As this UK government notice has not been posted to 'Lis-maps' I fwd it
from a Brit in Oz via 'MAPS-L'. Comments not to me but maybe also to
BRICMICS (whose reports of its twice-yearly Meetings - venues usually
alternating between BL and OS - never now seem to be published in, e.g.,
'Cartographiti' . . .)

Francis Herbert

-----Original Message-----
From: Maps, Air Photo & GIS Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Angie Cope
Sent: 19 November 2009 02:49
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Ordnance Survey maps to go free online

---- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Ted Coltman" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Air Photo & GIS Forum Maps" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 4:41:59 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada
Central
Subject: RE:      Ordnance Survey maps to go free online

Am I reading this announcement too narrowly, or wouldn't it be described
more accurately as "SOME Ordnance Survey maps (NOT, for example, the
topographical ones) to go free online"?

The press release seems limit the scope to "its data relating to
electoral and local authority boundaries, postcode areas and mid scale
mapping information."  As I am not a professional cartographer, I may
not grasp what is included in the term "mid scale mapping information",
but the release seems to me to be quite limited in scope.

Edward (Ted) Coltman
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
401 Ninth Street NW
Washington DC 20004-2129
voice  +1 202 879 9670
e-mail [log in to unmask]
-------------------------------

-----Original Message-----
From: Maps, Air Photo & GIS Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Angie Cope
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 4:22 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Ordnance Survey maps to go free online

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Ordnance Survey maps to go free online
Date:   Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:18:07 +0000
From:   Brendan Whyte <[log in to unmask]>
To:     AMC <[log in to unmask]>, mapsL <[log in to unmask]>
References:
<[log in to unmask]>,<[log in to unmask]
d.ac.uk>

Official UK government press release:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1385429
Re-mapping the future for Ordnance Survey - making public data public

Published 17 November 2009

The Prime Minister and Communities Secretary John Denham will today
announce that the public will have more access to Ordnance Survey maps
from next year, as part of a Government drive to open up data to improve
transparency.

Speaking at a seminar on Smarter Government in Downing Street later
today, attended by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Professor Nigel Shadbolt, the
Prime Minister will set out how the Government and Ordnance Survey,
Great Britain's national mapping agency, will open up its data relating
to electoral and local authority boundaries, postcode areas and mid
scale mapping information.

The Government will consult on proposals to make data from Ordnance
Survey freely available so it can be used for digital innovation and to
support democratic accountability.

The proposals will harness the world-class expertise that Ordnance
Survey has in the production, maintenance and application of
high-quality geospatial information. They build on reforms already
delivered in the organisation and would ensure that it is right at the
heart of digital innovation in Britain.

Freely available facts and figures are essential for driving
improvements in public services. It puts information, and therefore
power, in the hands of the public and the service providers to challenge
or demand innovation in public services.

The Prime Minister has set out the importance of an open data policy as
part of broader efforts to strengthen democracy - creating a culture in
which Government information is accessible and useful to as many people
as possible in order to increase transparency and accountability,
improve public services and create new economic and social value.

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said: "We live in exciting times; a
digital age of high-speed communications and information just a click
away that is transforming our daily routines. Technological advances and
rising customer expectations are revolutionising how we all do things.
Today's announcement responds to the demands for better use and access
to data held by government. In this new world, smarter government is not
an option but a necessity."

Communities Secretary, John Denham, said: "Any public service reforms
must be open about what is going on so that those outside it can examine
what is happening and to propose alternative ways of doing things if
necessary.

"This can only happen if the necessary information and data about what
is currently delivered is easily and readily available. Ordnance Survey
is a world renowned mapping expert and making the data they hold about
local areas, like council boundaries and postcodes, readily available is
an important first step to a more open government.

"We want people to be able to compare the outcomes and the costs for
their own local services with the services delivered elsewhere, and
suggest means of improving and driving change that help cut out
duplication and waste, and make sure that every pound of public money is
working as hard as it can."

Minister for Digital Britain, Stephen Timms, who has responsibility for
the 'Making Public Data Public' initiative, said: "This is an important
step in our public data strategy. About 80 per cent of public sector
data mentions a place. Making Ordnance Survey data more freely available
will encourage more effective exploitation of public data by businesses,
individuals and community organisations."

Chairman of Ordnance SurveySir Rob Margetts said "As Chairman of
Ordnance Survey, I am delighted that the Prime Minister and John Denham
have today made these proposals about releasing for free some of
Ordnance Survey's data to support innovation, accountability and growth.
I  also very much welcome the commitment made by Government to
contribute to the cost of this. This on-going commitment is fundamental
to maintaining the sustained quality of Ordnance Survey's data that has
made the organisation a world leader in its field.

The Board of Ordnance Survey will work very closely with Government, as
well as our customers, partners and others to ensure that the proposals
are fully developed for consultation and implementation next year."

Making public data available also enables people to reuse it in
different and more imaginative ways than may have originally been
intended. Estimates suggest that this could generate as much as a
billion pounds for the UK economy.

For example developers might use this information alongside other
Government data about transport, health or education, for services that
generate economic and social value.

Openness of data is as important for local government as it is for
national government - making people more connected to their community
and giving them the tools to demand action on issues that matter.
Releasing council records in re-usable form could mean that citizens can
find out everything from the council accounts to the number of
streetlights and community wardens, to when the rubbish is collected and
the hedges trimmed.

John Denham is working with Stephen Timms and Sir Tim Berners-Lee and
Nigel Shadbolt to ensure that their work embraces local government and
local services and that local government responds quickly, consistently
and effectively to the challenge.

Notes for editors

1. The Ordnance Survey is a Government Department with Executive Agency
and Trading Fund status and reports to the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government

2. Data relating to electoral and local authority boundaries as well as
postcode areas would be released for free re-use, including
commercially. Mid-scale digital mapping information would also be
released in the same way.

3. The proposals seek to ensure Ordnance Survey is at the heart of
digital innovation in Britain. The Government will be running a public
consultation on the proposals from December and any change would be
implemented from April 2010.

4. The highest-specification Ordnance Survey products and services -
such as those used by property developers or the utility companies -
would be charged for on a cost-reflective basis.

5. This is part of the Government's wider programme of reform, following
on from the "Operational Efficiency Programme: final report", published
alongside the Budget in April 2009. It also draws on the work of Sir Tim
Berners-Lee (the founder of the World Wide Web) and Professor Nigel
Shadbolt who were asked by the Prime Minister in June this year to lead
the Making Public Data Public project to drive the opening up of access
to Government data. Nigel Shadbolt is Professor of Artificial
Intelligence and Deputy Head (Research) of the School of Electronics and
Computer Science at the University of Southampton.
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