GIS and Evidence-Based Policy Making - Chapter 15 (end) docx

Section II Engaging with the Public
15
Engaging Citizens: The Bradford
Community Statistics Project
Derek Reeve, Erik Thomasson, Steve Scott,
and Ludi Simpson
CONTENTS
15.1 Introduction 329
15.2 Policy Context 330
15.3 Project Context 332
15.4 Technical Features 334
15.4.1 Boundary-Free Small-Area Estimates 334
15.4.2 User-Defined Target Areas 337
15.4.3 Information Dissemination Rather Than Analysis 338
15.5 Data Issues 339
15.6 Community Use 341
15.7 Organizational Context 343
15.8 Conclusions 344
References 345
15.1 Introduction
Engaging the active participation of citizens in the processes of civic govern-
ance has been a laudable, if largely unrealized goal, of local governments for
decades. Recently, this goal has been much reemphasized in the United King-
dom. Almost every recent U.K. government initiative places a clear onus on
local governments to collaborate with their communities. Local authorities
must now establish community strategies and formlocal strategic partnerships
to reflect community interests. In the main, however, the public have been
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
steadfastly disinterested in participation exercises. Participation in local elec-
tions and attendance at local meetings are usually depressingly low.
The Internet has recently been seized upon as a new vehicle with which

to reengage the public. Visionaries look forward to a future in which Internet-
based systems will be used to involve citizens in developments in their locality,
encouraging citizens to interact directly with professionals and policy makers
in local decision-making processes. Because many of the issues that affect local
government are land or property based, WebGIS are seen as having a major
role to play within this movement towards Internet participation. There is
already a significant literature describing experiments in public participation
GIS (PPGIS) (Craig et al., 1998; ESF-NSF, 2001; Laurini, 2001).
Achi eving the future, howeve r, is always more difficu lt than the visio nar-
ies, and vendors, sugges t. The rhetor ic surrou nding PPGIS has raced far
ahead of re ality as rep resented by presen t PPGIS. We bGIS package s pro vide
the te chnologie s by which local ag encies might deliver spat ial informati on
into the homes of citi zens but we still are at the very beginn ing of the lear ning
curve of unde rstandi ng how to desi gn systems based on these techn ologies
effici ently to engage the publi c’s intere st. We need to unde rstand wh at
inform ation shou ld be pr esented , how that inform ation is mo st effectivel y
pre sented, and what is require d fo r the publ ic to be able to use the inform a-
tion . It is doubtf ul if any pre sent PPG IS could yet claim to have bec ome a
major channel for participation between citizens and policy makers. We are
still at the stage of seeing what works, of experiments and projects.
This paper contributes to the continuing PPGIS debate by detailing the
PPG IS built for the Bradfor d Comm unity Statist ics Pro ject (BCSP ; www.
bcsp -web.or g). The BCSP’s Maps and Stat s syst em is an innov ative and
purposeful PPGIS, the lessons from which should be of interest to both
researchers and other local governments. Some PPGIS sites appear primar-
ily to be designed to disseminate prepared mapped-based information to
residents and, with such sites, the manner in which the data are presented
remains largely controlled by the sites’ owner s. The primary purpose of the
Maps and Stats system, however, is to put into the hands of residents
the datasets and online tools necessary to allow them, independently, to

research conditions within their communities. Our site invites users
to actively engage with data, rather than passively to receive them.
A further distinctive feature of the BCSP is that the Maps and Stats
PPGIS has been develop ed as one element within a broader project to build
the capacity of local communities to understand and critically appraise the
statistical bases upon which decisions about their locali ties are being made.
15.2 Policy Cont ext
The U.K. government has rediscovered the policy significance of urban
social geography. There is presently very gre at concern about the spatial
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
dimension of social exclusion, the belief being that som e localities are
effectively excluded from the standards of well-being which are consi dered
the norm in the rest of society. Furthermore, there is a determination that
such spatial inequalities will be reduced: ‘‘Within 10 to 20 years, no one
should be disadvantaged by where they live’’ (Neighbourhood Renewal
Unit, 2001).
A range of area-based policy initiatives designed to promote convergence
of social conditions between communities have been developed, e.g., Health
Action Zones, Education Action Zones, Sports Action Zones, Excellence in
Cities Action Zones, Sure Start, Anticrime local partnerships, the New Deal
for Communities, and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund PACT areas. In
addition to U.K. government initiatives, quasi-government funding bodies,
including the National Lottery Board, target significant resources into urban
areas via area-based bidding processes. The EU also uses area-based statis-
tics to direct very large structural regeneration funds to selected areas.
Although each of these policies differs in detail, there are recurrent
themes presented below:
.
Territorial: There is an emphasis upon drawing boundaries. Such
territorial delineation is seen as a means of most effectively allo-

