Frequently Asked Questions

Contents:
What is the Coordinated Imagery Program (CIP)?
Definition of who the SPC applies to:
What is the definition of 'Mandatory' with respect to SPCs?
Is the mandating only on capture or when purchasing existing data?
What is the scope of the products covered by the SPC for SI&EPs?
What are the key deliverables of the SPC for SI&EPs?
What are the key benefits for Users?
What does a Department representative need to do and provide to the CIP Team when seeking to participate in the Program?
What are the arrangements to report the SPC for SI&EPs?
How will the SPC for SI&EPs keep up with new innovations?
Can a new company join the Panel for SI&EP?
How do you participate in the CIP?
Will the quality assurance (QA) process include a review and audit process of the Panel providers and the CIP Team responses?
What is the Image Web Server (IWS)?
Is the Program interested in accepting and storing old imagery, already held by Purchase Partners, including hard copies?
How can Purchase Partners contribute existing DEMs/DTMs (ie non-Program data), to the Program?
What are DEMs and DTMs?
Who can make use of the Program?
Who is currently involved in the Program?
Why should I consider Partnering with the Program?
Why are prices higher than in previous years?
What factors influence the cost of image capture?
Can the Program provide indicative prices?
How much lead time does the Program need for my project requirements?
How are differing specifications within a group of Purchase Partners handled?
How much can the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) contribute to my project?
Is the money from the sale of our project data used to support new acquisitions in our area?
Why does DSE hold the Intellectual Property (IP)?
If Purchase Partners receive requests from non-purchase partners for copies of their aerial images, who should they put them in contact with?
How can a potential Purchase Partner, become a partner in a project that has already been completed?
What are the longer term objectives of the Program?
What are the Programs privacy obligations?
What is the Imagery Assurance Group (IAG), and what is its role in the Program?
General Spatial Terminology Glossary
How can I find out more?

What is the Coordinated Imagery Program?
A Victorian Government initiative designed to coordinate the purchase of aerial and satellite photography (generally referred to as imagery) and elevation products. The Program also provides a central store with secure access for such images via the Image Web Server (IWS) for Purchase Partners. The Program also provides access to Remote Sensing, GIS and Information Management experts who can assist you with inquiries.

Definition of who the SPC for SI&EPs applies to:
Public entities bound by Victorian Government Purchasing Board (VGPB) Procurement Policies (as specified in the Victorian Government Policy for State Purchase Contracts, Department of Treasury and Finance 2005).

Departments

Education and Early Childhood Development
Human Services
Innovation, Industry and Regional Development
Justice, including Victoria Police
Planning and Community Development
Premier and Cabinet
Primany Industries
Sustainability and Environment
Transport
Treasury and Finance

Administrative Offices

Essential Services Commission
Office of Public Prosecutions
Office of the Chief Commissioner of Police
Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment
Office of the Legal Ombudsman
Office of the Ombudsman
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
The Victorian Auditor-General's Office
Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission
Victorian Electoral Commission

What is the definition of 'Mandatory' with respect to SPCs?
Mandatory is an official requirement or instruction by an authority, in this case the Victorian Government Procurement Board (VGPB), via their Policies and Guidelines.

Use of SPCs is mandatory for public entities bound by the VGPB Procurement Policies. These entities include all Victorian Government Departments, Victoria Police and Administrative Offices. However, the Minister for Finance may approve exemptions from a SPC where a department is disadvantaged by its use.

An Open Standing Offer Agreement is established by a Department as lead agency, in this case DSE, and can be accessed by other Victorian Government Departments.

It is not mandatory for government entities not bound by VGPB Procurment Policies to use SPCs. However, such entities may elect to subscribe and voluntarily commit to using a SPC where it meets their business requirements for goods and services.

Is the mandating only on capture or when purchasing existing data?
The mandating covers all purchasing of data.

What is the scope of the products covered by the SPC for SI&EPs?

Aerial and Satellite Imagery
Elevation (contours, spot heights, digital elevation models developed through multiple methodologies, and as currently available within Vicmap Elevation, including remotely sensed and field captured methodologies)
The services provided by and through DSE relating to data capture, data processing, data management, data delivery, consultation and coordination of purchasing on behalf of Government Departments.

What are the key deliverables of the SPC for SI&EPs?

The key SPC deliverables that are to be put in place are:

the acquisition of consistent elevation and spatial imagery inline with user requirements
a central archive to host images
a supporting policy framework
a process to ensure the program is responsive to the needs of stakeholders, and
efficiencies in the management of spatial imagery for WoVG.

What are the key benefits for Users?

