24-25 June 2026, Explorer House, Ordnance Survey HQ, Southampton
From ideas to impact: shaping Britain's future with open innovation.
The OS Innovation Festival returns for two days of hands-on collaboration and geospatial problem solving. Bringing together leaders from government, utilities, tech, national resilience, finance and the built environment, the festival is designed to accelerate solutions to real world challenges using the power of location data.
Participate in an innovation sprint, listen to inspiring talks, and network across sectors and help shape the future of Great Britain.
Registration is now closed.
At the heart of the festival are our innovation sprints - intensive, multidisciplinary innovation workshops where we tackle challenge statements in specific market segments. Sprints bring together domain experts, data scientists, policy leads, consultants, and innovators to rapidly explore solutions and create actionable prototypes.
Design a nationally consistent, authoritative freight dataset unifying road, rail, air and maritime networks. Standardise HGV restrictions, intermodal hubs and connectivity, governance and updates - enabling safer, more efficient planning and interoperability with routing and telematics platforms.
Unlock a new approach to property valuation driven by climate risk, resilience, retrofit potential and location intelligence. Explore how richer data can improve accuracy, reduce exposure to events like flooding or wildfires, and move the industry beyond bedrooms and postcodes.
Land is finite and the climate is changing - how do we futureproof the built environment? Explore a systems approach, connecting data on land, infrastructure, nature, climate risk and energy to accelerate resilient, net‑zero decisions across planning and built environment.
Explore how unified planning, utilities and environmental data can unlock a connected national infrastructure. This sprint focuses on overcoming fragmentation, strengthening cross‑sector governance, and shaping a platform built for adoption, interoperability and long‑term sustainability.
Explore how location data, linked to socio‑economic, health and infrastructure datasets, could power a National Vulnerability Index. Participants design a predictive intelligence layer feeding the National Common Operating Picture, enabling agencies to prioritise preparedness, investment and response before crises escalate at national scale securely.
Explore how underground asset data could support emergency services. Understand operational scenarios, access needs and value opportunities to inform future models of the National Underground Asset Register for safe, efficient, data‑enabled emergency planning and response.
08.45 - Breakfast networking
09.30 - Welcome
09.40 - Keynote
10.00 - Innovation sprints begin - morning session
12.00 - Lunch
12.30 - Map Musings talks and panels
14.00 - Innovation sprints - afternoon session
16.00 - Sprint ends
16.00 - Networking drinks
16.15 - Map Musings + special guests Map Men (day 1 only)
Day 1
Panel discussion
The product is governance with Denise McKenzie, Managing Partner, PLACES Trust hosting, Manish Jethwa, CTO, Ordnance Survey; Alex Wrottesley, Director, Idox; Alice Shaw, Technology Strategist, Microsoft.
Map Musings
Paul Naylor, Geospatial Consultant, Ordnance Survey, in discussion with Will Millard, writer, BBC presenter and expedition leader.
Post-event talk – Map Men, the comedy-geography duo behind the hugely popular YouTube series.
Day 2
Panel discussion
How can start-ups and large organisations genuinely co‑innovate with Aba Osunsade, Ecosystem Lead, Geovation hosting Charles Kennelly, CTO, Esri; George Kean Proudfoot, Head of Strategy, Loomery.
How startups are using location data to solve complex problems and build a brighter future with Aba Osunsade, Ecosystem Lead, Geovation; Ewa Moskwiak, CEO, Planning Hub; Daniel Heller, CEO, Atlas AI Solutions and Mohamed Gafar, CEO, Gryd.
Priya Lakhani OBE is Founder & CEO of CENTURY Tech, a global leader in AI-powered learning technology. A former barrister turned entrepreneur, she has advised UK government on AI, safety, and digital regulation, and is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology. A BBC presenter and award-winning innovator.
Sabrina is one of the world’s most senior female fire officers, a neuroscientist and bestselling author specialising in decision-making under pressure. From early experiences of homelessness to becoming UK Chief Fire Officer, she combines frontline leadership with research that has shaped national policy, offering powerful insights into risk, behaviour and resilience.
