Geographic Referencing Infrastructure (GRI)

Background

The Cabinet Office PAT 18 report (352Kb pdf) on Better Information recognised that better information for small areas provides the means to focus policy, target aid, and monitor change. The report recommended that "data collection and processing must be underpinned by a system which can deliver accurate, consistent and robust information at a small area level over time…a single comprehensive and universally adopted geographic referencing framework". The delivery of this framework would be "led by ONS working with other government departments…marshalling all the technical issues that are necessary to deliver it".

ONS has developed its Geographic Referencing Infrastructure (GRI) to deliver this geographic referencing framework. The GRI supports the collection, processing, analysis and dissemination of statistics, and as such is a key plank of ONS's Statistical Modernisation Programme.

What is the GRI ?

At its simplest the GRI will comprise a collection of layers of spatial data (inputs) held within a structured and linked database: a Spatial Data Repository (SDR) Once validated, linked and date-stamped the data can be fed into products supporting a number of ONS statistical processes.

The data within the SDR needs to serve all aspects of statistical processing:

• postcodes and addresses (to reference, sample and link data);
• standard names and codes for statistical geographies (to reference, aggregate, and present statistics);
• digital boundaries (to reference, analyse, and present statistics);
• background mapping (to present and navigate to an area's statistics);
• service location points, eg hospitals, GPs, schools (to analyse and present data);
• metadata (information about the data above).

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This page last revised: Tuesday, 3 April 2007