Benefits are largely associated with the simplification and streamlining of all components of procurement, contractural arrangements, technical expertise, product quality, coordination and project management.

By establishing a SPC for spatial imagery and elevation products, the coordination of procurement for this asset can be managed through a central team. The Program Team track projects with synergies in terms of geographic region or product specifications. Participating agencies can then share costs or save money on the basis of economies of scale.

Further efficiencies can be gained by this data being placed on the Image Web Server (IWS) and made available to departments as part of their core GIS resources. This will also enable departments to use historical spatial imagery for monitoring change, or utilising it as a reference set where new spatial imagery is not a requirement of the project.

What does a Department representative need to do and provide to the CIP Team when seeking to participate in the Program?

Each agency determines their individual spatial imagery and elevation product requirements on the CIP Requirements Proforma. The DSE team is able to provide advice on technical requirements to enable Agencies to obtain the product they need.

Each agency identifies their scope, budget and timeline needs, as well as the level and source of funding available for their requirements.

Each agency obtains the appropriate endorsement to meet their individual Departmental requirements. This includes relevant Departmental financial and project approvals, before the project proceeds.

DSE will establish a coordinated acquisition service which meets individual Agency requirements. This service will be used to obtain best value for money on behalf of all Agencies (Purchase Partners). Once quotes have been received and accepted for projects, each Agency is required to complete a purchase order following their internal approval procedures. A copy of the purchase order must be supplied to DSE.

What are the arrangements to report the SPC for SI&EPs?

The VGPB website will be the reference site on how to use this contract. There will also be links to the site from the Land Channel www.land.vic.gov.au, and other departmental sites. The site will include details of contractors, templates, and other relevant details.

How will the SPC keep up with new innovation?

As part of the Agreement with Panel Members they are required to keep up with and keep the Program informed of new innovation within the industry.

During the period of the panel deed there may be deletions and additions to the panel for various reasons such as:

poor performance of a panel member
other contractors offering services in response to new requirements, or providing specialist knowledge and expertise, and matching the competency of existing panel members
companies offering new or emerging technologies not available within the Panel
greater demand, and
to broaden competition and Purchase Partner choice.

However, any new members would need to meet evaluation criteria by the same process as existing members.

Can a new company join the Panel for SI&EPs?

DSE do not plan to add any companies to the Panel at the moment as the Panel has had little time to settle into operation. DSE may run a refresh process in the future, if the need arises, and it is likely this process would coincide with the annual review of the Panel.

The Panel was set up by an open public tender in 2008. The period of the contract is from July 1 2008 to June 30 2010, with options of 2 x 1 yearly extensions meaning the contracts with the current panel suppliers could run until June 30, 2012.

If a refresh process were to be conducted it would be by public tender, with qualifying conditions similar to those of the original tender.

Reasons that could initiate a refresh of the Panel are noted in the answer to the question above.

How do you participate in the CIP?

When Departments and Organisations contact us with their imagery requirements, our Team undertakes the following tasks:

Determines if there are other possible Purchase Partner organisations requiring imagery and elevation products over the same or similar area with same or similar specifications. This is done to make optimal purchases for Purchase Partners.
Organise meetings with like organisations to ascertain budgets.
Projects that are agreed to by Purchase Partners are then turned into Requests for Quote (RFQ) which are sent to our SPC for SI&EPs Panel of Suppliers. The Panel of Suppliers have been thoroughly assessed and are viewed as providing the best service and value for money. The SPC for SI&EPs Panel of Suppliers for 2008-2010 are:
- AAMHatch Pty Ltd
- Aerial Acquisitions Pty Ltd
- Aerometrex Pty Ltd
- ECOsystems Management (Aust) Pty Ltd
- Fugro Spatial Solutions Pty Ltd
- Geomatic Technologies Pty Ltd
- Photomapping Services
- Point Trading Pty Ltd (Air Tech)
- Tenix LADS Corporation Pty Ltd
The responses to the RFQ are evaluated by our Team and Purchase Partners and the successful supplier is chosen.
The suppliers then communicate with the Program Acquisition Manager in regard to acquisition and delivery time frames.
Once the data is acquired and prior to it being forwarded to the Purchase Partners, it undergoes rigorous Quality Assurance (QA) to ensure quality standards have been met, as set out in the RFQ.
Once the QA stage has been completed and the data has passed it is then supplied to the Purchase Partners.
If requested by the Purchase Partners the imagery may be available through accessing the Image Web Server (IWS).

Will the quality assurance (QA) process include a review and audit process of the providers and the CIP Team responses?

DSE has developed a set of QA measures that will be used to assess the quality of products and the extent to which they comply with product specifications.

