Government celebrates geographers in seventh annual awards
Source: gov.uk (2025-05-13)

The seventh Geography in Government awards took place on 12 May 2025

The seventh annual Geography in Government Awards took place on Monday 12 May 2025 at Geovation in London, celebrating the work done by members of the geography profession across the public sector.

These awards reflect the importance of geography and spatial thinking in the design and delivery of public policy and celebrates the successes of our members, who come from a diverse range of organisations.

This year had a record number of nominations across the seven categories, the winners of those categories were;

Communication

This award is in collaboration with the British Cartographic Society (https://www.cartography.org.uk/) and recognises excellence in communication of geographic content.
- English offshore Marine Protected Area (MPA) byelaw work (stage 2), Marine Management Organisation.
Innovation (joint winners)

This award recognises excellence by a team or individual in advancing geography through the introduction and/or implementation of innovative methods.
- Mapping peatland using AI and machine learning, Natural England
- AI Predicted Historic Woodlands, Welsh Government
Knowledge Driven Policy Making

This award recognises the application of geographic knowledge and skills to develop excellent domestic or international policy-making in action and have an impact.
- National Infrastructure Spatial Tool, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Local Impact

This award is in collaboration with Geoplace (https://www.geoplace.co.uk/) and recognises the breadth and depth of geographical work undertaken at a local or regional level.
- Report It, Westminster City Council
Making a Difference (joint winners)

This award recognises projects, teams or individuals whose efforts support sustained ‘business as usual’ work.
- Improvements to Great Britain 1:50,000 air charts, Defence Geographic Centre, MOD
- Cultural Lighting product to assist Amphibious Operations, Scotia Kaczor, UK Hydrographic Office
Leading by Example

This award recognises a team or individual who has made a difference within their work area through the application of geography or through promoting geography.
- Transforming data processing in the marine domain to improve customer experience, Andrew Talbot, UK Hydrographic Office
Rising Star

This award is in collaboration with the Association for Geographic Information - Early Careers Network. (https://www.agi.org.uk/agi-early-careers-network/)

This award is to recognise someone in the first five years of their career as a geographer in government or a public sector organisation, who has gone above and beyond what would be expected for someone of their experience or has championed the importance of applying a geographic approach.

The three rising stars this year were;
- Jasmine Elliot, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Tyde D’Souza, Office for National Statistics
- Gabriella Fasoli, Natural England
Winner of Government in Geography Award 2025

From all of the category winners, the winner of the Geography in Government Awards 2025, was won by;
- National Infrastructure Spatial Tool, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
The decision was announced at the ceremony, but they will also be presented with their award at the prestigious Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) medals and awards ceremony in June.

David Wood, Head of Government Geography Profession said:

It is great to recognise the outstanding contributions of our Government Geography Profession members every year. The awards emphasise the importance of space and place in policy design and implementation.

If you are a crown, civil or public servant applying geographic principles in your work and would like to become a member of the Government Geography Profession, you can join via our members site (https://members.geography.gov.uk/register/).