Stirling, Scotland, 31 January 2019 – thinkWhere is developing an online mapping portal to improve access to official European geospatial open data. Working with EuroGeographics, as part of the Open European Location Services (Open ELS) project, thinkWhere will create, maintain and support a user interface giving registered users access to open data from public authorities.
“thinkWhere has a proven track record within the not-for-profit sector having worked alongside organisations such as the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap team and People In Need and were a natural fit as technical lead on this element of the project,” commented Mick Cory, Secretary General and Executive Director, EuroGeographics.
Alan Moore, Chief Executive of thinkWhere added, “It is a real honour to be working with EuroGeographics on the Open ELS project, using open source technologies to remove barriers to use and promote the use of cross-border opendata across the continent of Europe.”
A specialist in open source Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies, thinkWhere will use metadata (data about data) provided by Europe’s national mapping agencies, survey organisations and government land registries to enable users to search, discover, acquire and licence open data and services.
The Open ELS project follows the commonly used web services architecture ‘publish-find-bind’ with the work by thinkWhere forming the ‘find and bind’ element. Information from service and data providers, under six web map and web feature themes (EuroGlobalMap / Regional Gazetteer / Open Cadastral / Addresses / Building / Transport), will be used to create a catalogue of published data and services. This information will be used, together with existing European Location Services technical components and open source technologies, to develop the user interface.
EuroGeographics is a not-for-profit organisation representing 63 organisations, such as Ordnance Survey in the UK, the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy in Germany, the Norwegian Mapping Agency and the General Directorate of Mapping in Turkey.
Co-financed by the European Union Connecting Europe Facility, the Open ELS project aims to maximise the use of authoritative geospatial information by providing certainty about what is free, what is charged for and under what terms and conditions. It is hoped the project will realise benefits of open geospatial information from official national sources by making it easy to find, access and re-use and recognises the contribution of public authorities responsible for mapping, cadastre and land registries in delivering user-focused open data for European Location Services.
Contacts:
Enquiries to Fiona Thomas, Business Development Manager, on 01786 476060 or fiona.thomas@thinkwhere.com
Editorial enquiries, contact Robert Peel on tel +44 (0)1666 823306 or robert@market-it.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
The sole responsibility of this publication lies with the author. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
thinkWhere provides an online platform for storing, sharing and using maps and geographic data. Utilising Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies, thinkWhere has developed cloud-based software applications and tools, backed by a wide range of Open GIS implementation, consultancy and training services.
Based in the historic city of Stirling, Scotland, with customers across the UK and worldwide, thinkWhere pioneered the development of web-based platforms for collaborative GIS products and services. The company has a 25 year proven track record of delivering solutions at local, regional and national levels in the UK public and commercial sectors.
For further information visit www.thinkwhere.com
The Open European Location Services project (Open ELS) is developing pan-European data services using authoritative geospatial information and an associated business model. Specifically the project aims to improve availability of geospatial information from public authorities for mapping, cadastre and land registries, with a focus on facilitating access to and encouraging up-take of pan European geospatial content.
EuroGeographics is coordinating the two-year initiative co-financed by the European Commission, and working with partners from member organisations in Norway, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Poland and Germany. The Open ELS project is part of EuroGeographics vision for future European Location Services, a unique and powerful resource covering geographical Europe as well as the EU Member States.
For further information visit https://openels.eu/
Based in Brussels, EuroGeographics is an international not-for-profit organisation and the membership association for the European National Mapping, Cadastre and Land Registry Authorities. It currently brings together 63 members from 46 countries.
For further information visit https://eurogeographics.org/
