How does joining a mapping agreement allow me to use Ordnance Survey products?    

Under the PSMA and OSMA mapping agreements, public sector members can use Ordnance Survey data products to support their core business. Joining either the OSMA or PSMA will give your organisation access to a selection of Ordnance Survey data products, which can help you as a public sector organisation wiht the provision of public sector services.

To help with an example of what core business means - this would frequently be the provision of public services. The member licence itself is simply the terms and conditions under which members can use specific mapping products from Ordnance Survey.

Please note: the member licence does not allow you to commercially exploit the data (make a profit from 'selling on' mapping data) or to compete with an Ordnance Survey Licensed Partner.

If you are planning to use Ordnance survey mapping data with third party organisations, you will also need to consider how they will use the data and you must formally document this relationship, using a Contractor or End user license.

Please read the explanation on member mapping agreements below.  More details are given in the working with other organisations FAQs.

What does the term "core business" mean?

The definition of core business is:

“Any public sector activity in central and local government and health services, excluding Commercial Activities and/or Competing Activities.”

To help explain/illustrate this further - PSMA members are entitled to use data provided through the Public Sector Mapping Agreement for any purposes they consider they have to undertake to meet their public service delivery obligations.

As an example, this includes:

• Creating and monitoring policy
• Operational management of government
• Delivering government business and public services
• Making information available to the public
• Performing any other function required by statute
• Passing derived information and/or data to any other member of the PSMA

Which of the two mapping agreements can my organisation join?

The agreement you will join is largely determined by where you are located.

• England and Wales is covered by PSMA
• Scotland is covered by OSMA.

England and Wales is covered by PSMA

Our public sector agreement within England and Wales is simply called the Public Sector Mapping Agreement, or PSMA for short. PSMA is a partnership between Ordnance Survey and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, and it is centrally funded for any public sector body that is eligible to use it.

PSMA spans all public sector organisations and will run for ten years, starting on April 1st, 2011.

Scotland is covered by OSMA

In Scotland, Ordnance Survey has partnered with the Scottish government to provide geographical data to all Scottish public sector organisations.

Our collaborative partnership agreement supports the One Scotland One Geography document, and also the development of the Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) for Scotland. SDI began on April 1st, 2009 and will run for a total of four years. The license covers products in Scotland plus a 2km buffer zone, except where the product is only available with wider coverage.

How does Ordnance Survey work with the mapping agreements?

Ordnance Survey offers licenses under two mapping agreements, which cover the provision of data to the public sector. These are called PSMA and OSMA. Both PSMA and OSMA allow public sector organisations to use our geographic and location data across a range of applications. These frameworks also make the provision of our data easier and more convenient for members of our public sector agreements.

These licensing arrangements allow members to share our data with third parties legally and without the need for prior arrangement with us. The licensing programme also allows us to provide better services to citizens and reduce duplication, providing cost savings to the public sector, as well as giving organisations better efficiency internally. This means that public sector organisations can collaborate and partner on projects more easily, plan and meet e-governance targets more efficiently, and provide new ways to join up the provision of services and policies for citizens of Great Britain.

Can I sell or make a profit from Ordnance Survey data?

No, the PSMA and OSMA mapping Agreements do not allow commercial gain to be made from Ordnance Survey mapping. However, members are allowed to cover their costs of producing a publication containing mapping data, by charging a nominal fee.

Where can I find the license documents for the PSMA and OSMA mapping agreements?

For details on the PSMA Licence, please review the PSMA licence pages.

For OSMA, details can be found on the OSMA licence pages.

What are the arrangements for sharing data with other organisations?

Once you have become a member of either the PSMA or OSMA, you will be responsible for how Ordnance Survey data is used by other organisations that you work with on core business activities. Data can be shared, for core business activities, by using an End user licence or a Contract licence.

Please also see the Working with other organisations FAQs page.

What is an End User Licence?

An End User licence should be used when a 3rd party is doing work supporting your core business where there is no formal contract in place. A record must be kept of end users and what mapping information has been passed to them.

What is a Contractor Licence?

A contractor licence should be put in place when a member wants to pass mapping to another party working on their behalf and have a formal relationship. A record must be kept of contractors and what mapping has been passed to them.  If there is an ongoing relationship with the contractor then a single Contractor Licence can cover the duration of the relationship for multiple projects.

Example - tbc.

Why are there 2 different versions of the 3rd party (End User and Contractor) Licences?

For your convenience, we have created two different versions. Which one you will use depends on whether you want to add your want to use a document that needs very few changes and can be quickly completed or if you want editable content to past into your own document or branded format.

1) Standard form 'Field form' version - this is useful if you don’t want to create your own licence. The contractor or end user can simply complete the blank fields and then sign the licence.

2) Standard form 'Read only' version - this allows you to copy and paste the standard text into a new document. This useful if you want to create your own version of the licence, incorporating your own branding/stationery.

Please note: When creating your own Licence document, you must ensure that all of the member licence obligations (all terms and conditions) are maintained in your own Licence.

Can I create an online Contractor or End User Licence?

Yes, although you need to be a mapping agreement member to do this.

Additionally, you must have a tick box or similar system to register and capture the organisation's contractual acceptance of the terms and conditions.

Please ensure you maintain a record of the licence itself and the mapping data that has been shared with each organisation.

Please note: When creating your own Licence document, you must ensure that all of the member licence obligations (all terms and conditions) are maintained in your own Licence.

Where can I get more help?

If you need further assistance, please also visit our support page.