cating limited resources. There is, however, a clear equity issue
with area-based policies: Communities within designated areas
will qualify for assistance under particular initiatives, those out-
side will not. The onus is upon policy makers to ensure that
boundaries are drawn appropriately.
.
Evidence-based: The mechanism for justifying the delineation of
boundaries depends heavily upon statistical profiling. To qualify
for assistance, areas have to display specified characteristics. Once
designated, statistics are used to measure the progress of areas
towards target norms. A clear emphasis within recent policy
making has been upon evidence-based approaches.
Actually, there is nothing particularly new about this approach to urban
policy making. In the United Kingdom , there has been a tradition of small-
area policy initiatives. During the 1970s for example, there were housing
action areas (HAAs) and general improvement areas (GIAs), the purposes
of which were to identify small pockets of need within cities and then to
channel resource s into the areas affected. There is also, of course, a long
tradition of spatially-based multiple deprivation and territorial social indi-
cator studies, which have used statistical techniques to identify communi-
ties in need (Knox, 1975; NCRNRD, 1998; Senior, 2002).
More novel strands within current small-area policy making might be:
.
Multiagency: There is an expectation that local providers of ser-
vices to communities—local and central government departments,
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
health and police authorities—will coordinate their initiatives
towards localities. Cross-cutting initiatives are in vogue and the
joined-up appr oach to government is being road-tested within the
local policy-making arena.

.
Community involvement: A key feature of current local policy making
is a concern that communities should be active partners in the
policies that are developed for their areas. There is concern to redu ce
the alienation from governmental processes that are a characteristic
of socially depr ived areas. Within current policy initiatives, there-
fore, there is an emphasis upon reengaging with local communities,
although in practice community and voluntary groups may well
retain a degree of cynicism about being the beneficiaries of another
round of top–down policy initiatives.
To realize such policy initiatives local governments and other local agen-
cies are being required to reconsider the ways local decision-making is
conducted. On a pragmatic level, there is a great need to ensure that good
quality small-area statistics are available to allow the characteristics of
localities to be probed. At a nationa l level, the need for improved small-
area statistics is emphasized within the National Strategy for Neighbour-
hood Renewal initiative: ‘‘Better information needs to be available for all
involved in strategy development, service design, and delivery at the local
level. This should make it more likely that problems are diagnosed and
effective answers produced. It also fits well with the need to invo lve local
people more in playing their part and holding public services to account’’
(Social Exclusion Unit, 2000, p. 8). And at the local authority level, there is an
onus upon local agencies to share their datasets and to integrate their policy
making more fully than has previously been the case.
There is also a clear expectation placed upon local government to reener-
gize its methods of public engagement. Rather than going through the rites
of public participation, there is now an expectation that communities must
be genuinely active partners in formulating the policies that affect them.
15.3 Project Context
Against this national background, the BCSP is an attempt to enhance the

capacity of community groups to participate more fully, and more equally,
in the local policy debates that affect their communities and, specifically, to
help residents to understand the statistical manipulations involved in local
area policy making and grant allocation procedures. The Maps and Stats
PPGIS is also seen as providing a platform that will facilitate the efficient
integration and dissemination of previously disparate datasets.
The BCSP is a joint initiative between the Research and Consultation
Service of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (CBMDC)
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
and the Bradford Resource Centre (BRC), the BRC being a not-for-profit
organization that provides a focal point for community groups within the
district. The project was funded by a grant from the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF), with matching funds provided by the CBMDC.
In its bid for funding, the BCSP provided a succinct statement of its aims:
(a) Increase the capacity of community groups to effectively use stat-
istical information sources
(b) Make accessible via the Internet local st atistics for community
groups’ own areas
(c) Support the voluntary sector in making a case for statistics which
are more appropriate to their needs.
To achieve objective (a) a team of workers was established within the BRC
with a remit to liaise with local community groups and to foster among such
groups confiden ce that they can make effective use of statistical data for
their own purposes. The BRC team provided informal ‘‘drop-in statistical
surgeries’’ focused on helping community activists develop skills in the
critical use of statistical sources and also developed a one-day ‘‘Strength
in Numbers’’ course to explore the issues in a deeper and more structured
way. Ongoing support has also been provided to those undertaking com-
munity research. Objective (c) sprang from a concern among community
researchers that official statistics often fail adequately to reflect the concerns

