The pace of change experienced by the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI)
over the last decade has not diminished throughout this past year – if anything it has accelerated. OSNI has continued to meet the challenges which change inevitably brings. It has adapted and developed itself to this change, and achieved the majority of its targets, whilst
making significant strides to becoming a leading, financially self-sustainable public service, maximising
the commercial potential of its mapping information, in order to minimise costs to the tax payer. Overall, I am pleased to say, it has been a very successful year for OSNI.
As
a public service organisation, OSNI’s contribution to the development of public policy has been in facilitating
and leading the implementation of the Geographic Information Strategy for Northern Ireland, Mosaic. Mosaic is about information on location; it is helping to improve the collection, funding, dissemination,
and use of geographic information in order to maximise social, economic and educational potential of
this national information infrastructure resource. Mosaic is a partnership between the public and private sectors, and has been successful in procuring
funding for pilot projects, managed through a steering group, to demonstrate the potential of geographic
information across a number of sectors, and it is working with the EC to share information resources
and advice throughout government and beyond. OSNI continued to provide the secretariat and coordination for Mosaic during the year.
At
the heart of what OSNI does is the provision of mapping information of Northern Ireland, in support of the public good. OSNI continued to do this during this year, with many highlights: the launch of the new Mournes map;
a new street map Banbridge in partnership with local government; a new Road Atlas of Ireland, in partnership
with our sister agency, OSI; the availability of the address database, POINTER; revised digital mapping
available across all series and scales; and the further development of the new orthophotography series. Products and their applications continue to be the focus on what the agency is about, and they provide
the strategic focus for the future role of the organisation.
The
ability of OSNI to continue to carry out its core function within an increasingly challenging public
finances environment has provided the key driver for the organisation to pursue its goal of financial
self-sustainability. This year saw 95% of costs recovered through the sale and licensing of products and services. This is compared to 76% last year, and shows clearly the significant strides being made by the organisation
in responding to demands from an expanding market for geographic information. This demand fuelled a 15% rise in sales to government and non-government customers, compared to the
previous year’s sales. It is evident from such progress that financial self-sustainability is possible in the next few years.
OSNI’s
has continued its drive for efficiency in pursuit of this goal. The previous year’s voluntary early severance/retirement scheme, and a substantial programme of rationalising
space, released accommodation that has enabled OSNI to warmly welcome the Geological Survey of Northern
Ireland to Colby House as tenants. With further investment in technology, and significant strides in
saving operational costs, an overall 6% efficiency saving was achieved against the 2% target for the
year.
Increased income and efficiency were not the
sole focus of the Agency’s efforts during the year. An increasing customer base demands a focus on customer needs. During the year, OSNI improved its understanding of what its customers value through both quantative
and qualitative surveys. These surveys provided a strategic basis for future years’ work, and prompted a fundamental review of
the entire OSNI product range during the year. OSNI also strengthened customer services by investing in key account management. Agreements have now been signed with all major customers and these will help in building a closer relationship,
one where requirements are fully understood and service expectations met. Business activity with value-added resellers accelerated during the year, and several agreements were
signed for the use of OSNI data within internet-based services.
Keeping
the mapping database up-to-date remains of fundamental importance to OSNI customers. Ninety per cent of significant change to the built environment was surveyed and made available (in many
cases through the ACEmap service) within 6 months of notification to OSNI. More than 18,000 new units of change were added to the large-scale database during the year. With the completion of the MIDAS project, which substantially re-engineered the survey and revision
flowlines, OSNI is poised to reap significant benefits to its ability to keep the digital map of Northern
Ireland up-to-date. The development of STAR – a computerised field intelligence system – was an important step towards shortening
the time between constructions and other changes on the ground and their representation appearing on
the OSNI map.
Staff have remained and will remain
crucial to the organisation’s ability to deliver on its aspirations. OSNI continues to be concerned that staff remain dedicated, committed and well trained to deliver on
OSNI’s vision. Having gone through such change in recent times it is perhaps not surprising that staff satisfaction
was flagged as an area requiring further attention by the recent staff survey. Senior management will be looking at how this can be improved in the future. However, other indicators during the year were very positive: with nearly 97% attendance, OSNI is well
ahead of the civil service average and closer to best practice in the private sector; new staff were
recruited to the agency; there was significant development in training and promotion of existing staff;
OSNI were reaccredited under Investors in People (IIP); and, OSNI scored over 450 points in its EFQM
(European Foundation for Quality Management) assessment. These all indicate significant progress in moving forwards the organisation’s vision of being a leading
public service.
The year has been one of significant
success on a very broad front. This is due wholly to the dedication and commitment of OSNI staff, who have continued to make it the
vibrant, positive and excellent place it is to work in. As the organisation moves towards its goal of financial self-sustainability, and a funding regime, such
as Trading Fund, that allows it to better respond to the needs of its customers, it will be its people
that remain at the heart of its success.
Writing this as Acting Chief Executive, I am keenly
aware that the primary leadership which has guided the agency towards its success this year has been
that of Mick Cory. Mick, who left OSNI to join the DCAL core department at the end of the year, had overseen, in his five
years at the helm, a major transformation in the organisation, such that it is now recognised, not just
within the NICS, but also internationally, as a leading public sector organisation and indeed one of
the most technologically advanced mapping organisations anywhere. My personal thanks, and those of the
Strategy Board, go to Mick for his leadership.
To end this foreword on
a reflective note, whilst we have without doubt made great strides during the year, we are also highly
aware that we must guard against complacency. Our customers’ expectations are high and increasing and
we must be diligent in developing and improving our products and services to meet those expectations. However, I have no doubt at all that the enthusiasm and skills of OSNI’s staff will once again prove
fit for the task.
