Defra appoints Agrimetrics and Telespazio as service provider for key environmental data

Telespazio UK and Agrimetrics awarded Defra Data Services Platform (DSP3) contract

The current DSP2 platform serves 650 Defra Group partners and 300 contractors and supported 1.8 billion Application Programming Interface calls in 2019-2021

The new data service will provide the next generation data marketplace which will help improve the wider reusability of Defra’s rich data for public use

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Telespazio UK, a subsidiary of Telespazio (a joint venture between Leonardo, 67%, and Thales, 33%), and partner Agrimetrics have been awarded the Data Services Platform (DSP3) contract by the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

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Defra collects a substantial amount of environmental (including animal and plant health, farming, biosecurity, operational) data critical to achieving its strategic objectives in helping wider Government, the commercial sector and stakeholders meet targets to protect and improve the environment. By sharing its data, Defra can provide stakeholders with data and evidence to monitor change and inform future decision making and operational services which are critical for improving our environment and other Defra outcome priorities. Better data helps make better decisions, which will be vital in achieving the nation’s environmental improvements. Telespazio UK and Agrimetrics are proud to help Defra deliver the ambition of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.

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Together, Telespazio UK and Agrimetrics will provide a next generation evolution of the data services platform in the frame of the DSP3 contract. Telespazio UK has more than 40 years’ experience of delivering operational, end-user-driven services for a multitude of UK and European customers. Agrimetrics, an SME created through Innovate UK funding in 2015, has created and is operating the enterprise grade Data Marketplace for the UK agri-food sector.

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The current Data Services Platform (DSP) serves 650 Defra Group partners, 300 contracting entities, about 13,000 individual users, and supported 1.8 billion Application Programming Interface calls in 2019-2021. Examples of key data sets provided are those of flood risk, bathing water quality, and fish populations.  

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Linked data technology enables connections between related data sets to be managed and optimised. DSP3 will utilise the power of linked data to enable users and consumers to access and understand data from the entire platform in a manner that fits their use case. This will ensure that all Defra data is truly discoverable and accessible, significantly enhancing the utilisation and social value delivered by use of the data with an expanding set of user communities.

DSP3 will exploit the existing Agrimetrics Data Marketplace platform to enable greater interoperability with other platforms and services to expand the usage of data and evolution of technical services. Combined with the service management and Agile development methodology experience of Telespazio UK, the team will bring a modern, resilient and intuitive linked data-centric offering to users.

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Chris Howes, Chief Digital Technology Officer, Digital Data and Technology Services at Defra said “Partnering with Telespazio and Agrimetrics provides a fantastic opportunity for Defra to modernise its data sharing services platform, and expand the usability of our data across the government and the public data marketplace in line with government roadmap for digital and data, 2022 to 2025 - GOV.UK.”

CEO of Telespazio UK, Mark Hewer said “It’s very exciting to be working with Defra and Agrimetrics at the forefront of delivering and modernising such a critical UK data platform. We look forward to delivering a first-class product with a comprehensive user service, which hosts more data and engages even more users, so that the DSP is recognised as a world-leading infrastructure that underpins environmental improvements and social value gains.”

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Agrimetrics CEO, David Flanders said “The world needs quickly to link environmental data to business decisions to help us reach our global commitments for reducing and reversing our impact on the climate and biodiversity. Agrimetrics are excited to be working with Telespazio UK and Defra to deliver this programme at scale using our infrastructure and data expertise.”