Re-mapping the future for Ordnance Survey
Author: DCLG - Nov 17, 2009
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.
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.
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