DSE will accept or reject products and make final payment based on the basic QA process which has a 30-day turnaround. Metadata must be included as part of the final data delivery.

DSE will reserve the right to have products re-supplied if the detailed QA process reveals unacceptable errors.

DSE will meet with providers to resolve any issues associated with QA, and provide project and contract management as a means of facilitating product and service delivery.

What is the Image Web Server (IWS)?

The IWS is a secured and centralised store for aerial photography, satellite imagery and digital maps. The Government’s vast array of historical and new imagery, including the latest aerial photography acquired via the Program, will be placed on the IWS. Upon completion of a costing model for the Program, all Victorian Government Departments and associated agencies and authorities will eventually be able to access the IWS on request.

The benefits of the IWS are:

Centralised store of data allowing ease of access; and
Does not require the data to be stored in your organisation and thus not requiring disk space and active management of the data.

Is the Program interested in accepting and storing old imagery, already held by Purchase Partners, including hard copies?

Yes, however we are still working out a costing model for the IWS and how this may be done. This section will be updated as soon as the costing model is complete.

How can Purchase Partners contribute existing DEMs/DTMs (ie non-Program data), to the Program?

This would depend on each Purchase Partner's Intellectual Property (IP) arrangements and can be discussed on a case-by-case basis with the Vicmap Elevation Custodian Officer.

What are DEMs and DTMs

DEM is a generic term for digital topographic and /or bathymetric data, in all its various forms. Unless specifically referenced as a Digital Surface Model (DSM), the generic DEM normally implies elevations of the terrain (bare-earth z-values) void of vegetation and man-made features. This bare-earth DEM is generally synonymous with a Digital Terrain Model (DTM).

Source: David, F.M. (Eds) (2001). Digital Elevation Model Technologies and Applications: The DEM Users Manual. The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, page 1.

Who can make use of the Program?

Any Government or non-Government organisation can use the Program.

Who is currently involved in the Program?

DSE, many Local Government Authorities, other Victorian Government Departments, Utilities, Catchment Management Authorities and some private companies are involved in projects as Purchase Partners. With the success and growth of the Program over the last three years, the Program now includes 80 Purchase Partners.

Why should I, not being a mandated organisation, consider partnering with the Program?

The Program may offer the opportunity for organisations with limited funds to partner in purchasing imagery and elevation products. The Program Team does the organising for you, saving you time, money and effort. It provides the opportunity to share products and to put them to multiple uses. If like Purchase Partners are found to share in your purchase it can also mean capturing a larger area, at a better image quality and sharing the costs. The Team will also perform quality assurance on the products received direct from the suppliers, before forwarding to you.

Why are prices higher than in previous years?

There are a few reasons for the, recent on average, higher prices quoted than for last year’s as follows:

Tighter RFQ response and product delivery;
A growing understaning of the true costs of delivery of the products to the Program specifications since it commenced in 2005-06;
Increases in the cost of acquisition.

What factors influence the cost of Image Capture?

The cost of image capture is dependent upon a number of variables which may include:

Spatial accuracy of the final product -
For example, the current recommended standard within the Program requires independent control to be obtained to meet the standard. This often means a survey team is required to capture a number of points. This in turn impacts on the cost. If the accuracy is to the current Vicmap Property standard then no independent control is needed.
Scanning resolution of the negative -
Currently the Program's recommended standard is to scan the film at 15 microns. This means the photography needs to be obtained at a lower height and therefore have a larger number of frames than if photography was scanned at 12 microns and flown at a greater height.
Intellectual Property (IP) -
Some providers state the loss of IP and the potential loss of revenue in the form of on-selling the data to other organisations is passed onto the Purchase Partners. It is unknown how much this affects the cost of a standard product.

If Purchase Partners do not require the standard specifications, they may be changed to suit their needs.

The Program prefers to make recommendations to support the varying needs of Purchase Partners.

Can the Program provide indicative prices?

Indicative prices have not been provided up to now because every project has its own peculiarities that could significantly affect the price. The advantage of the Program identifying indicative prices to help potential Purchase Partners decide whether their budget will allow them to continue to the RFQ stage is now being recognised. The Program is working with imagery providers to come up with an interim solution to determine indicative prices.

How much lead time does the Program need for my project requirements?

The process of completing a project from an initial expression of interest to engaging an image provider involves a few steps. Depending on the nature of the project, the time required to go through these steps can vary.

1. Expression of Interest
Once you notify the Program Team that you are interested in acquiring a product, a representative will discuss your requirements, help identify potential partners and possibly identify an indicative cost. Although not necessary, it is helpful if an approximate budget can be identified at this time. The time required for this step can vary significantly depending on how discussions develop, the complexity of the project, how many potential partners may be involved and the approximate budget.

