Breaking out of the silo - a case study

The West Midlands Regional Observatory is an excellent example of cross-organisation and cross-departmental working, according to a recent case study by the Improvement & Development Agency (I&DeA).

According to the study, the Observatory is a rich resource providing information, knowledge and expertise to a range of audiences.

As with many other areas and organisations, ‘silo working’ was resulting in duplication of effort and knowledge not being shared within the West Midlands. The Observatory set up a range of themed networking and data groups to overcome this and engage partners throughout the West Midlands region. The range of organisations involved in these groups is central to the continued success of the Observatory.

The Geographical Information (GI) topic group was one of the first network groups set up. This group gives technical advice to the Observatory and associated groups on how GI software and techniques can be used to interpret information and map data.

The GI group has produced many valuable sections for the Observatory’s website, including:

• Quick guides to collecting spatial data
• Background to national projects, such as the Mapping Services Agreement
• Interactive maps

Read the full case study on the IDeA website

If you would like more information on the GI group, or any of the Observatory’s network and data groups, contact Oliver Nicholls.

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