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The Public Sector Mapping Agreement (PSMA)

The PSMA starts on 1 April 2011, so no matter what part of the public sector you work in within England and Wales, you will have access to the same Ordnance Survey products under the same terms, all free at the point of use.

Here are some key facts and information about  the PSMA which you can use for any business case justification you may be asked to provide.

Background to the agreement

Geographical data is at the heart of the delivery of many public services. However, the existence of different collective agreements between various parts of the public sector and Ordnance Survey has, in the past, led to inefficiencies and prevented public organisations working together effectively for the benefit of individuals and businesses. The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) set out its intention to move to a common central relationship with Ordnance Survey to provide mapping products and services to Government, and, subject to discussions, the entire public sector, under a centrally-funded Public Sector Mapping Agreement (PSMA).

Objectives of the agreement

The PSMA will provide the public sector in England and Wales with a portfolio of definitive Ordnance Survey data products, available on consistent licence terms, and will be centrally-funded by DCLG on behalf of the rest of the public sector, it will come into effect from 1 April 2011 and is a 10 year agreement. Therefore the PSMA is expected to deliver significant efficiency savings and improvements in public service delivery for the benefit of individuals and businesses in England and Wales. The PSMA will increase transparency and efficiency of the public sector through:

  • Enabling more effective joint working between all public sector bodies
  • Widening access to geographic data
  • Creating a more intelligent and strategic public sector customer for geographic data; and
  • Providing a licensing framework that enables more collaborative working with software delivery partners.

The establishment of the PSMA will take place in a staged manner, the first step being to secure the public sector’s access to data from 1 April 2011 by bringing together the existing public sector contracts with Ordnance Survey into one agreement. The second step will be to use this agreement as a basis for creating a collaborative partnership between public sector users of geographic information and Ordnance Survey. This relationship will be focused on the objective of making more effective use of Ordnance Survey’s definitive national geographic data to enable better and more efficient delivery of public services to citizens. For full details visit PSMA England and Wales Transition Plan August 2010.

For the full Business Case document, download the pdf

 


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