Open Addresses UK presentation to Bath Hacked: http://www.meetup.com/Bath-Hacked/events/220942090/

1. The world’s first
open address business
https://openaddressesuk.org
@openaddressesuk

2. Contents
- Overview
- Growing the data
- Multiplying addresses
- Smart address input
- Questions

3. Overview
In the UK addresses are currently a
closed asset owned by private and
public sector institutions.
Open Addresses make address data
available for everyone to use for free,
build a community to maintain it, and
create paid-for services to fund it.
Open Addresses is wholly owned by the
not-for-profit Open Data Institute.
Maintain
Publish
Gather
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

4. Benefits
Social and economic value Speed and quality
We estimate that opening up UK
addresses will create yearly social
and economic value of >£110m as
more people will use them
We will reduce the time it takes
for one of the UK’s 130,000 new
addresses per year to get published
from months to days
New businesses and services Efficiency
Resolvable identifiers will allow
new businesses and services
to be created through linked data
We will provide address services that
are cheaper and simpler for service
providers to use, integrate and maintain
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

5. How people will use the services
● To enter free-format addresses
● To correct bad data
● To locate addresses
● To supplement other data
● To create new services
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

6. How we gather data
Alpha Beta Live
Bulk open datasets, crowdsourcing
Large, closed datasets?
Statistical & geospatial inference
Collaborative maintenance
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

7. Collaborative maintenance
The more users on the platform the higher the quality of the data
Service providers and users
automatically produce information
about new and existing addresses as
they use the services.
Our algorithms weight this data to
improve the data and service.
AddressBase
PAF
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

8. How we will grow the user base
With sponsorship we can grow the user base faster by extending free
trialist services
Alpha Beta Live
Open/geo community
Social comms
Commercial trialists
Mainstream media
Public sector trialists
Technology media
Paying customers
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

9. Team
Jeni Tennison - Exec Director Steven Feldman - Non-Exec
Jeni is one of the UK’s open data pioneers. She
is a Director of the Open Data Institute, a
member of multiple Government data
advisory boards and chairs a W3C working
group
Through Steven’s consultancy KnowWhere, he
works as a non-executive director, a strategic
consultant and an investor, advisor and mentor to
technology startups
Andy Hird - Non-Exec Dr Mike Sanderson - Non-Exec
Andy is Managing Director of Aligned Assets
Limited, the UK’s largest independent Address
Management and gazetteer solution providers
Mike is the Director of Strategy at 1Spatial, a
company which provides software and solutions to
manage large spatial data. He is is also a Visiting
Research Fellow at Leeds Business School and a
mentor on the Judge Business School’s Ignite
programme
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

10. Contents
- Overview
- Growing the data
- Multiplying addresses
- Smart address input
- Questions

11. Data: changing needs
As we build an authoritative, definitive dataset we expected data needs to change over time
Existing open
datasets and
inference to
tackle the
bulk of the
challenge
“80/20” rule
Ongoing,
collaborative
maintenance
Targetted
work. Low-
volume
records to fill
existing gaps
in available
datasets
NB: dates are “just for fun”
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

12. Data: changing needs
But IPR got in the way of existing open datasets
Many are not really open
Ask me about digital cholera :-(
We had to adapt our plans…..

13. Contents
- Overview
- Growing the data
- Multiplying addresses
- Smart address input
- Questions

14. ZE
“view fae shona and peters”, (C) Peter MacKinnon, licensed under CC-BY 2.0.

15. Fogralea
ZE1 0SE
© Open Addresses Ltd.
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

16. Imagery © 2015 DigitalGlobe, Map data © Google Maps

17. Fogralea
ZE1 0SE
© Open Addresses Ltd.
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

18. 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28
Fogralea
ZE1 0SE
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

19. 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28
Fogralea
ZE1 0SE
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

20. What about
nos. 1 to 4?
Same
postcode? We
cannot know!
Fogralea
ZE1 0SE
https://openaddressesuk.org
@peterkwells

21. How can you help?

22. I’ve seen the future...

23. Fogralea, Sound, ZE1 0SE
● Map: sourced from OS Street
View
● Yellow dots: street mid lines
(from OS Locator)
● Blue lines: street geometry
(from OS VectorMap District
combined with OS Meridian 2
and OS Locator)
● Red dots: postcode centroids
(from ONS’ Postcode Directory).
● Red hatched area: street buffer
zone 25m either side of the
street mid line (calculated)

