Show Us a Better Way

Communiopinion - Ask.View.Decide

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Website: http://www.communiopinion.com

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

You have got a question that you need an answer to and need to gauge public opinion about it. It could be about health, work, employment, education, standard of living etc.

You need to gauge a rough answer to have an indication of people's perceptions and overall confidence levels in the community of that issue.

You could go out and find the answer by asking random people or the street, posting out leaflets, putting an ad in the newspaper or taking out a radio / tv advert. You may also commission organisations such as MORI or GALLUP if you need a nationwide indication of an issue.

Maybe you just need to know how well is the standard of education at your local primary school or whether buses run on time in a particular area.

My idea is to make it easier for the community to help one another decide and come to a conclusion about an issue.

It is simple :

1- Set a question or opinion poll topic

2- Select a region, area or city

3- Select how many people you want to poll 

4- Select a category (transport, health, neighbourhood, safety, society, finance, people etc)

5- Sit back and then view the results

6- From this you can gauge public opinion on your issue

7- If you need more information then you can post video or text comments to futher gain understanding from others.

8- Discuss with other the results and take part in other polls

Making decisions can be very hard or time consuming if you do not have the facts at hand. Having a good base of public opinion can enable you to gain a rough indication of what the likely state of an issue in your community is.

With this in mind it becomes easier to make choices that affect your life and others around you.

What information or services do you need?

google maps, ordnance surveys, neigbourhood stats

Safer routes home

Submitted by: Matthew Horne

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

I was mugged while cycling home on a local cycle route. Apparently a lot of cyclists have been mugged on this route. Why could I not warn others that this approved route was not that safe.

Let me publish on a map the location of my mugging so that other cyclists can choose alternative routes.

Offical cycle route maps are really helpful - but why can't the people who use them add more information to them?

What information or services do you need?

A map.

Post code locations of street crimes.

Neighbourhood Watch Online

Submitted by: Louis Roberts

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

When crime occurs, police spend time going from house to house investigating the crime. Not all people are in and valuable information can be missed. If an online service was available for individuals to report non serious crime, then more crime can be recorded and searched by the police to see if other 'incidents' can be linked. For example one individual reports damage to their car. If other similar damage has occurred and has been reported online it aids the police on where to get evidence and what 'route' an individual may have taken that damaged the cars. Times are also important. A repeat offender doing damage at a similar point in time is easier to catch. (or the information can be used to set up CCTV to catch them in the act!)
Small time crime is irritating to neighbourhoods and can quickly turn a neighbourhood bad and unpleasent to live in by vandalism and trivial crime. The site helps police and the neighbourhood stop crime.

What information or services do you need?

Online reporting screen with postcode \ road search to pinpoint location of the incident. Submissions can only be seen by the police. 'Users' of the system must be validated (passport \ driving license no?) to ensure fake entries not entered. Encourage neighbourhood watch members to submit anything. (even turned over salt boxes \ bins)

Healthmap UK

Submitted by: Paola Wright

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Now that patients can choose where to have treatment, a mash up of hospitals, including out-patient departments could provide information by local Primary Care Trust, region, county, nationwide. It should provide:
* information about the hospital, with links to any reports that mention it
* consultants and their CVs
* lead times for appointments
* whether it is possible to have a private or private/NHS mixed approach to treatment, e.g. to speed up treatment
* an NHS Direct link with 'Live chat' functionality
* how to get there (national transport)
* information about local parking
* information about local transport

What information or services do you need?

Local, regional, nationwide maps
Statistics and/or reports on hospitals/ out-patients departments
Information about consultants
Transport and local parking information could be provided by appropriate links to or integration with national /local websites, e.g. train timetables; local authorities websites

CharityBoost

Submitted by: Chris Wedgwood

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

There are a large number of Charity and Voluntary organisations in the UK doing good work for the community. Many charities do not receive funding direct from the government and others may only get some of the money that they need. There are however grants available from time to time for various initiatives which Charities can apply for depending on the type of project they want to undertake and if it qualifies. These grants originate from various different places including Local and National Government and other sources.

The first stage of this online tool would be to provide full, search-able, listings of ALL publicly available grants and the clear listing of the criteria needed to qualify.

If criteria included regional area these could be plotted on a map to make it easy to see the ones that could be applied for etc..
The second part of the tool involves generating top up funding. In some cases a grant may stipulate that funding provided by the grant needs to be matched by funding provided from the charity. So in some instances there could be a good project ready to go, partial grant funding from government, but the balance cannot be raised so the project cannot start.