of community and voluntary organizations and that the community should
have a role not only in interpreting existing statistics but also in influencing
how and whic h statistics are made available. The Maps and Stats WebGIS
was developed to achieve objective (b), this development being undertaken
primarily by officers based within the Research and Consultation Service of
CBMDC, although an aspect of the capacity building activities of the BRC
team has been to introduce the Maps and Stats facility as a source of relevant
statistical information and to feedba ck users’ comments to the technical
development team.
In building the Maps and Stats WebGIS the intention was to provide
citizens with the datasets and tools necessary to allow them to conduct
their own small-area analyses and thus to devel op policy and funding
proposals independent of council involvement. For the first time, there
would be a single, comprehensive, consistent, and maintained small-area
policy dataset for the district, delivered via an easily quer ied online
system—freely available to anyone who is interested. Whereas in the past,
community groups would have needed to go to the council to obtain
access to relevant statistics, increasingly it is envisaged that such statistics
would be available directly via the Maps and Stats WebGIS. The BCSP
recognized that the role of the local authority, and other local agencies, as
gatekeepers of local information should be lessened. GIS has been criticized
as a technology that further concentrates the control of knowledge within
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
bure aucrac ies and exclu des relative ly disadva ntaged ci tizens (Pic kles,
1995). The BCSP explicitly aims to reve rse this trend in Bradfor d.
A furth er note worthy feature of the BCSP has been the partn ership
bet ween Bradfor d Council and the BRC. Ghose (2001) and Ghose and
Huxh old (2002) discuss pr ojects involv ing uni versity–co mmun ity partn er-
ship s as a means of dem ocratizin g GIS. The BCSP is bas ed upon a local
gover nmen t–commu nity partn ership . Rather than the coun cil devel oping

a syst em for the commu nity, the intention has been to devel op the system
with the co mmun ity, with the BRC pro viding a focus fo r commun ity
invo lvement. Exp eriences within the project have been valuable in exp lor-
ing the rela tionship s betwee n a local co uncil and its commun ities with
regard to service design, provision, and use.
15.4 Technical Features
The Map s and Stat s WebGIS (ww w.mapsa ndstat s.com) is implemen ted
using AutoDesk’s MapGuide software with Microsoft’s Access as a data
store. Here we briefly describe some of the more innovative features deve-
loped within the system.
15.4.1 Boundary-Free Small-Area Estimates
A novel method for generating boundary-free small-area estimates lies at
the core of the Maps and Stats system. This method could have very
wide application as it helps to resolve a significant problem that presently
hampers small-area policy analysis.
The chaotic nature of Britain’s small-area geography means that prod u-
cing worthwhile statistical profiles for small poten tial policy areas has been
a perennial bugbear for analysts. Census boundaries do not coincide with
postcode boundaries. Health authority and police boundaries will not coin-
cide with local authority boundaries and so the problems of sharing
data compound. Poten tial policy initiative areas invariably cut across
data boundaries. Nothing fits! And yet the increasing reliance upon
evidence-based, targeted small-area antideprivation policies means that
there is an increasing need for such estimates to be made.
Presently there seems to be a considerable gulf between the small-area
estimation methods devised by academics and those used by practitioners.
Small-area interpolation has attracted continuing interest from academics
and a number of approaches, with varying degre es of sophistication, have
been proposed (e.g., Flowerdew and Openshaw, 1987; Backen and Martin,
1989). The key point here, though, is that these research-based techniques

