In partnership with Land Registry, Ordnance Survey has launched its eighth ‘GeoVation Challenge’ with £101,000 in development funding to help develop the best ideas and solutions to housing issues.
Individuals, start-ups and existing businesses and organisations are invited to submit their ideas to improve housing by 19 November 2014. Outstanding entries will then be invited to a GeoVation weekend camp in January 2015, where the innovators can work on transforming their ideas into prototype business ventures. Those selected to receive funding will be announced at the end of the camp.
Chris Parker, head of Geovation, Ordnance Survey, said, “In the four years that the GeoVation challenges have been running, almost £650,000 has been awarded to create 28 new ventures based on geography and Ordnance Survey mapping. GeoVation is a test of resilience and our ability to tackle issues head on. Now we turn to housing and how geography and data can provide solutions to issues based around affordability, availability, access and infrastructure, and the best use of assets and resources.”
Some of the issues outlined in the GeoVation Challenge include:
How to provide better access to services for those living in rural areas;
How to successfully on flood plains;
How to minimise the number of empty properties that are left to fall into disrepair;
How to design and build energy efficiency into both new and existing houses.
All entrants to the GeoVation Challenge must use Ordnance Survey open or paid-for data and Land Registry licensable data in their ideas. For the full list of issues and how to submit an entry, visit www.os.co.uk/geovation.
