Web-based model visualisation
A model creates value when its results can be understood and used by others. Our work does not end with the model itself: we turn model outputs into interactive maps that policy advisers, public officials and housing corporations can explore in a browser and use as a basis for decisions.
We support two ways of accessing models, designed for two different user groups. GeoDMS contains a viewer called the GeoDMS GUI, designed for people who develop, run or want to understand models in detail. Every intermediate result is accessible and any value can be traced back through the calculations that produced it, all the way to the source data. A web interface is for a broad audience: the model results and the descriptions needed to understand them, available in a browser, with nothing to install and little to learn.
The web interface is not a simplified representation of the GeoDMS GUI. It provides access to the same model definition, presented at the level of detail the user needs. We document which model version produced the results, so their origin and reproducibility stay transparent.
Model versions and reproducibility
Models evolve continuously. They are refined, corrected and extended over time, often with several versions under development simultaneously. Our web interfaces therefore do not always show the latest state of a model. We deliberately publish authorised model releases instead. After a period of testing and validation, the results of a specific model version are frozen and made available through the web interface. This allows reports and analyses to remain consistent and reproducible, while further model development continues independently. New model versions are published on a regular basis and previous releases may remain available to support ongoing work.
Why we build them ourselves
Building both the modelling environment and the web interface ourselves allows the interface to reflect the structure and logic of the underlying model. This gives us the flexibility to present maps, metadata and explanatory descriptions in a way that remains closely connected to the model itself.
It also allows the web interface to present model results at their native resolution. A national model that produces results for individual buildings does not have to be aggregated to municipal averages before those results can be explored.
Examples
The WoonZorgwijzer
The WoonZorgwijzer is our most widely used and adopted web application, see also housing and the social domain. It supports a broad range of user groups, including policy advisers, professionals in the care and housing sectors and local/regional authorities, but also less expected groups such as fire brigades and researchers studying the impacts of climate change.
The viewer for the WoonZorgwijzer is developed by BaasGeo in close collaboration with us.
Startanalyse aardgasvrije buurten
The web mapping application for PBL's neighbourhood-level analysis of heating alternatives. It enables users to interactively explore spatial patterns in the results and compare neighbourhoods based on their local characteristics, rather than relying solely on aggregated figures or tables.
Web services
In addition to viewer development, we make model results accessible through standard web services (WMS, WMTS, WFS). GeoDMS already supports exporting data to formats often used on the web, such as GeoJSON. We are also investigating generating vector tile formats, enabling more efficient delivery and visualisation of large-scale spatial datasets in web applications.
What we offer or can build for you
- Public, GeoDMS model driven map viewers, with the possibility to combine model results with additional contextual data layers
- Standard and updatable map services (WMS, WMTS, WFS)
- Dashboards combining maps, tables and indicators for a policy domain
- Viewers with innovative interactive cartographic concepts, such as area and zoom level dependent visualisations and classifications. These techniques help users move beyond simply observing that a neighbourhood is highlighted in red, towards understanding the underlying factors and model logic that lead to this result
We would like to put more focus on this part of our work, because it helps bridge the gap between modelling and practical use. Interactive interfaces allow users to explore, understand and apply model results in ways that complement traditional reports.