Unlocking The Data

Unlocking the data

Data sets available for the Sefton Coast

Access to quality information that’s filtered to provide the data you need, when you need it is probably on the top ten wish list for many coastal professionals. And a shared information system that’s regularly updated and easy to access can potentially save money, time and resources for all those involved in the long term. Enter the local information system (LIS) – an IT-enabled system built to support the efforts of local managers, such as engineers, planners, tourism officers, harbour masters and environmental managers. For those willing to form a network for managing coastal information, then a LIS may be a suitable option. But it’s not without its pitfalls. “An important, but little recognised fact is that information systems can and often do fail because the lessons learnt in the field of information science and information systems are simply not applied”, says Tim Stojanovic of MACE who was charged with developing LIS across six pilots as part of the Corepoint project. “We wanted to produce a set of structured guidelines informed by LIS projects across Europe and the latest thinking

in the information system discipline to stop people repeating past mistakes.” In working with the six organisations, MACE was keen to adopt a user-led approach for developing information systems at the outset. Says Stojanovic, “We found that people generally start from three possible places. The first is where those involved are excited first and foremost by the technology. This can lead to some really positive, novel solutions but I’ve also seen a lot of money spent on tools where there’s been little real application. There’s a danger that you can become bewitched by technology. The second approach is a data-led one – simply asking the question: what are the resources out there and how can we catalogue them? The problem with this approach is that people become overwhelmed by it – there’s simply no real rationale for structuring the information. The last approach, and one we favour, is the user-led one – developing a series of questions relating to a real need.” “Through this approach, the organisations we worked with were able to develop clear and distinct needs for their information systems. Sefton Council, for example, wanted

Ribble Estuary

Training walls – dates of intervention, location and action

The methodology produced by MACE as part of the Corepoint project is a great starting point to help avoid previous mistakes in developing a usable local information system. The detailed methodology points to seven key steps:

Land Reclamation extents and dates Coast Wide Data – Historical photographs and video footage of the coast – Water table monitoring – Soils – Sediment sampling – O/S data from 1850 to present day – Aerial photography from 1945 to 2006 – Storm data

Producing a methodology for those interested in implementing local information systems (LIS) at the coast was a key aim of the Corepoint project. Six pilots later, the guidelines have been produced and are about to be sent out to 50 projects around Europe already looking at the possibility of using such systems. So, what are the secrets of a good LIS?

A user perspective

Guidelines for implementing Local Information Systems at the coast

Southport

Salt marsh extent and levels

Birkdale Chart data showing the positions of sand banks and channels for the Ribble and Mersey Estuaries

to look at coastal change, while Cork was interested in land use planning and development control decisions and the Fal Estuary in Cornwall focused on nature conservation and environmental quality.” What resulted from the six pilots was a structured, seven point methodology for LIS development (see opposite). While the guidelines are set to provide an excellent grounding for those looking to set up an LIS, the ultimate success will inevitably come down to funding for the development of such work. Even within the Corepoint project, money available was limited with some pilots only able to complete phase 1 of the work. For those organisations without the necessary resources and time, an LIS project is probably not the best way forward. “The crazy thing is many organisations involved, probably spend tens of thousands of Euros collecting and storing data that may only be used a few times”, comments Stojanovic. “What’s really needed is the vision and drive to share information. It’s really a central theme for true ICZM. The benefits could be huge if we all begin to share.”

“Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784)

Ainsdale

Beach profile data from line 1 at Crosby to line 30 at Marshside Beach topographic survey

Liverpool Bay data – Tide gauges – Bottom drifters – Wave modelling Dune toe survey Formby Tide pole data

Dredging locations, dates and quantities of materials dredged and dumped

Hightown

Training walls – dates of intervention, location and action

Weather station data

Sand dune topographic data from Formby to Ainsdale

A total of 2,600 datasets were identified by Sefton Council, such as 18th century charts showing where the shoreline was and aerial photographs from the 1940s. Providing a properly catalogued system to make the data available was where the LIS came in.

Mersey Estuary

A working LIS for Sefton One of the teams MACE worked with was fellow Corepoint partner, Sefton Council. Says Graham Lymbery of the council, “We already had experience of putting together a type of database in the early eighties when computer power was limited, so the database itself was a collection of documents in a number of cardboard boxes.” “We wanted to store and interpret this existing coastal change data in such a way that it could more easily be updated in the future and communicated to other users, such as land-managers or researchers. “We originally wanted the LIS to be available online but the costs, for us,

were prohibitive. Instead the system is now maintained through a gatekeeper (an information manager) and we make the reports generated from it available online. “We in the coastal defence team manage the LIS because it is the data we need for undertaking analysis. We are still adding to the information both through digitisation of material such as aerial photos and old records and through new data capture. For us, the LIS is extremely useful. We’ve found it provides a starting point for much of our analysis that subsequently informs policy and it does so in a credible way – credibility is very important.”

1 Justify information systems – It takes money, time and commitment from collaborators to build an information system. So it’s important to build a case to justify why LIS is useful. 2 Have clear purpose You cannot answer all questions relevant to coastal management in one attempt. Instead, focus on some key purpose/s for the system so coastal practitioners can clearly identify the system with a particular part of their work. 3 Involve users Be user-led, not data-led – relate your system to the work of coastal practitioners. 4 Solve technical obstacles Information systems can only work where a variety of technical obstacles have been solved – these obstacles relate both to policy and technical issues. 5 Deploy appropriate technology There are many technologies out there so choose carefully to spend limited finance wisely. 6 Check for quality assurance Put checks in place to avoid the ‘rubbish in – rubbish out’ syndrome. 7 Implement and train Involve users from beginning to end to ensure familiarity with the system and willingness to provide data to populate it as well as belief in the product. The final, comprehensive, step by step methodology is available online at: http://crc67.ucc.ie/corepoint/wp46

we can find information on it.” The edge Spring 2008

13