Citizen Focus
When deciding where to locate welfare, health services or education facilities, there are a multitude of location based factors to take into account. This includes basic demographics such as age and gender profiles, income levels, details of existing provision and usage and even lifestyle data.
Delivering more targeted provision
The result of this approach is far more targeted provision, as the Department of Health is discovering.
It has introduced a GIS solution that helps with the long-term planning of care facilities. By comparing demographic information (patient health profiles, clusters and patterns, both nationally and within a given area) with details of existing provision (including location, skills and travel times) the Department can make more informed decisions about where to invest in new facilities, where certain facilities should be situated and where there are overlaps in provision.
Local authorities are benefiting from exactly the same approach. The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, for example, is transforming the design and delivery of its services through analysing and understanding top down, the changing patterns in its demographic, their needs and expectations, and developing services to match the dynamic.
Providing citizen information
For many services, a map is the natural interface. For example the Environment Agency enables citizens to review the flood risk to any property by entering a postcode. Clearly this simple interface for the customer supports a sophisticated back end integration.
Supporting citizen interactions
It’s not just proactive service delivery that benefits from GIS. By using map-based information on websites and to support calls to helplines, citizens can be empowered to report valuable information – For example using ESRI (UK)'s LocalView Internet citizens can report via interactive maps incidents from abandoned cars, to environmental pollution – and give a precise location for them. An example of the many 
Local Authorites doing just this is Braintree District Council. Any incidents can now be dealt with faster, increasing citizen confidence and satisfaction.
Beyond traditional maps
Importantly, though, map-based information isn’t only represented in pure map form. Through GIS, data can be presented in a variety of forms, such as diagrams, graphs, tables and charts – alongside traditional geographical maps.
In this way, the data is easy to publish. And it also means an ESRI GIS can interface with your other business solutions to offer even greater value, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Please see the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and London Borough of Lambeth case studies.
Find out more about ESRI (UK) solutions
This is just the start. Download our white paper Geography: Enabling the Business of Government, and you can learn more about the strategic business case for ESRI (UK) GIS, and see more examples of how it is being used by other authorities.
To find out more about ESRI (UK)’s products and services for Public Sector, please enquire via sales@esriuk.com providing your contact details and a brief overview of your requirement.