seem to have achieved little penetration into practice. As Thomasson (2000)
explains, more often than not, small-area estimates within local government
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
are likely still to be made on the basis of simple polygon overlays or crude
visual estimation.
The BCSP team has devised and implemented a method of small-area
estimation which is practicable within a local government context and
which produces consistent, replicable results. The method uses an
approach that Flowerdew and Green (1991) would classify as intelligent
estimation, using knowledge of the distribution of one variable, in this
case residential locations, t o predict other s. In essenc e, the stages of the
method are:
(a) The locations of residential properties within the district were
determined. The starting point for this was to use the Address-
Point dataset and to eliminate all nonresidential properties that
were indicated within the ‘‘Organizations’’ field of the dataset.
This reduced dataset was then further refined by the use of high-
resolution aerial photography to help identify residential areas
and to exclude further nonresidential properties. [See Harris
and Longley (2000) and Robinson et al. (2002) for further examples
on the use of remote imagery in studies of urban population
distribution.] Internally generated local authority residential
datasets can also be cross-matched with the Maps and Stats resi-
dential properties file, so the accuracy of the file be incrementally
fine-tuned.
(b) The mean center of each unit postcode across the district was
calculated on the basis of the identified residential properties
and the number of residential properties associated with each
postcode centroid recorded. Standard distance calculations were
used to highlight where the mean center would not be a good

indicator of the location of properties within the manually reposi-
tioned postcodes and centroids where necessary. Sadahiro (2000)
suggests that the spatial median, rather than the spatial mean,
might be a more appropriate measure.
(c) When any new area-based dataset is introduced into the BCSP
system, a point-in-polygon operation is conducted to identify the
postcode centroids which lie within each of the new dataset areas,
so constructing a postcode:data-area look-up table.
(d) The dataset’s value for each area is then shared between the
postcode centroids enclosed within the area, in proportion to the
number of residential addresses each postcode centroid repre-
sents. In effect, the value associa ted with a data area is spread
proportionately across the postcode centroids contained within
the area.
(e) Data are held within the BCSP system as postcode centroid esti-
mates. In effect, the postcode centroids become the common-pegs
upon which data from disparate areal bases can be held.
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
(f) When it is required to create an estimate for a newly defined target
area, the estimated values for those postcode centroids contained
within the target area can be simply aggregated. All datasets are
held within the system as count variables, percentages and rates
only being calculated from the reaggregated target data.
Figure 15.1 illustrates the process. Source data are allocated to the disag-
gregation points (weighted postcode centroids) and the disaggregated esti-
mates are then available for reaggregation to target areas.
Having experimented with this method, the BCSP is aware of some
limitations in the performance of this method of estimation as it is presently
implemented:
.

The accuracy of the system clearly depends upon adequacy of
residential address locations as a predictor of distribution of the
estimated variable. It is only sensible, therefore, to use the method
with residentially related variables.
.
There are many postcodes with only a few residential properties
within them. In rural part of the district, i.e., that part outside the
urban shape defined by the CBMDC’s Planning Department, 60% of
postcodes contain less than five residential properties. To avoid the
instability of indicators calculated with low denominators, and also
to preserve confidentiality, the BCSP does not return results for
target areas of less than 100 residential addresses. This being the
case, it is recognized that the estimating system is most appropriately
used in built-up areas, where target areas are more likely to contain
sufficient properties to rise above the 100 address thresholds.
.
If the source area is larger than the target area, the estimates will not
be sensitive to local conditions within the target area. For this reason,
it is preferred to obtain source data on the smallest possible scale.
FIGURE 15.1
Source units, disaggregation
points, and target areas.
Source unit
Disaggregation point
Target area
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
.
The use of postc ode centr oids to represe nt the residen tial proper -
ties with in a postc ode area me ans that there is pres ently some
possi bility of mi sallocat ion wh en a target boun dary cuts across a

