Stevenage, UK. 19 June, 2008. – Digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software developer Cadcorp has announced that its business partner in Ireland, Compass Informatics, has been awarded a contract by Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) for the supply, installation, implementation and on-going support of a new GIS based on Cadcorp SIS desktop and GeognoSIS web-based software.

The Cadcorp software will replace the CSO’s existing GIS facilities and enable the designation of Enumeration Areas (EAs) for census 2011 and the spatial coding of the 2011 census results to be carried out entirely digitally. It will also provide a map-based front-end for the presentation of census results via the web.

Designation of the 4,400 EAs for the last census in 2006 was carried out by CSO staff visually examining paper maps printed by Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI). EA boundary revisions were marked on them in pen based on information from the GeoDirectory on new housing developments since 2002. These EA boundary revisions were then digitised by OSI and printed out for use by the CSO’s enumerators.

Going digital
The new Cadcorp SIS-based GIS will do away with the need for labour-intensive manual revision of paper maps, instead enabling the designation of EAs to be carried out directly on digital maps supplied by OSI. Individual map sheets for each of the approximately 5,000 EAs for census 2011 will then be made available on paper and in digital form to the census teams.

In addition to the new GIS, Compass Informatics is developing an application for field tracking the enumeration process. Supported by the new GIS and Korec Fast Map software, GPS-enabled Pocket PCs connected to bar-code readers will provide near real-time data on census form delivery and collection.

The tracking system will be tested using 10 units in 20 EAs, with the test focusing on technical, support and training issues and enumerator feedback. The census field system promises to be a first for census organisations in successfully delivering digital field solutions for the enumeration process.

“The new, Cadcorp SIS-based GIS that Compass Informatics is providing will not only streamline the way in which we carry out the census designation process,” said Aidan Punch, census director, Central Statistics Office. “It will also enable us to manage all enumeration area boundary data and associated vector and raster data in one central, multi-user GIS and will make up-to-date census information readily accessible over the Internet.”

“We are delighted that Compass Informatics has been selected to provide and develop the CSO’s new GIS,” said Mike O’Neil managing director, Cadcorp. “We are confident that the experts at Compass will deliver the application and the high level of support that the CSO expects and deserves.”

Led by Compass Informatics, the project team responsible for the successful delivery of CSO’s new GIS includes Compass partners Cadcorp and Korec.

Gearóid Ó Riain, managing director, Compass Informatics, said, “The systems delivered by the Compass team will play an important part in efficiently collecting, managing and sharing data from the CSO census of population. As Census 2011 approaches, they will be under heavy use and will show their particular value.”

About Compass Informatics
Compass Informatics is a Dublin-based geographic and information management consultancy focused on the appropriate use of technologies in the planning and environmental sectors in particular. It is a vendor-independent systems developer, choosing best-fit solutions on a case by case basis. Over recent years Compass has increasingly used the notably flexible and standards-based Cadcorp SIS family of GIS solutions.

Compass has proven links to central and local government in Ireland, supporting local and national spatial planning, public-facing information systems, meeting requirements under EU Directives such as the Water Framework and Environmental Noise Directives, along with delivering land management and planning systems to private-sector clients.

Established in 1997, Compass continues to bring its skills to new areas, most notably through its operation of the National Biodiversity Centre for Ireland, listed in the current Programme for Government in Ireland.

About CSO
Ireland’s Central Statistics Office, (CSO), is an independent Office established in 1949. It operates under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach to guarantee its statistical independence and the confidentiality of the data it collects. The CSO collects, compiles, analyses and disseminates statistical information relating to the economic and social life of the country. It is also responsible for co-ordinating official statistics produced by other public authorities and for developing the statistical potential of administrative records. The census is a major undertaking for the CSO and is carried out every five years. It is the largest and most exacting statistical operation organised by the CSO.

About Cadcorp
Established in 1991, Cadcorp is a leading UK developer of digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software. With offices in the UK and the USA, Cadcorp's distribution and value-added reseller (VAR) network stretches worldwide. The company also plays a pivotal technical role in the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc.® (OGC®).

The Cadcorp SIS - Spatial Information System product family is fully integrated digital mapping and GIS software that uses OGC certified compliant interfaces. Cadcorp technical director Martin Daly is an OGC Gardels Medal holder for his contribution to the OGC, and was one of the original members of the OGC Architecture Board. Cadcorp is an ISO9001:2000 and ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certified company, an Ordnance Survey GB Licensed Partner and Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland Licensed Partner. Cadcorp SIS applications exist in local government, central government, emergency services, insurance, oil & natural gas, mapping and surveying, commerce, utilities and many other markets. (For more information please visit: http://www.cadcorp.com).

For further information contact:
Julia Smith, Tel: +44 (0)1438 747996, e-mail: Email Contact or
Neil McLeod, Tel: +44 (0)1666 504293, e-mail: Email Contact .