2. Agreement on project specifications
Request for Quote documentation will be prepared by the Team which will be sent to the identified Purchase Partners for confirmation. Of specific note are the product specifications that are developed via the expression of interest consultation. Prior to sending the specifications to the provider for a quote, these need to be confirmed by the partner/s. This should not take long as it essentially involves confirmation of previous discussions.

3. Request for Quote
Upon approval from the Purchase Partners the RFQ will be sent out to imagery providers. We generally allows 10 days for providers to quote, however this is dependent on the complexity of the project and the number of concurrent projects we have asked them to quote on.

4. Partner review of Quotes
After receiving all quotes the figures are summarised by the Program Team and then supplied to each partner for consideration. Upon request, we can also provide the original quoted proposals. If required, we can also recommend a supplier. This process can take time and is largely dependent on the financial position of partners.

5. Engagement of Imagery Provider
Once a preferred imagery provider has been selected, the Team will engage the provider to undertake the project. This can happen quite quickly.

The above steps can proceed quite quickly or they can take longer depending on individual project circumstances. Generally all these steps can be achieved within two to three weeks. More complex projects may take as long as six weeks.

In general, the key factor affecting time is identification of budget.

How are differing specifications within a group of Purchase Partners handled?

Once a partner has identified their needs/specifications via the Program Requirements Form the Team organises group meetings to discuss these specifications. During the meetings it is up to the discretion of each potential partner to negotiate whether certain specifications can be relaxed or altered for the benefit of the group. Sometimes the specifications are so varied that more than one capture, solution or product is required. The Program then moves to the next stage of requesting quotes for the products decided upon.

How much can DSE contribute to my project?

Below is a brief outline of how projects are established and the role DSE, via Spatial Information Infrastructure (SII), plays in coordinating and contribution to the acquisition of imagery:

The Program Team looks for multiple Purchase Partners over a common area to provide cost effectiveness to the participants, that is, a reduction in costs to each partner;
Where only one Purchase Partner is involved, the partner should assume they will have to pay 100% of the cost of the imagery. The Program cannot guarantee that it will be able to partner in projects, as like all sectors, our contribution is budget driven;
In the event that there is only one Purchase Partner, the Program Team will contact other potential Purchase Partners, to endeavour to get a partnership arrangement and thereby reduce the costs to individual partners.

DSE’s in-kind contribution includes:

Provision of Aerial Photography/DEM advice to partners
Assisting partners with the design of appropriate project specifications
Bringing potential Purchase Partners together via roadshows and correspondence
Designing efficient photography projects, taking into account areas of overlap of past and concurrent photography projects
Drafting projects for quotation and negotiation with suppliers
Rigorous and probity-checked tender and evaluation processes
General project/contract management
Quality assurance of data, including spatial accuracy test
Review and validation of deliverables specified in contracts
Storage and archiving of imagery products
Customisation for individual needs where applicable
Management of IP.

In total this in-kind contribution towards delivering benefits to partners amounts to over $800,000 per annum. In addition to the in-kind contribution, in 2006/07 the State Government partnered numerous imagery/DEM projects and to date have contributed close to $6 Million over two years to these acquisitions.

Is the money from the sale of our project data used to support new acquisitions in our area?

At present any monies received for the sale of imagery goes towards the whole Program, as it is minimal and hard to define. However, this is being revisited as part of the Costing Model presently being prepared for implementation.

Why does DSE hold the Intellectual Property (IP)?

It is general government policy that IP is held by the State and due to the complexity and limitations of shared IP ownership, it was recommended that an interim structure of full IP held by DSE on behalf of the State Government of Victoria be adopted until a more sophisticated structure could be established.

It was also recommended that all Program royalties be returned to SII/DSE in a way similar to existing Vicmap Data Service Provider (DSP) and Value Added Reseller (VAR) arrangements. All revenue received must go toward the following season’s imagery procurement. Royalties should be set at rates supporting organisations joining the Program for future acquisitions.

By holding the IP DSE also gives the Program the potential to grow and gain better returns and encourage more partners to join. Having one owner of the IP also facilitates ease of creating value-added products and services which could also see better returns to Program partners for future acquisition.

Under current contracting arrangements this situation will remain. However, this issue will be considered prior to the next contract period.

If Purchase Partners receive requests from non-purchase partners for copies of their Aerial Images, who should they put them in contact with?

As the IP for data generated for a Program project rests with the State of Victoria, there are conditions on distribution of the data.

