Author: Pulse Assent

As part of the Prime Minister’s London Tech Week roundtable today, the government has announced that key parts of the OS MasterMap will be made openly available for the public and businesses to use.

It is estimated that this will boost the UK economy by at least £130m each year, as innovative companies and startups use the data.

The release of OS MasterMap data is one of the first projects to be delivered by the new Geospatial Commission, in conjunction with Ordnance Survey. The aim is to continue to drive forward the UK as a world leader in location data, helping to grow the UK’s digital economy by an estimated £11bn each year.

This is a step on a journey towards more open geospatial data infrastructure for the UK.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, David Lidington, said

Opening up OS MasterMap underlines this Government’s commitment to ensuring the UK continues to lead the way in digital innovation. Releasing this valuable government data for free will help stimulate innovation in the economy, generate jobs and improve public services.

Location-aware technologies – using geospatial data – are revolutionising our economy. From navigating public transport to tracking supply chains and planning efficient delivery routes, these digital services are built on location data that has become part of everyday life and business.

The newly available data should be particularly useful to small firms and entrepreneurs to realise their ideas and compete with larger organisations, encouraging greater competition and innovation.

OS MasterMap data already supports emerging technologies such as driverless vehicles, 5G and connected cities – important drivers of economic growth.

Today’s announcement follows the launch of the first GovTech challenge in May this year – a competition designed to incentivise Britain’s tech firms to come up with innovative solutions to improve public services. These competitions will be delivered using the £20m GovTech fund launched by the Prime Minister in November 2017.

Neil Ackroyd, Interim CEO of Ordnance Survey said:

Ordnance Survey holds the most accurate and comprehensive set of location data for Great Britain, making public sector services work more efficiently and helping to build innovative businesses across every sector of the economy.

Since its launch in 2001, OS MasterMap has been one of the most comprehensive and detailed geospatial reference datasets in the world. This latest development is another step on Ordnance Survey’s open data journey. We’re looking forward to supporting the Geospatial Commission in making this data more accessible and more widely used.

Read more information on the announcement here.

New tech hubs to connect businesses in the UK with those in emerging digital markets will be launched in Brazil and South Africa, DCMS Secretary of State Matt Hancock announced during London Tech Week.

The Brazil and South African tech hubs will be formed of locally-engaged teams based in the respective British Embassy and High Commission. They will facilitate the sharing of UK expertise and best practice for digital tech with those countries, supporting local entrepreneurs, start-ups and established tech companies through training and mentoring. The hubs will help to develop digital skills in Brazil and South Africa as well as strengthening partnerships on research and innovation and trade. They will also act as a link for businesses looking to scale up in or export to the UK.

The hub model is based on a successful world first tech partnership between the UK and Israel which has already led to 175 business partnerships, with a potential impact of over £800 million for the UK economy since 2011. It has also supported jobs growth by building a better skilled digital workforce in Israel. The model will be taken to the each country and tailored to the local market.

The announcement comes a week after new statistics published by DCMS showed that UK tech and digital firms have seen their international trade grow by more than 20 per cent. The UK digital and tech sectors exported more than £39 billion in services in 2016, up from £32 billion in 2015.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Matt Hancock said:

Britain is a nation of digital dynamos and we want the UK to be the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business, but we can go further. We are spearheading the global digital transformation and our network of tech hubs will connect us with some of the best emerging technology hotspots across the world.

International Tech Hubs will create positive change locally by supporting job creation, improving skills and boosting innovation partnerships, whilst strengthening our own booming digital economy even further.

Nigel Casey, British High Commissioner in South Africa said:

We’re delighted to be launching a tech hub in South Africa. South Africa is cementing itself as one of the world’s most exciting destinations for technology. The tech hub will help to position the UK as the go-to destination for South African tech startups looking to expand abroad. The skills training and other support that the hub will provide will also help to ensure that more people are able to benefit from South Africa’s surging tech scene.

This will broaden our already strong economic partnership with Africa’s most sophisticated and developed economy, and help South Africa ensure growth in the tech sector is more inclusive. The UK is invested in South Africa for the long term, and this new tech hub is one of the many ways that we are demonstrating that.

South Africa has one of the largest technology sectors in Africa and over a quarter of new startups in South Africa now list themselves as being in the technology sector. It has received the highest amount of investment in technology of any African country.

Brazil is the biggest economy in Latin America and accounts for over half of spend in the region on tech. The Department for International Trade has identified significant opportunities for UK companies in areas such as smart cities and Agritech. The Brazilian IT market is the 7th biggest in the world and the country has the 5th largest number of mobile phone and internet users in the world.

The two new tech hubs will join a global network which DCMS is rolling out. This includes the existing Israel tech hub and new UK-India tech hub announced earlier this year. They will work closely with DfID and FCO to realise the opportunities for Brazil and South Africa, and with DIT’s network of Trade Commissioners, to ensure the full range of opportunities are realised for UK companies.

Over the next three years DCMS aims to expand the network of international tech hubs to more countries.

Notes to editors

The initiative is funded by the Prosperity Fund, aimed at removing barriers to sustainable and inclusive growth in middle income countries, where 70% of the world’s poor live. The Fund will also help to harness the potential of developing markets, boosting prosperity internationally, including for the UK through increased trade and investment.

The hubs will focus on three key areas; skills and capability development, digital ecosystem building, and facilitating links with UK businesses. This will help to build skilled, entrepreneurial and networked populations which will create jobs and address digital inequality.

The Hub model is based on the highly successful UK-Israel Tech Hub, which has generated £85 million worth of deals over the past five years, with a potential impact of over £800 million for the UK economy. The Israel Tech Hub was not ODA-funded but its model will be taken to the each country and tailored to the local market in these developing countries. Originally part-funded by DIT, the UK-Israel Tech Hub is now part-funded by DCMS.

For more information please call Dan Palmer in the DCMS Press Office on 02072112210