1. Place Matters: The Location Strategy for the United Kingdom An update – developments since 2009
Phil Watts, Ordnance Survey of Great Britain
GISCO Joint Working Party of NSOs and NMAs
March 2011

2. UK Location Strategy Milestones
May 2005 – August 2007
Development of UK GI Strategy
August 2007 – renamed: “Place Matters: The Location Strategy for the United Kingdom”
October Strategy submitted to Ministers
November 2008
Strategy Published
Location Council formed
UK GI Panel disbanded
Spring 2009 – UK Location Programme initiated

3. Developments since March 2009
March 2009 – New business strategy for Ordnance Survey launched – five major objectives:
Promoting innovation – enhanced free OS OpenSpace service allowing experimentation with digital information and a clear path to greater commercialisation;
Reforming Ordnance Survey’s licensing framework – much simpler to use Ordnance Survey data and services in other applications;
Reducing costs over time – ensure that Ordnance Survey continues to offer value-for-money;
Supporting the sharing of information across the public sector – enable better public policy and services;
Creating an innovative trading entity – to explore commercial opportunities around providing a better platform for consumers to access Ordnance Survey products.
1 April 2009 – “One Scotland” Mapping Services Agreement for Scottish public sector
Summer 2009 – data.gov.uk launched
November 2009 – UK Government announces “free Geographical Information” from Ordnance Survey for reuse by all including commercially
December 2009 – UK Public consultation on Ordnance Survey business model and access to data

4. Developments since March 2009
2010 – Programme to develop case studies
March 2010 – UK Government publishes response to Ordnance Survey Consultation:
Mixed business model
some data free at point of use
some data paid for
April 2010 – Launch of OS OpenData
Free at the point of use for all including for commercial use
Funded by commercial agreement between Ordnance Survey and UK Government
11 datasets - including topography, gazetteer, height and post-code data

5. Developments since March 2009
May 2010 – UK General Election – new Government begins the release of significant information on public sector activities and expenditure
July 2010 – Public Sector Mapping Agreement announced for England and Wales (operative )
Autumn Development by Ordnance Survey of Open Source platform for INSPIRE Compliant Services
December 2010 – National Address Gazetteer for England and Wales announced
New Limited Liability Partnership between Ordnance Survey and Local Government – GeoPlace LLP

6. Continuing the journey towards a UK SDI

7. The vision remains …aligning Local to European
INSPIRE
Member State
sharing
sharing
Regional
UK Regional GI Strategies
Local
Linked Data
UK Location Strategy
ALIGNING
<<< Local and National Organisations >>>

8. … and putting place at the heart of decision making
Stimulating increased efficiency & social engagement by promoting the use of ‘place’ in Government
… and putting place at the heart of decision making
Supporting evidence based policies through sharing stakeholders’ place-based data
Understanding where needs are required and configuring services
Empowering the citizen through location based services
Supporting economic development by understanding the UK economic landscape through geography
Shared GI Services
‘Place’ within the heart of decision making
Protecting and sustaining the UK environment through geographic knowledge
Managing the marine / land interface
GI Infrastructure
Planning regeneration
Supporting Homeland Security and effective disaster planning and recovery
Understanding the impact and monitoring the reaction to climate change
Supporting the Sustainable Development Agenda, incl. transport
Identifying locations for inward investment

9. The United Kingdom – some facts
England
Land area 130,000 sq km
Population 50.7 m
~390 people / sq km
Northern Ireland
Land area 13,000 sq km
Population 1.7 m
~130 people / sq km
Devolved Administration
Scotland
Land area 78,000 sq km
Population 5.1 m
~ 65 people / sq km
Devolved Administration
Wales
Land area 20,000 sq km
Population 2.9 m
~145 people / sq km
UK Land area ,000 Sq Km
UK Population m
~250 people per sq km

10. “… everything [still] happens somewhere …”
Traffic management
Neighbourhood statistics & Social exclusion
Flooding and civil contingencies
Environmental Management

11. Five strategic goals still valid …aligned with the continuing transformation of public services:
To ensure that the UK exploits the full value of its information the Location Strategy requires a programme of strategic actions which ensure that:
we know what data we have, and avoid duplicating it;
we use common reference data so we know we are talking about the same places;
we can share location-related information easily through a common infrastructure of standards, technology and business relationships;
we have the appropriate skills, both among geographic professionals and among other professional groups who use location information or support its use;
we have strong leadership and governance to drive through change including the implementation of this Strategy and the implementation of INSPIRE.

