Giving third sector organisations access to Ordnance Survey data

Voluntary, community groups, charities and cooperatives that have been contracted to carry out work on behalf of a government body may, via Contractor Licences, now access Ordnance Survey data under the terms of either the Pan-government agreement (PGA), the One Scotland Mapping Agreement (OSMA) or the Mapping Services Agreement (MSA).  

  Read more in our Third sector leaflet

Your questions answered about the use by third sector organisations of Ordnance Survey mapping under a contractor licence

Who qualifies for access to the mapping under a contractor licence?

The basic principles are that (i) a third sector body must be a genuine contractor that has been contracted to work on behalf of a local authority (LA) or government department that is an existing Ordnance Survey customer,  (ii) the Ordnance Survey mapping products must be genuinely required to assist the contractor in completing the work it has been contracted to carry out by the LA / government department, and (iii) the contractor and the LA / government department must enter into a “Contractor Licence”, the form of which is provided to all Ordnance Survey LA / government customers in their licence agreement from Ordnance Survey.  The LA / government body that has engaged the contractor will be able to assist in determining whether these criteria can be met.

Are charities allowed to display the mapping on the Web (whilst acting as contractors to Ordnance Survey licensees)?

No, not as a general rule.  A charity that receives mapping under the terms of a contractor licence is only permitted to use the mapping to help them complete the work they have been specifically contracted to perform.  Furthermore, the charity who is acting as a contractor can do no more with the mapping data than the LA / government body who has engaged the charity, can do themselves under the terms of their licence from Ordnance Survey.

Therefore, whether a charity that is acting as a contractor will be able to display the mapping on the web, will depend on (i) the precise nature of the work that the charity has been contracted to perform by the LA/government organisation and (ii) whether that work is actually permitted under the LA/government organisation’s own licence from Ordnance Survey.  Whilst the licensed use rights that Ordnance Survey grants under the Mapping Services Agreement (MSA), the One Scotland Mapping Agreement or Pan‑government Agreement (PGA) include some display and promotion rights on the internet, these can only be used in fairly limited circumstances, and internet display / promotion cannot be conducted as a service or business activity in itself (for instance, such as a consumer / citizen web portal).  Furthermore, a contractor could only do such activities where it has been specifically engaged by the LA/government organisation to carry out display / promotional activities on the LA/government organisation’s behalf.

Will charities who are engaged as contractors be bound by the same internal business use (IBU) and display and promotion terms and conditions? (For instance, map extracts can only be used up to A3 size as free information and not in any leaflets or brochures that have a cover price, which may defeat the object of the fund-raising.)

Yes. As explained above, a contractor is subject to (i) the limitations of their engagement from the LA / government body and (ii) the limitations of the LA / government body’s own licensed use.  A contractor cannot do more than the Ordnance Survey customer can do itself.  Therefore the limitations of IBU, Display and promotion terms will be relevant to contractors’ activities.  

Mapping is only provided to charities in their capacity as contractors to LA / government bodies to help them deliver services they have been engaged to deliver.  Mapping is not being provided for charitable fund-raising purposes.

Is the ALO, GLO or LA responsible for supplying all the mapping, which might mean extra work for their GIS team to extract mapping and to have to administer the licence?

Yes, the statutory body, as the licensee, is responsible for issuing the contractor licence and providing the mapping data.

To how much mapping is the third sector organisation entitled?

Only that which is appropriate and necessary for the contractor (in this case the third-sector body) to either make a (tender) proposal to our licensee (the LA or government organisation) to do whatever they are being requested to do and/or to actually do the work required.  Once again, a contractor cannot do more than the Ordnance Survey licensee / customer can do itself.  Therefore the limitations of IBU, Display and promotion terms will be relevant to contractors’ activities.

What form/size limitations (PDF/paper)?

Cotnractors are subject to the same size restriction that apply to the LA / government body that has engaged them as a contractor.

What acknowledgements must be placed on any mapping supplied, and whose licence number is to be used?

The LA/government organisation’s licence from Ordnance Survey only permits reproduction of mapping data to third parties for fairly limited activities in limited circumstances.  Where a contractor is doing such permitted activities for a LA/government organisation, appropriate copyright and trademark acknowledgments must always be included in any reproduced mapping data.  The LA/government organisation’s licence number from Ordnance Survey should also always be referred to.  The LA/government organisation will provide the contractor with the appropriate licence number and acknowledgment wording wherever these are required.

Can the third sector organisation(s) make further copies?

Yes, the contractor licence grants the right to the contractor to copy and adapt our data solely for the purposes of providing a (tender) proposal and/or delivering the work required.  Contractors need to be made aware however on the limitations on retaining archive copies of the data once the tender or works has been completed and the licence terminated.

Will there be a charge?

This is at the discretion of the commissioning or contracting body. There are no charges levied by Ordnance Survey for the supply of data by Ordnance Survey licensees to their contractors.

If providing maps will cost us a considerable amount of money/time and resource, can we decline to provide the mapping?

There is no formal obligation on you to provide mapping to any third sector organisation. Indeed it should only be provided if the third sector body is a genuine contractor that has been contracted to work on behalf of an existing Ordnance Survey customer,  and the Ordnance Survey mapping products are genuinely required to assist the contractor in completing the work it has been contracted to carry out by the Ordnance Survey customer.

Do we have to police how our mapping will be used? Or does Ordnance Survey carry out the policing?

The Ordnance Survey customer who signs up the third sector organisation as a contractor, is responsible for ensuring third sector organisations (and all other contractors)  only use data  in accordance with the terms contained in the contractor licence. The contractor licence has obligations on the use of the mapping data which the third-sector organisation accepts on signing.  Primary responsibility is therefore with each LA / Government customer, and in practice this will mean the relevant ALO.  Advice can of course be obtained from the Ordnance Survey Helpdesk.

Are only registered charities entitled to access mapping held by the LA?

Any organisation carrying out work on behalf of a statutory body can be passed the data under the terms of a contractor licence, provided they are genuine contractors. Charities not working on behalf of the statutory body cannot be passed data under contractor licence terms.

Does the LA have to support the charity asking for mapping?

The charity must be a genuine contractor that is contracted to carry out work on behalf of the LA or government organisation. The contractor licence does not apply to all charities or third‑sector organisations – only those contracted to carry out work on behalf of the statutory body. The statutory body is not required to make any financial payment to a charity that is acting as its contractor.