Geovation Water Challenge Launches
Ordnance Survey’s ninth Geovation® Challenge launched on 1 December 2015, and sees Britain’s mapping agency offering development funding and places on its Geovation programme for ideas that can improve the relationship with water. Individuals, start-ups and existing businesses and organisations are invited to submit their innovative ideas on how to improve the way we use and manage water by 27 January 2016.
Ideas identified as possibly having the highest impact will be invited to a Geovation Weekend Camp from 4-6 March 2016, where the innovators will be asked to work on transforming their idea into a prototype venture. Those selected to receive funding or a place on the Geovation Programme will be announced at the end of this Camp.
Ideas that Work Locally – or Globally
Geovation is looking for ideas that can work locally and then be scaled, potentially globally. Past Geovation Challenges have encouraged healthier lifestyles, helped businesses run greener and improved tourist experiences, neighbourhoods, transport infrastructure and the way Britain feeds itself. Now the relationship with water is being emphasised - and how geography, data and design thinking can be used positively to address issues. These focus on there being too little water, too much of it, its quality, an ageing infrastructure which will need to adapt to future pressures, and the ways we use and consume water in homes and workplaces.
Ordnance Survey is joined on this Geovation Challenge by partners DEFRA and the Environment Agency (whose joint release of 8,000 open data datasets coincides with this challenge), Esri, Open Geospatial Consortium, Southern Water, Springwise and United Utilities.