Generally, a Purchase Partner such as a Council can copy the data for its own internal purposes including map production for distribution to the general public, or supplying digital copies to contractors for use on Council projects.

The occasions where the Program would need to be notified is when a Purchase Partner wants to sell the data. For example, if Council wanted to sell a copy of the data to a local real estate agent for their commercial use.
Also, the Program would need to be notified if Council wanted to exchange Program data with another agency. The concern with this sort of activity is that it may discourage partner participation in the Program acquisitions. ie; organisations may wait for someone else to purchase data.

So, in general Purchase Partners can use the data for their own internal purposes and for any non-profit service to the general public.

We recommend that any documents produced with the photography in them (maps, pdfs, etc) include a copyright and liability statement . You may already do this. The Program has standard statements which you may wish to utilise or adapt, such as.

"Contains Vicmap information © The State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2006.
Reproduced by permission of the Department of Sustainability and Environment."

"This material may be of assistance to you but the Council and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or consequences which may arise from your relying on any information contained in this material."

In cases that involve other organisations not directly working for you, they should be referred to the Program Team for access to the data, as a number of Data Service Providers (DSPs) are licensed to sell State Data on behalf of the State and the State collects royalties from those sales. The aim is to avoid the situation where Purchase Partners sell data, effectively in competition with the DSPs at prices that do not reflect the true value and cost of acquisition.

If your organisation is intending to sell data, you should contact a Program representative first and provide them with a description of what your organisation wants to do.

If your organisation wants to sell small hardcopy maps to the public at a price to cover cost of production, it may not be an issue, however the Program Team would like to be informed.

This process helps the the Program honour its agreements with DSPs, encourage partnerships through the Program and make people aware of the Program by channelling would-be buyers through us or our DSPs.

See the Vicmap Imagery Web Page for information and contact details of the Programs Data Service Providers at http://www.land.vic.gov.au/.

However, if an Organisation can identify potential Purchase Partners, they can refer them to the Program Team for further contact.

How can a potential Purchase Partner, become a partner in a project that has already been completed?

If a project has already been completed you can become a partner by contacting a Program representative or if you wish to purchase the imagery in your own right contact a Vicmap DSP. See http://www.land.vic.gov.au/.

What are the longer term objectives of the Program?

To develop an efficient and effective service and cost sharing model for spatial imagery and elevation products for the State of Victoria
To continue to promote sharing and multiple use of imagery/data aiming to reduce costs
To improve quality and consistency of products
To obtain a comprehensive State-wide coverage of aerial and/or satellite imagery to support the policies, outcomes and intent of the Victorian Government's natural resource management objectives
To provide a valuable resource to improve the quality of Victoria's fundamental dataset assets used across Government for emergency services, environmental management and built infrastructure
To use any revenue generated from the wider distribution of imagery to fund future imagery acquisitions. To this end a Program Trust account has been established into which royalties from sales of imagery are paid. These royalties are to be used for future acquisitions only.
To expand and grow the Program to include additional partners including an increase in Government contributions via the newly established SPC Panel for SI&EPs.

What are the Program's privacy obligations?

Confidentiality, security and privacy conditions apply to the contract conditions for the suppliers of imagery. The nine companies chosen during the tender process to supply imagery and elevation products are bound by the Information Privacy Principles and any applicable Code of Practice with respect to any act done or practice engaged in by them for the purposes of their Purchase Order Contract in the same way and to the same extent as any Government Department or a Purchaser is bound by the Information Privacy Principles. You can find out more information on the Victorian Privacy Act by visiting the Office of the Victorian Privacy Commissioner website at http://www.privacy.vic.gov.au.

What is the Imagery Assurance Group (IAG), and what is its role in the Program?

In early 2006 the Victorian Spatial Council (VSC) agreed to the formation of an Imagery Assurance Group (IAG) to provide a formal consultative arrangement between government, industry and users for continuous improvement in the specification, acquisition and provision of imagery under the Coordinated Imagery Program (CIP).

The IAG’s Terms of Reference are to:

provide technical recommendations on proposed specifications for the acquisition of imagery;
provide expertise on market/business arrangements for imagery acquisition (including IP and licensing); and
communicate Australian and International best practice strategies on government and industry partnerships.

General Spatial Terminology Glossary

General Spatial Terminology Glossary [PDF File - 37.7 KB]

How can I find out more?

You can send us an email at: Coordinated.imagery@dse.vic.gov.au or call Spatial Information Infrastructure on 8636 2333 and speak to a member of our Program Team.

Spatial Information Infrastructure
Level 13, 570 Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: (+61 3) 8636 2333
Fax: (+61 3) 8636 2813