Jay Foreman & Mark Cooper-Jones are the comedy–geography duo behind the hugely popular YouTube series exploring the quirks of maps, borders and places. Ex-geography teacher Mark and one time musical comedian Jay Foreman, first met at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. They joined forces to turn their shared love of maps and geography into an entertaining YouTube series and bring their unique brand of comedy about geography to the Festival.
Will Millard is a best-selling writer, award-winning BBC presenter, and expedition leader whose work spans remote communities, natural history, and freshwater conservation. A BAFTA Cymru winner, he is a renowned storyteller and passionate advocate for healthier rivers and the people who depend on them.
Alex is a Technology Strategist at Microsoft, supporting UK central government organisations in adopting AI for business transformation, enabling informed decisions, and making advanced analytics accessible to all users.
Manish leads Ordnance Survey’s digital transformation across technology, engineering and design. Previously CPO at Causeway Technologies, he delivered software for infrastructure asset management. He brings 10+ years in software design and innovation, spanning machine vision, AI, data visualisation and HCI.
Alex leads Idox Geospatial (a division that brings together Emapsite, ThinkWhere, Exegesis and Landhawk). A respected voice in the industry, Alex joined Idox from Landmark and previously spearheaded the Geovation initiative for Ordnance Survey and HM Land Registry, helping hundreds of location data start-ups.
Aba is a tech founder and ecosystem builder. As Ecosystem Lead at Geovation (an Ordnance Survey initiative), she connects founders, corporates, government and investors to accelerate location‑data startups. Formerly led teams across big tech and startups. Founder of Hustle Crew, championing inclusive and underestimated founders.
Charles Kennelly is CTO at Esri Group, focused on lowering barriers to GIS and making it usable. He champions putting geospatial capability into more hands, enabling decisions that improve lives and support a sustainable future.
George has been helping organisations make smarter bets on products, platforms and technology for over a decade. He's developed new propositions for Natwest, City & Guilds, ING and OakNorth; launched innovation strategies for Visa, The Met Office and Diageo; and shaped digital transformation at Sky, PepsiCo, Tesco and Unilever.
Denise is a consultant, advisor and speaker on digital governance and tech policy for public good. She is a Managing Partner at PLACE Trust and a Geomob Podcast co-host, co-authors the Locus Charter, sits on OpenUK’s Space Advisory Board and is former AGI Chair.
Paul leads Ordnance Survey’s GeoDataViz team, championing high‑quality cartography and data visualisation across OS products and services. He designs new mapping experiences, creates bespoke maps and helps customers make the most of OS data. He is President, of the British Cartographic Society.
Ewa is CEO and co‑founder of PlanningHub. A RIBA‑chartered architect and property developer, she’s building an AI‑powered platform that uses large language models to deliver instant, site‑specific planning insights, helping local authorities and development teams navigate policy and past decisions faster, with less risk.
Robert brings extensive experience in mortgage lending and property valuation, with a focus on innovation in customer-centric scenarios. He leads mortgage lending at Nationwide.
David is a leading voice in underwriting and risk management, with a keen interest in how data and analytics are reshaping insurance models.
Dan spent over a decade in the UK energy sector at National Grid and Cadent, shaping strategic planning, operations, innovation and net zero decisions. He founded Atlas AI Solutions to give infrastructure operators fast, defensible answers through physics-based products, automation, machine learning and geospatial data. Atlas AI joined Geovation’s Spring 2026 Accelerator.
Tim is an environmental data scientist at MapleSky, turning complex ground movement and climate risk data into practical insight for insurers, utilities and infrastructure decision-makers across Great Britain.
James is a prominent advocate for transparency and fairness in financial services, offering insight into consumer trust and regulatory change. He is the founder and Managing Director at Fairer Finance – a consumer group, consultancy and financial ratings agency.
