Case Study: Ordnance Survey builds a vibrant GeoVation community and funds nine ventures with IdeaScale

Ordnance Survey Building Communities with Open Data

Ordnance Survey, the UK’s national mapping agency, creates and maintains authoritative geographic data used by government, businesses and the public. In 2009 it launched GeoVation, a program that awards seed funding to sustainable ventures using geodata, and needed an easy-to-use online platform to run public challenges, gather ideas, and streamline selection and development of promising projects.

Using IdeaScale to host GeoVation, Ordnance Survey built a simple online workflow for posting challenges, collecting and voting on ideas, shortlisting entries, and developing finalists at weekend camps. The platform helped attract 937 registered participants, generate 100+ competitive ideas, and fund nine ventures with £242,000—successful projects include the Shout Crime reporting app and the Growing Routes mapping tool—and has also been adopted inside the organization for internal innovation.

Ordnance Survey

Viv Alexander

Innovation Community Manager