Start-ups in Bristol and the South West can receive specialist data support from Ordnance Survey (OS) and HM Land Registry (HMLR) through enterprise hub Engine Shed’s partnership renewal with OS’s innovation arm, Geovation.
Geovation supports start-ups who are using location or property data in their offering. The partnership provides Engine Shed’s network partners a range of benefits to join its community for free, including access to OS and HMLR data, expert business advice and mentorship, weekly tech surgery drop-in sessions by Geovation’s software developer team, and free London desk space at its hub in EC1 .
Head of Engine Shed Marty Reid said: “Since our partnership with Geovation began in early 2019 we have introduced a number of Bristol start-ups to Geovation and provided space for geospatial workshop sessions and meetups. This partnership renewal will continue to help ambitious early stage companies access valuable data and expertise to develop their offer and make an impact.”
Geovation Partnership & Outreach Manager Luke Hampson said: “Location data is often likely to be implicit or explicit ingredients to scalable solutions. We have a successful track record in helping our start-ups design and launch ventures whose purpose is to generate positive impact, and we’re delighted to continue our partnership with Engine Shed, as we know they hold a similar vision and ethos to ours.”
Geovation runs an Accelerator Programme that supports early stage start-up companies. The initiative has supported 117 companies to date, helping them launch innovative digital products and services to their respective markets, which in turn has seen them raise more than £77M in third-party funding, creating 484 new jobs.
One of the companies to have benefited from Geovation’s help is Bristol’s DronePrep, a platform that supports drone flights. DronePrep recently assisted in the UK’s first medical drone deliveries.
CEO of DronePrep Gareth Whatmore said: “In the early stages of our product build and validation we found receptive clients and partners in the form of Bristol City Council, Bristol Film Office and the University of West England. All of these connections and subsequent growth was made possible by the fabulously supportive teams at Engine Shed and Geovation.”
Another Bristol-based company to make use of the partnership is Atmo, who provides air quality monitoring for heavy industry.
Atmo Founder, Guy Barkley said: We met Geovation at Engine Shed and applied to their funded Accelerator Programme. We found the support on geo-location data super useful and appreciated the financial backing, especially given there is no requirement for equity.”
Engine Shed’s Network Partners
Bristol Robotics Lab
Bristol & Bath Science Park
Bristol VR Lab
Emmaus incubator
Future Space
Pervasive Media Studio
Quantum Technology Innovation Centre
SETsquared Bath
SETsquared Bristol
Spike Design
The Hive
Unit DX
How to use the partnership
Engine Shed Network Partners wishing to gain access to the Geovation Hub and associated benefits of this partnership will be required to sign up to the Geovation Membership Terms. A company wanting to apply must be referred by Lorraine Fairbanks, Partnerships Manager at Engine Shed from the manager or equivalent at the Network Partner. Engine Shed will then forward this email to Geovation who will respond directly to the applicant and confirm membership.
Geovation members wishing to use Engine Shed’s Members’ Lounge and associated benefits of this partnership, will be required to present their Geovation digital profile on Nexudus (the Geovation membership platform) at the reception desk at Engine Shed to gain access. Please contact Luke Hampson of Geovation for more information: admin@geovation.uk.
About Geovation:
Geovation was launched in 2010 by Ordnance Survey to support innovative start-ups using location and property data. Geovation operates two Accelerator Programmes, launched in 2016 and run in association with HM Land Registry and Registers of Scotland. These provide promising GeoTech and PropTech start-ups with focused guidance and support, access to quality data, and technical and financial resources to help them develop and thrive. Geovation has offices in London and Edinburgh and has partnerships with innovation hubs in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Manchester to develop and support local start-ups.
For more information, contact Keegan Wilson, Senior Press Officer, Ordnance Survey, on 02380 055332 keegan.wilson@os.uk