uni t postcode boundary. When this happ ens, all the estim ated
val ue assoc iated with a postcode will be allocat ed to the target
area with in wh ich the postc ode’s centr oid fall s.
Further refinem ent of the method is possi ble. In particu lar, the BCSP te am
is consid ering ‘‘s preading ’’ sour ce da ta directl y to individual pro perties, as
this wou ld elimi nate the potenti als for error assoc iated with the use of me an
center s to rep resent unit postc ode areas and thus misallocat ion prob lems
where target boundari es cut postc ode a reas. The initia l decisio n to use
centro ids was taken in itially onl y as a pragmat ic means of red ucing pro -
cessin g loads.
15.4. 2 User-Defi ned Target Areas
Ano ther sign ificant techni cal feature of the Map and Stat s Web GIS is that it
allows users to create their own target a reas. An y user can use a mo use to
define , edit, and sto re any area that is of intere st to them. Havi ng define d a
target are a, the user then selects from a menu the da taset in whic h they are
intereste d. The Maps and Stat s syst em then return s a re port that provides a
profile of the target area, based upon the chosen da taset. Figure 15.2 sho ws
the Maps and Stats interface, with a user-defined target area on screen.
Figure 15.3 shows an example of the typ e of report that the system returns,
in this case the ‘‘Council Benefits’’ report. This report provides estimates of
the numbers of households claiming Housing Benefit=Council Tax Rebate
FIGURE 15.2
User-defined target area.
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
and Fre e Sch ool Meal s with in the user -defined target area, tog ether with the
distr ict figure s fo r comparis on. Note that user s can obt ain info rmation about
the origins and reliabi lity of the data, and how the statistics are cal culate d,
by cl icking on links em bedded within the report page.
Pro viding the publi c with the facil ity to draw their own targe t areas via
the WebGIS and to retrieve smal l-area statis tics for their own define d a reas

gives citizens an indepen dent ability to gene rate local- area policy proposal s.
Unlike man y PPGIS, the publi c are not sim ply the passive recipien ts of
inform ation presen ted in a manner determined by the council. Rather they
have the tools to form their own views and, if they wish, to enter into a
dialo g wi th the co uncil.
In pr actice, the BCSP team had to balance their desire to provide open
acces s to data ag ainst a proper concer n to preserve conf identi ality. It might
be argu ed that, as the BCSP system return s estimate s rath er than actual
observ ed da ta val ues, the issue of conf identi ality does not arise. The view
was take n however , that mo re stringen t restra ints shou ld be put in place.
The syst em has been desig ned so that it will not return profiles for user -
defin ed areas that contain less than 100 res idential addresse s.
15.4. 3 Inform ation Dissem ination Rather Than Analysi s
As desc ribed ab ove, the majo r outputs from the syst em at present are
stati stical tabu lations profilin g user-de fined areas. The system does contain
some preprepared thematic maps of selected variables, and because of the
work done to identify residential locations for the estimation routine, these
can be presented in dasymetric, rather than conventional choropleth for-
mats. Figure 15.4, for example , shows the Maps and Stats site interf ace with
FIGURE 15.3
A target area specific report.
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
the left hand, thematic mapping panel opened, and a dasymetric map of the
distribution of unemployment on screen.
The principal aim of the system, at least initially, however has been to
develop a vehicle to allow the dissemination of statistical data, rather than
to develop significant analytical functionality. The presumption is that users
will download the data they require and perform any further analyses they
may require independently. It is very easy to produce a wish list of addi-
tional features which might be desirable—charting, time-series analyses,

user-controlled choropleth mapping, etc.—and some of these features may
be added in the second phase of the project.
Each additional function, however, adds to the complexity of use of the
system, and the team has had to remember that the system is intended for
public use and struck a pragmatic balance between technical content and
ease of use. The technical abilities of unskilled users are always likely to
constrain the sophistication that can be built into the public version of the
Maps and Stats system.
15.5 Data Issues
As the project progressed, the emphasis within the council’s team increas-
ingly focused on issues concerning data availability and data quality.
Although developing the WebGIS site was technically interesting, its long-
term usefulness will depend upon the quality and currency of the data
it provides.
FIGURE 15.4
Dasymetric thematic mapping within the Maps and Stats site.
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
The project team has been successful in installing into the Maps and
Stats system a large number of socioeconomic indicators. For example, the
Bradford district deprivation index (BDDI), which is a superset of the DTER
index, and which is a major internal planning tool for the council, has
been made publicly available via the Maps and Stats site. The BDDI
provides indicators under the following headings: crime, health, income,
education, employment, and housing—and draws data from the census,
internal council datasets, and some data from the health and police author-
ities. Looking a little ahead, the Maps and Stats site will clearly provide
an excellent mechanism by which to ensure widespread availability of
indicators derived from the 2001 census.
Experience during the BCSP, however, did raise some concerns with
regard to data sources. The data loaded into the system so far has been

