Tension builds for the ‘How can we improve transport in Britain?’ GeoVation Camp finalists
The GeoVation Camp for this Challenge took place over the last weekend in March at Ordnance Survey. Twenty teams made the journey and holding the camp at our new head office proved a great success with plenty of space for teams to work on building their prototypes and pitches.
After a hectic weekend of planning and designing 10 finalists were selected to go forward to the GeoVation Showcase on 4 May.
We are pleased to announce that the finalists are:
- Tailored Transport Solutions. An idea which was posted by Ali Clabburn of Liftshare Integrated commuter solution provide a list of journey options including car sharing, through an interactive GIS map interface.
- Our Meeting Point. An idea from Kate Pangbourne and Angela Curl of Aberdeen University for a journey planner for multiple travellers from different starting points converging on one destination.
- My Parcel Centre. This idea from Abby Couriers is for a streamlined, greener hassle free home delivery improving success of first time deliveries of which 30% fail. This project would deliver an OS-based mapping system that provided routing information to drivers and up to the minute delivery data for customers.
- Fix My Transport. From Paul Lenz of My Society – a mobile app of FixMyTransport which will improve transport in Britain by alerting authorities to small problems and getting them fixed – a broken toilet at a station for instance.
- Route en Route. Matthew Somerville (@Dracos) and Anna Powell-Smith with an idea for a simple, streamlined integrated mobile journey planner.
- Crowdsourced Cycling Solution. An idea from Martin Lucas-Smith of Cycle Streets and Richard Fairhurst, looking at the barriers to cycling in the UK and enabling people to report these to Cycle streets where campaigners will try to get this improved.
- @ccessadvisr. Neil Taylor of Integrated Transport Planning with an idea to improve access for those with limited mobility. Neil is working with Rob Trent one of last years GeoVation winners.
- London Cycle Map. From Ben Irvine of Cycle Lifestyle magazine – an idea for a single London Cycle Map that’s clear and easy to use – the cycling equivalent of the London underground map
- Sustainable Mobility Platform. James Swanston of Carbon Voyage with an idea Public transport tool linked into a mobility platform, optimising the use of transport and helping organisations use public transport better.
- Mission: Explore, Daniel Raven-Ellison’s idea is to motivate children to get out and find cycle routes through missions.
Thank you to everyone that attended the camp, it really was a great weekend, and all the ideas teams have received feedback from the judging panel.
Winners of the ‘How can Britain feed itself? GeoVation Challenge
Two winners emerged from the GeoVation Camp held 
last November: Peter Boyce and Helen Steer impressed the judges with their City Farmers idea which aims to identify community land that could be used to get children interested in growing food.
The other winner was Louise Campbell with her Food Nation smartphone app idea to encourage a closer relationship between consumers and the people who grow their food.
Since the camp the teams have been working on their venture plans so that the judging panel can consider the amount of seed funding relative to their needs.
Come to the GeoVation Showcase and see the drama unfold…
Sign up for the GeoVation Showcase being held at Ordnance Survey’s new building in Southampton on 4 May 2011. Finalists from the ‘How can we improve transport in Britain?’ Challenge will pitch for a share of £150 000 funding from Ideas in Transit and an award for the best use of OS OpenData.
During the day which runs from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, you can also meet the winners from last year and the last challenge, vote for the community award and network with GeoVators, innovators, technologists and others involved in food and transport sustainability. Following the presentation of the awards there will be further opportunity to network and relax with a drink and music between 5.00 and 7.00pm.
Last year awards were made to 3 GeoVation finalists including Mission:Explore.
Mission:Explore is a project to inspire children an families through creative and critical geographical thinking. In partnership with The Workshop, a top design agency based in Sheffield, we used the GeoVation funding to develop a platform for setting challenges or missions. This includes both a website and iPhone app which allow explorers to browse for missions at home or on the fly. Companies can sponsor already created missions, ask us to make them or can pay for an unlimited licence which includes training and allows them to create as many missions as they like. Our clients include National Geographic, Middlesbrough Council, Cardiff University, PlantLife UK, the Deer Initiative, Save Our Forests and the Cultural Olympiad. Most recently we are planning a major development with the Sustrans. Going into the summer we are looking forward to some great improvements to Mission:Explore which we hope you will enjoy. See our website
What else have the GeoVation Team been doing?
As well as organising the GeoVation Camp’s and Showcase, blogging, tweeting and facebooking, Community Manager Viv has been busy training for the Edinburgh Marathon on 22 May, which meant fitting in a 14 mile and a 6 mile training run during the recent transport camp. Viv will be transporting herself around the 26.2 mile route powered by jelly babies and is raising money for British Heart Foundation.
The GeoVation Team are working with the WWF Tasting the Future project, looking at how we feed ourselves sustainably while protecting the environment. We are also planning the next series of OpenData Masterclasses – watch this space!
