
public services as well as the academic and
commercial worlds.
BURISA aims to promote good practice in the
development and application of information
systems; and to improve communications
between information analysts, policy-makers
and other information users at national, regional
and local levels. It seeks to achieve these aims
through its newsletter, website, conferences and
workshops.
The association’s interests include the Census,
demography, surveys, administrative data
sources, geographical information systems,
research methods, projections, forecasting and
data visualisation.
Formed in 1972, BURISA is an informal, non
profit making unincorporated association with
its own constitution. It continues to be
innovative and active, led by a Board, which
meets regularly. BURISA is affiliated to the Royal
Statistical Society through the Statistics User
Forum..
BURISA ISSN 1369-1848
What is
BURISA Board
Chair: Mike Haslam chair@burisa.org.uk
Vice chair: Michelle von Ahn michelle.vonahn@burisa.org.uk
Secretary: Mark Pearson secretary@burisa.org.uk
Business Manager: Mike Marlow business_manager@burisa.org.uk
Editor: Cedric Knipe editor@burisa.org.uk
Subscriptions Manager Keith Donaldson subscriptions_manager@burisa.org.uk
Jenny Boag, Falkirk Council; Alan Lodwick; Keith Dugmore, Demographic Decisions; Pete Lee, Office for National Statistics;
Clare Hadley, Ordnance Survey; Denise Lievesley; Dr John Shepherd, Department of Geography, Birkbeck College; Ed
Swires-Hennessy; Nicola Underdown; Keith R Woodhead; Sarah Hardwick, Steve Denman,John Garnsworthy
BURISA contributions and publication timetable
We welcome contributions in a variety of formats: “newsy” paragraphs; full-length articles (about 2,000 - 2,500 words);
conference reports and calls for papers; project outlines and updates; recent publications; and letters responding to previous
articles or highlighting issues of interest to our readership. Please send all contributions to the Editor.
for BURISA No 194 December 2012 copy deadline is 9th November 2012
All articles are the responsibility of the author(s). The inclusion of any article does not imply
endorsement, by BURISA or any of the organisations represented on the Board, of the views or
opinions expressed, nor of the methodology.
BURISA Website: www.burisa.org.uk Webmaster: webmaster@burisa.org.uk
8

URISA Newsletter Issue 193

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URISA Newsletter Issue 193