[Talk-GB] Ordnance Survey Public Sector Mapping Agreement

[Tom Chance]

I would try to secure a face-to-face meeting with your council's GIS team,
and separately with any teams that are custodians of other data you're
interested in. Ask to talk generally about OpenStreetMap and raise this in
the meeting.

I've got a reasonable relationship now with a few people in Southwark
Council and while they tend to be pretty busy I have occasionally got some
useful data releases from them. It's a lot easier when you have a good
relationship and they understand where you're coming from. I'm pretty
confident that they'll use the PSMA clause once it comes into force.

It also helps to mention how OSM could help them... don't oversell it (they
already pay a license for a superior mapping product that they're not going
to drop) but point to examples like James at Surrey Heath; the CycleStreets
service for councils; the OS Locator fixup helped by ITO's and Rob Scott's
tools; work I'm doing with the GLA and councils to map food growing; etc.
Let them find applications that might be useful - in my experience councils
can take months or even years to do that but it's better than trying to tell
them what they could/should do with OSM.

Finally, I wouldn't start a petition until I'd tried that initial approach,
and I'd use it first to try and demonstrate local demand without antagonism
(so get fellow OSM-ers in the council area, businesses, etc.)

If you wanted to do a petition, go to the local media, etc. you'd be looking
for a corporate decision higher up the food chain which could take a while
and put you in a bad position with the people who actually hold the data.

Best wishes,
Tom


On 23 March 2011 19:25, TimSC <mapping at sheerman-chase.org.uk> wrote:

>  Hi all,
>
> Here is part of an email I sent to a few councils regarding rights of way
> data (footpaths, bridleways, etc):
>
>
> I have a big and fairly complicated request regarding the definitive map. I
> am interested in making data more accessible to the public (as encouraged by
> central government [1]). It would be great if the rights of way data could
> be released without restriction, specifically the definite map. As you
> probably know, the rights of way data is derived from Ordnance Survey
> products which until now has prevented this data being released without
> restriction because of copyright. However OS will soon introduce the Public
> Sector Mapping Agreement which defines how government bodies can use OS
> products [2]. This includes a new mechanism for public bodies to request
> datasets that have been derived from OS products to be release either
> licensed as "OS OpenData" or "Free to Use" (section 2.5 of the license [3]).
>
> [1] http://data.gov.uk/
> [2]
> http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/business/sectors/government/psma/
> [3]
> http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/business/sectors/government/psma/docs/psma-member-licence.pdf
>
>
> Kent County Council wrote back:
>
> Dear Mr Sheerman-Chase
> Thank you for your email.
> I will forward your suggestions and comments to the Head of the Service
> and Definitive Map Team.
> Kind regards
> Countryside Access Service
>
>
>
> Does anyone have any ideas on how to actually get the councils to apply to
> OS to exempt their data and release it? Currently, I get the impression that
> they don't rate data openness as a high priority - they just nod and smile
> until I go away. It would be good to get this data for quality assurance or
> even ... dun dun dunnnnn... importing. Could we start a petition? Or use any
> contacts the community has to make this happen? Any other data sets worth
> liberating?
>
> Once we have set a precedent, it should be easier to get other councils to
> comply, because of the way the OS exemption process works.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Regards, TimSC
>
>
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>
>


-- 
http://tom.acrewoods.net   http://twitter.com/tom_chance
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