provided on a one-off, project basis. If the system is to make a long-term
contribution, however, it will be necessary to enter into formal data-sharing
agreements with data suppliers, whether these suppliers are other council
departments or external agencies. Ideally, a system such as Maps and Stats
might hope to establish data-sharing protocols with potential suppliers to
specify items such as the quality standards, frequency of delivery, formats,
and conditions of use. Such data-sharing protocols are already used to
regularize exchange data between central and local government, and there
are already examples of protocols being negotiated at local levels. The
Hertfordshire Community Pro filing Partnership, for example, is using a
data-sharing protocol as a basis for establishing formal agreements with
its data suppliers (Z. Davies, 2002, The Hertfordshire Data Observatory,
Personal correspondence). In Bradford a data-sharing group was estab-
lished but, as yet, no formal data-sharing agreements have been concluded,
though progress continues to be made.
The paradox that surrounds data-sharing initiatives has been widely
discussed. Everyone agrees that data-sharing in principle is a good thing,
and yet actually achieving such sharing on a continuing basis often appears
unexpectedly difficult. (Onsrud and Rushton, 1995). There are organiza-
tional issues, cost, and legal concerns that inhibit formal data-sharing. In
discovering that setting-up formal data-sharing arrange ments is a slow
business, the BCSP has only been experiencing a local instance of a very
widely experienced difficulty. Looking into the future, however, there are
grounds for optimism. First, it is reasonable to expect that now the Maps
and Stats site is live, its merits will become more widely known and data
providers will see the advantages of contributing their data. Second, pres-
sures for interagency coordination from central government are encour-
aging local agencies to participate in initiatives such as the Maps and Stats
PPGIS. Most encouragingly for the future of the Maps and Stats system, the
local Health Authority and Crime Reduction Partnership has recently

agreed to provide some additional resource to further the development of
the system.
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Data quality has been a major concern for the BCSP team. Unless datasets
are very carefully prepared there is a danger that systems such as Maps and
Stats could very efficiently deliver poor data. Operationally generated data-
sets in particular need to be cleaned prior to being used and, unless care is
taken, when such datasets are combined there is a possibility that the
resultant dataset will carry forward the deficiencies of both—combining
two datasets each with an initial accuracy of 80% could in a worst case
result in an output dataset which is only 64% accurate (INFOSHARE, 2002).
A significant proportion of the council team’s time has been devoted to
preparing data, and the view has emerged that, in future, responsibility for
data cleaning will need to be accepted by the data providers rather than the
central BCSP team. This is partly for resource reasons but also reflects a
principle that data cleaning should be done as close to data collection as
possible, since those who are responsible for collecting data will be most
likely to be able to identify and correct errors.
The hope is that CBMDC’s Research and Consultation team, through the
continuing devel opment of the Maps and Stats syst em, will become
acknowledged as a clearinghouse for small-scale data within Bradford,
receiving quality assured datasets from other organizations and in return
providing an efficient means of combining and disseminating data.
15.6 Community Use
There is a critical, unanswered question about PPGIS: ‘‘How will the public
use them?’’ Indeed, is there a public demand sufficient to make the
resources that go into producing them justifiable? It is an article of faith
among academic geographers that interpret ing spatial data and statistical
mapping is difficult and requires training. Those of us who have attempted
to teach rudimentary spatial analysis to undergraduates might well believe

