MENE geovisualisation (c) Nathan Shaw
Congratulations to Natural England and its Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) team, who were announced as the winners of the 2020 Geography in Government award in an online awards ceremony yesterday.
Natural England’s MENE survey collects information on people’s engagement with the natural environment. Between 2009 and 2019 it collected data from more than 500,000 respondents about outdoor recreation, pro-environmental behaviours, and attitudes towards the natural environment.
The award was made for the team’s work developing a set of innovative tools to help users, including academics and other policy organisations, access, analyse, present, and understand the data more deeply and effectively. This has increased awareness of the benefits of visiting the natural environment and encouraged the development of similar tools elsewhere.
You can see more details about the project in the team’s StoryMap, and in our Geovisualisation feature. The team will collect their award at the Society’s medals and awards ceremony in 2021.
The Geography in Government awards, which are offered by the Government Geography Profession, celebrate excellence in geography across the public sector and recognise the breadth of the carried out by geographers in government.
The MENE team were selected as overall winners from six category winners, also announced at the online awards ceremony:
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Advancing geospatial data science – Data Science, Engineering and Remote Sensing Teams, UK Hydrographic Office, for using a deep learning model to detect and predict mangroves from satellite data.
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Operational delivery – Land and Property Services, Northern Ireland, for an innovative map application and data processing enabling staff to access and use LPS data effectively.
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Excellence in geovisualisation and cartography – MENE team, Natural England, for innovative tools to help users access, analyse and present data from the MENE Survey.
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Impact on policy – The Regional Economic Development Team, Scottish Government, for work re-establishing Ayrshire as a functional economic geography and establishing a regional growth deal.
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Contribution to the profession – Jess Baker, Ordnance Survey, for developing cartographic colour schemes to make mapping more accessible for colour-blind users.
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Excellence in Local Government – Westminster’s Urban Lab Team at Westminster City Council, for data-driven solutions and the deployment of innovative tools to save public money, generate new insight and improve citizens’ lives.
David Wood, Head of the Government Geography Profession, said: “Congratulations to all our shortlisted nominees, category winners and Nathan Shaw and the Natural England team for winning the overall Geography in Government award. Over the last year the Government Geography Profession has grown from being a sub-profession of Government Science and Engineering to becoming a stand-alone profession based at the Cabinet Office with the Geospatial Commission and joining the other analytical professions as part of the Government Analysis Function.
“The Geography in Government awards clearly demonstrate the breadth and depth of the geography profession and the impact our members across the public sector are having across policy design through to local delivery.”
Find out more about those nominated for each category.
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