Ordnance Survey agreement will 'take forward excellence'

The three agencies responsible for mapping the islands of Great Britain and Ireland today formalised their already strong links in a key document.

Chief Executives of the Ordnance Surveys of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland met in Belfast to sign a joint memorandum of understanding which recognises their ongoing co-operation.

While maintaining their independence, the three organisations have identified specific areas in which formal collaborative frameworks would be beneficial. These include technical innovation, copyright licensing, and geographic information policy.

Mick Cory, Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland, said: “There is already strong regional collaboration between our organisations but our memorandum gives us a formal basis on which to take forward excellence in the provision of quality mapping and geographical information.

“We already discuss and collaborate on many of the issues involved in national mapping,” said Vanessa Lawrence, Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey Great Britain. “Our new memorandum gives us a clear, fresh foundation on which to harmonise arrangements and build for the future.”

The move follows a number of recent collaborative projects on matters such as geographical co-ordinate frameworks and data models. It also reflects the increasingly global nature of the market in mapping, geographic information and location based services.

“Our organisations are extremely advanced in terms of technology, but a stronger framework will ensure that we can continue to promote advances in practice and policy in an ever more sophisticated market place,” said Richard Kirwan, Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey Ireland.

It is expected that more formal arrangements between Great Britain and Ireland will help underpin the work of Eurogeographics, the body representing the heads of all national mapping authorities of Europe.

The Ordnance Surveys of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland share a common history, having been the same organisation until 1921, when the partition of Ireland resulted in three separate organisations being formed.

An Executive Agency within the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), OSNI is based in Belfast, with five regional offices in Coleraine, Enniskillen, Magherafelt, Omagh, and Portadown.

(GMcG)