12. Removing barriers to effective use
Improving technical interoperability
Single portals – data.gov.uk
Data Standards
INSPIRE for data and web services - ISO and OGC standards
Linked Data connecting location and all kinds of business data.
INSPIRE compliant services
Public Sector Mapping Agreement
Improving business interoperability
Increased provision of public data free at the point of use
Simpler more flexible and permissive licensing of public data
Search for (public sector) efficiencies

13. Removing barriers to effective use
Reducing duplication of datasets
Search for [public sector] efficiencies
Shared services
Public Sector Mapping Agreement
Improving awareness (of existing data)
Data asset registers
Location strategy case studies
Work of Location Council
Influence of “champions” such as Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Professor Nigel Shadbolt
Breaking down the “Silo world”
Increased collaboration in public sector:
Atlantis
National Address Gazetteer

14. UKLS & INSPIRE – Components of a UK SDI
data.gov.uk / OS OpenData
INSPIRE-compliant services
Mainstream Information Services
Linked data
UK Location Strategy
INSPIRE

15. Public Sector Mapping Agreement
Collective purchasing agreement for the whole of the public sector in England and Wales:
Central Government
Local Government – down to Parish / Community council level
National Health Service
Other public bodies
Funded by Government
Announced in UK Government response to Public Consultation on Ordnance Survey
Range of high-specification Ordnance Survey data free at the point of use
Complements OS OpenData
Comes into effect on 1 April 2011

16. Addressing in Britain
A key tool for socio-economic and demographic analysis in UK
Statistical analyses based on areas / polygons defined by the Post Code hierarchy
Addresses essentially composed of:
Property Postal name or number – (allocated by Local Authority)
Street Name (with aliases) – (allocated by Local Authority)
Sub urban locality name – (recorded by Ordnance Survey)
Settlement Name (including bi-lingual alternatives) – (recorded by Ordnance Survey)
Post Town Name (including bi-lingual alternatives) – (allocated by Royal Mail)
County or Municipality
Post Code – (Allocated by Royal Mail) – SO16 0AS

17. Addressing in Britain Ordnance Survey:
“Topographic address” collection via mapping since 1840s
ADDRESS-POINT ® :
Alpha-numeric address-specific dataset
Created by Ordnance Survey in the early 1990s (and maintained since).
Takes and validates PAF against ground referenced data
Adds a geo-code (GB National Grid co-ordinate plus a unique reference identifier) to each address.
OS MasterMap® Address Layer2™:
Created by Ordnance Survey to supersede ADDRESS-POINT.
Incorporates source data as in ADDRESS-POINT plus data from other authorities
Includes additional data on properties with multiple occupancy and objects without a postal address.

18. Addressing in Britain Royal Mail – Postcode Address File – PAF®:
Long standing database created by Royal Mail to support automation of postal services in the 1970s.
Now over 28 million descriptive addresses of locations which receive mail plus Post Code and a unique postal delivery address reference.
Covers whole of UK
Local Government – National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG):
Created by Local Government and a commercial partner from 1999
Aggregates Local Land and Property Gazetteers (LLPGs) created and supplied by Municipalities and Local Authorities. These incorporate ADDRESS-POINT and local data.
Covers England and Wales. (Separate Local Government Address register in Scotland)

19. Addressing in Britain Project Acacia
Collaboration between six UK public sector bodies: – 04
Investigate and define the requirements for a single national infrastructure of joined-up, consistent, high quality, well-maintained addresses and property information.
Produced a number of excellent recommendations.
Implementation not formally progressed due to changed funding priorities
National Spatial Data Infrastructure
Unsuccessful attempt during 2005 to develop a single national address database through a collaboration between Local Government and Ordnance Survey
Census Address Database project
: Work by ONS to create an Address Database to support management of Census survey forms across England and Wales
Draws on PAF, OS MasterMap Address Layer2 and NLPG
National Address Gazetteer
2009 – 11 collaboration between Ordnance Survey and Local Government.

20. National Address Gazetteer
Creation and maintenance of a single national address gazetteer database
Maintains existing local government addressing and street processes
Builds on previous investments by Ordnance Survey and local government in address products
Managed and delivered through a Local Government Group and Ordnance Survey joint venture
50:50 Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) – GeoPlace™
Private sector interests in local government addressing and gazetteer services acquired into joint venture

21. National Address Gazetteer
Single source of public sector owned national spatial address data
Facilitates data sharing – common ‘unique’ Identifiers and addresses
Combines best features of Local Government National Land & Property Gazetteer and OS MasterMap Address Layer 2
More effective decision making, supporting:
Policy development
Service delivery
Statistical analysis and Monitoring
Removes duplication of current costs of creation – delivering savings
Removes address matching costs for users

22. Supporting statistical analysis and display to enhance public services
Pti.co.uk
BBC.news.co.uk
Travel times in minutes on public transport to nearest General Practitioner (Family Doctor)

23. Supporting statistical analysis and display to enhance public services
Distribution of ‘elderly’ population correlated to bus routes & post offices.

24. Census 2011 UK Census day – 27 March 2011 Increasingly “location based
distribution of census forms address-based
On-line and hard copy return options
New opportunities to analyse the results geographically

25. Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland Tyndrum, Scotland
28 November 2008
UK Location Council
Snowdonia, Wales
London, England

26. The 2011Cambridge Conference 26 June – 1 July 2011
‘Mapping for a Fairer and Safer World’
For Heads and Directors of the world’s National Mapping and Cadastral Organisations
Exceptionally in 2011 the Conference and Exhibition will be hosted at Ordnance Survey’s new Head Office in Southampton
Accommodation and social events in the historic ancient capital of England, Winchester and in the New Forest