this to be true. Yet, via PPGIS, we will increasingly be making mapped
data available to the general public. There is a significant need for research
into the ability of the public to interpret WebGIS sites and the extent of their
interest in doing so. We need to know how much demand there is for such
sites; whether users can interpret the data delivered by PPGIS sites; what
are the human computer interface (HCI) characteristics that will facilitate
the ease of use of such systems?
The statistical emphasis within the Maps and Stats system means that
these issues are particularly important. Some PPGIS sites presently adopt
what is broadly look-and-see approach, allowing users to browse through
prepared maps. The Maps and Stats system can function in this manner,
providing access to prepared maps showing aspects of the socioeconomic
conditions within Bradford. The core purpose of the system, however, is to
allow users to create statistical profiles of areas of their choosing.
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
This requires a more active participation on the part of users. They need to
be aware of the site and the facilities it offers. They need to recognize the
relevance of what the site offers and to have the ability to interpret any area
profiles they may create.
It is in this context that the community capacity buil ding efforts by the
BRC are most important. It was never intended that the Maps and Stats
system should stand alone. The BCSP team always intended that alongside
the technical development of the site, there would be a parallel effort to
promote the Map s and Stats system among community groups, to explain
its relevance to them, particularly in preparing funding bids, and to provide
training in interpreting the statistics it can provide.*
During the BCSP, the BRC team was active in promoting the project with
publicity, contacting community networks, liaising with other community
initiatives, providing statistics workshops and training, and exploring the
information needs of the groups they supported. The Maps and Stats Web

site only became available a year after the inception of the project but the BRC
records show that up to September 2001, 53 workshops focusing on aspects of
the critical use of statistics within the community were delivered, 25 of which
were based on the Maps and Stats site (Taylor, 2002). Valuable though these
arranged meetings were, they underrepresent the interaction between the
BRC and local communities during the project since many contacts were
made on an ad-hoc and one-to-one basis. Over 80 community groups and
22 funding bids were assisted during the life of the initial project.
The BRC team also took responsibility for articulating community per-
spectives on the Maps and Stats system, recording user feedback and
emphasizing the need for clarity and ease of use. Thus, there was a contin u-
ing dialog within the project between the BRC team and the development
team about refinement of the site. Particular issues included the fact that
MapGuide requires a download that can take some minutes to install over
standard Internet connections, causing some concern to inexperienced
users; the area drawing and editing tools are relatively complex tasks for
users not familiar with mapping tools; and the language used on the site
could cause difficulty. Responding to the feedback provided from the BRC,
the Maps and Stats site was continually revised to make it more usable, but
it is clear that there is still much to learn about how to present statistical
materials via PPGIS. The differences between community and technical
perspectives on the system were not always easy to resolve.
During the BCSP concern about usability led to a discussion about
whether to put the more demanding area drawing and area-editing facilities
behind a password. The open site would allow everyone to have access to
statistics based on standard data areas—Wards, neighborhoods, etc.—but
* Indeed by focusing primarily on the Maps and Stats Web site, this paper probably provides a
skewed impression of the major emphasis of the overall project. The primary aim of the BCSP
has been to help communities understand the statistics that are being used to take decisions
about their localities. The Maps and Stats site is just a tool to facilitate this effort.

ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
only peop le with a passw ord wou ld be allowe d to use the in teractiv e draw -
ing to ols. The Scott ish Web mapping project (http: == ww w.web-map ping.
scot-h omes.g ov.uk =index.h tml) which is now devel oping a site sim ilar to
the BCSP’s Maps and Stats system to allow local agencies in Scotland to
share small-scale geographical data seems to be following this approach.
Prepared maps are available directly but dynamic mapping requires users
to have a password.
Within the BCSP, the decision was taken to remain true to the original
intention of providing an open site: better to allow users to experiment with
the statistics, and where necessary to ask for help, than to make presump-
tions about levels of skills within the community. Users only need to ask for
a password, for administrative reasons, to store their target areas on the
system’s server.
15.7 Organizational Context
It was mentioned above that an in tention of the project was to develop a
PPGIS with the community, rather than for the community, and we believe
that this is a model that other projects may wish to explore. If the council
had attempted to develop the Maps and Stats site without the context and
feedback provided by the BRC’s community involvement, this might have
resulted in a rather sterile, technological exercise.
Developing a software product in a community context is a challenging
task. In an ideal world, software development takes place in a stable envir-
onment where user requirements can be well defined, objectives can be set,
milestones defined, and resources allocated. In short, efficient software
development requires a stable environment and clarity in decision-making.
Community activity, however, thrives upon debate and inclusive decision-
making. There are many varied and competing community agendas and
communities of interest. These two differing styles lead to some tensions
within the project. Furthermore, as neither of the partie s had previous

