Open Standards, Open Data: Why Geospatial Interoperability Matters for Scotland's Data for Good Agenda

Data Technicality level: Level 1 🟢 Introductory – Discover: No prior knowledge needed. Focus on awareness and foundational understanding.

About the event

Scotland has built real momentum on data maturity and data for public good and much of that data has a location. Health, transport and environment data all depend on it, yet it's often locked into proprietary formats or siloed systems, making cross-agency sharing hard.

This session introduces the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), the international standards body that makes location data interoperable. It sets out what open geospatial standards are, why they matter for public sector data sharing, and where they connect with Scotland's data maturity work.

The session closes by exploring practical next steps: how Scottish Government teams could engage with OGC standards, working groups or membership to strengthen data interoperability across their public good initiatives.

Speaker

Nigel Edmead is VP of Learning at OGC where he leads the organization's global learning strategy helping accelerate the understanding and uptake of open geospatial standards. He has held learning roles at ThisisPLACE Foundation, Thomson Reuters, and Esri (UK), and ran his own learning consultancy business.

Why join the event?

Join to see how open geospatial standards fit Scotland's data maturity work — and what engaging with OGC could look like for your teams.

Audience

Anyone interested in data sharing and interoperability. No prior knowledge of geospatial data or standards is needed. Suitable for colleagues working in data, digital, policy, analysis, or service delivery.