The value of spatial information in Australia and New Zealand

1. The value of spatial information in Australia and New Zealand Presentation to FOSS4G Alan Smart 22 October 2009

2. Economic impact assessment • Australia • Commissioned in 2006 by CRCSI and ASIBA • 12 sectors analysed (case studies in as many areas as possible) • Literature reviews • Verifiable and quantifiable results • New Zealand • Commissioned in April 2009 by LINZ, DOC and MED • Ten case studies • Literature reviews • Workshop in June

3. An enabling technology • ‘Enabling’ rather than ‘nice to have’ • Capabilities and options created • productivity benefits • non-productivity related benefits • Wide footprint • Dynamic → innovation

4. Productivity focus • Focused on the impact of modern spatial information technologies on productivity in each sector • Spatial information systems expand the production possibility frontier

5. Sector size and intensity Australia

6. Technology diffusion – Rogers

7. Impact on economy

8. Modelling the impacts Computerised general equilibrium model calculates the aggregate impacts – GDP, Consumption, investment, employment

9. Examples in the private sector - Construction • Spatial technologies estimated to deliver savings of 10 % for large projects from • 50 % faster map production • 80% faster access to information • faster setting out and better accuracy • adoption still in the innovation stage in 2007 • 2.5% to 5% adoption • Productivity impacts in Australia 0.25% to 0.5% • Adds up to big $$$

10. Road planning, design and construction LIDAR saves surveying costs and Facilitates ongoing road management Hand held devises linked to GIS reduce pegging and other costs

11. Utilities • More efficient asset planning, design and management • Recording location of assets and features • More efficient maintenance • Productivity impacts 0.73% to 1.25%

12. Hazard management

13. Agriculture • Example – Precision Agriculture • Controlled traffic farming, etc. 10-20% productivity ↑ • Adoption ≈ 10% • = 1.25% sector-wide productivity improvement • Australia and New Zealand

14. Fertiliser application management • Fertiliser application map • Variable rate applications • Better monitoring • 30 % efficiency gains in NZ

15. Fisheries • GNSS Plotters – 100% adoption • Fisheries management • Vessel monitoring • Habitat mapping • Protected marine areas • 4% to 5% productivity improvement

16. Examples from Government - Biosecurity • Cost of control and value of production foregone around $8 billion per year • Foot and mouth disease or Brucellosis outbreak • $10 billion in cost(Productivity Commission 2002) • Spatial examples • Australian Plague Locust Commission • Biosecurity, Surveillance, Incident Response and Tracing in Australia • Vector control for pest management in NZ

17. Australian Plague Locust Commission • Value of potential crop losses avoided $55.5 million in 2005 for expenditure $6.5 million (ABARE 2005) • Spatial technologies contributed around 20 % to these gains

18. Digital mapping for possum control in NZ • Reduced cost of vector control • from $15 per hectare • to $7-8 per hectare

19. Australian Maritime Safety Authority • Search and rescue • Spatially enabled • System reduces time to brief search aircraft from 3 hours to 3 minutes • Integrating live data into monitoring and reporting • Freeing up operations room to focus on task at hand

20. Government productivity impact in Australia • Assessed in terms of improved productivity in delivery of services through • Asset and resources management • Reduced costs of service delivery • Improved planning and implementation • Defence and emergency preparedness • Compliance and regulation • Impacts from 0.34% to 1.05%

21. Accumulated impact Australia

22. Economic assessment • A conservative estimate based on evidence • Impacts on GDP did not capture environmental and social benefits • Likely to be very significant • Impact could have been around 7% higher if with better access to data

23. Key findings - New Zealand • Productivity benefits $1.2 billion in 2008 • 0.6% of GDP • Incl. productivity of government services • Non-productivity → multiple • Environment, social, biosecurity, health, etc. • Barriers • Access to data • Pricing of data • Standards • Privacy • Lack of spatial data infrastructure • Skills • Capital • Without barriers – extra $0.5 billion • Extra $100 million in government revenue

24. Environmental and social benefits • Intangible benefits not included could deliver significantly higher benefits • Mainly environmental and social • Better water management and monitoring • Managing and monitoring the impacts of climate change – digital elevation model • Monitoring emissions • Managing land and property titles • Lives saved in emergencies • Improved national security

25. Rates of adoption • Adoption appears to have increased since the economic assessment • New applications • Wider penetration to non spatial professionals • Government role important in early stages of adoption

26. Some issues • Access to basic or fundamental data • Standards • Open Geospatial Consortium • Privacy • Spatial data infrastructure • Australian government- Spatial data market place • NZ now considering how to move to an SDI • Innovation • technology development - CRCSI • Increasingly in industry and users – adaptation and combining systems and technologies • Skills

27. The future • Asset management • Operations and maintenance • Transport logistics • Natural resources and environment • Biosecurity • Retail and trade • Social users • What can you imagine?

28. Questions