24. Meadow Lane, Chester, CH4 7BH
● Map: sourced from OS Street
View
● Yellow dots: street mid lines
(from OS Locator)
● Blue lines: street geometry
(from OS VectorMap District
combined with OS Meridian 2
and OS Locator)
● Black lines: Land Registry’s
INSPIRE Index Polygons
● Red dots: postcode centroids
(from ONS’ Postcode Directory).
● Green rectangles: street
bounding boxes (from OS
Locator)
● Red hatched area: street buffer
zone 25m either side of the
street mid line (calculated)
Note: the extra features are available thanks to the Land
Registry’s open data offering for England and Wales.

25. Contents
- Overview
- Growing the data
- Multiplying addresses
- Smart address input
- Questions

26. The Open Addresses platform
Our aim is to build a sustainable model like this. The value is in an authoritative and definitive
dataset which is collaboratively maintained.
Authoritative and definitive UK address list
- where the address data is safe to use
- where each record has confidence and provenance
Bulk
- Download
- Upload
APIs
- Add
- Parse
- Validate
- Search
URLs
- Linked data
- Extensibility
Service Providers
- Aggregators, digital, telecoms, public sector, distribution, academics, manufacturers etc
Services
- Websites,
Users
- The people who use the services
Value
Revenueforsustainability

27. The (lack of a) network effect
We have one million high-confidence addresses [*] so it looks more like this. Despite the
collaborative maintenance we lack authoritative and hence little chance of becoming definitive
Authoritative and definitive UK address list
- where the address data is safe to use
- where each record has confidence and provenance
Bulk
- Download
- Upload
APIs
- Add
- Parse
- Validate
- Search
URLs
- Linked data
- Extensibility
Few Service Providers
- Aggregators, digital,telecoms, public sector, distribution, academics, manufacturers etc
Services
- Websites,
Few Users
- The people who use the services
Revenueforsustainability
Value

28. Building Blocks
If we drill into the platform we see something interesting. The building blocks for addresses are
creating value in our address list. Can we build a value proposition from this?
Bulk
- Download
- Upload
APIs
- Add
- Parse
- Validate
- Search
URLs
- Linked data
- Extensibility
Value
Building Blocks
- towns, postcodes, streets
- used to parse data and provide
confidence in the address list
- links between towns, postcodes
and streets are learned from
addresses
Authoritative and definitive UK
address list
- where the address data is safe to
use
- where each record has
confidence and provenance
Revenueforsustainability

29. Smart address input
One of the needs that building blocks can
support is improving address entry on websites
This can meet user needs, provide value to
service providers and provide clean addresses
for the address list. Win! Win! Win!
We are building a proof-of-concept…..

30. It will give people less of this
Giff Gaff on desktop
Hungry House on mobile
The Jigsaw Puzzle Club
Lots of fields
Exceptions
BIG dropdown lists

31. And more of this
Citymapper
Google Maps
Suggestions, simpler experience, higher completion rate

32. Contents
- Overview
- Growing the data
- Multiplying addresses
- Smart address input
- Questions

33. Any questions
Hopefully the first one is “how can I help?” :)
As a service provider As a developer / open data advocate / geospatial
expert
Think of how you would use our services and let us know Add more ideas or add “ready to load” datasets https://trello.
com/b/UXqgc1wy/datasets
Become a Beta trialist for the APIs Visualise and explore the current bulk download: https://alpha.
openaddressesuk.org/data
Let us know if you have data you are willing to contribute Comment on our algorithms: https://alpha.openaddressesuk.
org/blog/2015/02/12/inference https://alpha.openaddressesuk.
org/blog/2015/02/20/confidence
Let us know if you would be willing to sponsor us whilst we grow Try our APIs: https://alpha.openaddressesuk.org/about/apidocu
mailto:info@openaddressesuk.org Contribute some code: https://github.com/OpenAddressesUK
Join the forums: https://github.com/OpenAddressesUK/forum

34. Open Addresses is building an open address
database for the UK.
It will be open and available to all, helping
people, companies, non-profits and government
work together to create a better service for
everyone.
Offices
Where?