experience of such a development, it proved impossible to determine a
fixed set of requirements early in the project. An attempt to adopt conven-
tional systems development methods was discontinued as inappropriate
and, in practice, an informal style of prototyping emerged as an appropriate
development method. Rather than establishing an early set of requirements,
the council and BRC partners negotiated progressive refinement of the site. If
the development of the WebGIS had been modeled upon a conventional
information systems development method, or had followed conventional
local government procedures, it would certainly not have progressed as
quickly as it did. Each of the major participants had to learn to accomm odate
the working traditions of the other.
The adoption of a fairly informal prototyping development style, how-
ever, did not negate the need for project management and quality assurance.
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
The project benefited from the fact that independent review was built into
the original proposal. This review was useful in clarifying issues for the
participants. It helped in ensuring the project was effectively steered and
common objectives identified.
The ERDF grant that funded the BCSP, and within it the Maps and Stats
Web site, expired in December 2001. Although further EU funding has been
obtained for an expanded program of community statistical activity, includ-
ing some provision for further technology development has been secured, a
concern for the team will be that at some point the Maps and Stats Web site
must be transformed from a project into a service, i.e., become accepted as a
permanent feature of local policy making within Bradford.
In this regard, it has been encouraging that a version of the Maps and
Stats site that released to Bradford Council’s officers as a trial via the
council’s Internet proved a great success. Council officers quickly appreci-
ated the time that could be saved by using the WebGIS to assemble area
profiles compared to conventional methods. As Thomasson (2000) observes

a principal reason why local authorities may previously have seemed to be
unresponsive to requests for information about areas from members of the
public has not been a desire to monopolize data but rather, and more
prosaically, a concern about the resource implications involved in respond-
ing to such requests. In the past, collating the data sources and constructing
area estimate s on an ad-hoc basis have been very time consuming. With the
Maps and Stats system, officers can produce area profiles for internal and
external purposes with relative ease.
As a result of the internal pilo t, the council agreed to purchase an author-
ity-wide license for the MapGuide software so that a further developed
version of the Map and Stats system can be made a permanent feature of
the council’s Intranet. This is important for the external site, as it is difficult
to see how the external site could perform as a permanent feature other than
by feeding off an internal service and guaranteed flows of operational data
into the system.
15.8 Conclusions
We are careful not to claim too much for the BCSP. The collapse of the dot.
com bubble during recent years provides a salutary warning against exag-
gerating the potential of Web-based technologies as means of communica-
tion with the public. If business has struggled, indeed largely failed, to
develop the Web as a significant channel by which to sell goods to the
public, perhaps governments and academi cs should be modest in the claim s
they make about the potential of the Web as a vehicle for promoting
participation. It is doubtful if any PPGIS has yet had a major impact upon
public participation rates. We are realistic about the level of demand that
there may be for the Maps and Stats system among residents.
ß 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
On the othe r hand, we do feel that the BCSP appro ach has eleme nts that
shou ld be of interes t to others invo lved in encou raging the publ ic use of
data for parti cipation in dec ision-maki ng. The Maps and Stat s site no w

makes availa ble to anyo ne who is intereste d a wid e ran ge of policy-r elevan t
datase ts, and this wil l make some contr ibution to wards openin g local gov-
ernm ent pro cesses to scrutiny and enabling res idents inde penden tly to form
their opi nions. A sim ilar appro ach is now bein g ad opted in at least two
other local autho rity areas. The Open Informa tion fo r Bir mingh am site
(www .oi4b.c om) has ad opted a very similar appro ach to that devel oped in
Bradfor d. The South Lanar kshire Comm unity Plan (ht tp: == www.ste p.gb.
com =Info rmation_ bank =) simply makes public some of the Excel spre ad-
shee t files that are used by council offi cers.
We belie ve that devel oping a PPG IS with in a bro ader pr ogram of com-
munity consul tation and cap acity buil ding, as exemp lified by the BCSP,
provides ad vantages for all partie s. The merits of the Map s and Stat s system
shou ld not be judged sole ly in techn ical terms but a s one stran d within a
much larger effort to engage co mmun ities in debat es about their futu res.
Discla imer : The opinio ns exp ressed here are those of the aut hors and do not
necess arily reflect the views of the ag encies desc ribed.
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