Charity funding could be by direct public donation as is common, and there are successful sites on the internet like justgiving.com that promote this. The proposed tool however should be more specific than just donation to a charity; It should allow donating to a project run by a charity and people should be able to search for projects to support by location(map)/sector/Charity and see what grant funding the project could get and any targets required to achieve this.

Another way to raise funds for a project would be to acquire sponsorship from business. Although partly altruistic in nature a donation by business can make sound financial sense where publicity can be gained in return.

It is expected that this is currently an under tapped area, because there is not an easy way for a business to select suitable projects which could result in mutual benefit. Business needs to be more specific than just giving a flat annual donation to a chosen charity. They need to be able to search the proposed projects and find one which is closely allied with their own business interests. This could include locating local projects for a business with a strong localized presence (by postcode mapping) or could include finding projects further afield that relate to their own area of work(full text search).

It is expected that by providing more specific project information in a central information portal the actual amount of revenue generated going to charities will be increased!

As an example; imagine a sad story in the local newspaper of a small child whose bike was stolen by a thief on Christmas day. The next week a story runs that a local bike shop has stepped in and replaced the youngster's bike.

The same principle can be applied to charity projects on a larger scale.
The bike shop would not have given if the toy had been a chemistry set instead of a bike, and the strong local presence of the bike shop will have also influenced the decision. When it all came together the bike shop got some good cheap publicity and so also benefited. What is clear is that in order to capitalise on this type of funding businesses need more open access to the projects that are taking place and search-able data on those projects to decide if they represent a business investment. This is a problem that the proposed tool will solve, and should therefore increase the amount of money donated to charity projects from the private sector.

What information or services do you need?

google maps
postcode data
grant/funding information (local/national/other)

Real Time River Level Data

Submitted by: Dan King

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

It would take the data which is recorded by the environment agency on nearly every river in the UK and publish it on the web for all to see. This would enable fisherman and other river users such as canoeists to determine if the river is suitable for their use. it can also help with predicting and warning people/agencies with flooding incidents which it seems are becoming more often every year. It could also publish some kind of rules of the river and usage guides. a little bit about the river, are and what the data actually means. sponsored links could create revenue for the site and for local businesses such as fishing, kayak shops, cafe's and b&bs. It can also archive old river data from the last week, month or year.

What information or services do you need?

maps of the rivers, river level data from the agencies who have it. local information for each river.

Transport delays and the weather

Submitted by: EJH

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

By combining weather history data with data from Transport for London it will be possible to see patterns in particular tube lines or bus routes that suffer in particular conditions. This will be particularly useful in winter or during heavy rain in the summer.  This will help two groups of people:

1. Commuters and tourists will be able to type in the weather (or predicted weather) for a particular day onto a web page and a list of the likely problems based on historic data can be produced.  This will encourage people to use alternative routes in adverse conditions, reducing the burden on struggling routes and lowering the number of customer charter claims due to unexpected delays.

2. Transport for London will be able to see where common problems occur on particular routes and target repairs to minimise disruption.  This will provide better value for money when it comes to doing repair work, reducing long term problems and compensation payments.

What information or services do you need?

Weather histories
Transport for London's records of previous delays

The Free Legal Web

Submitted by: Nick Holmes

Website: http://legalweb.wordpress.com/

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

We already have a substantial free legal web, but it is not joined up. We have the resources and the technologies to join it up - now - for the benefit of lawyers and the community at large. Those of us who have an interest in access to the law and justice and the efficient provision of legal services have a duty to make this happen.

There has in the past 18 months been a sea change in Government's attitude to the provision of Public Sector Information (PSI) and the encouragement of user-generated services supporting government. In particular, the independent Power of Information Review recommended changes that have been substantially accepted by Government, who, through the Power of Information Task Force are now committed to making this happen.

The time has come to build the Free Legal Web.

John Sheridan has already posted his idea for this at The Law Says. The Free Legal Web would "mash" expert legal commentary with the relevant PSI.

What information or services do you need?

Truly open access to legislation (coming soon - thanks John!), judgments (HM Courts Service), bills (Parliament), consultations, command papers and other official documents (Departments); pending that, rich RSS feeds for everything; + where possible Creative Commons licences for all the private sector data.

Integrate UK

Submitted by: Alexander Kiselinchev

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Integrate UK is a website that will help EU Nationals working in the UK integrate into British society. This website will provide them with the necessary tools to learn the language and to enjoy and enhance the cultural profile of the UK. This website is different from others on the market because it will give users information in English and in their native language (unlike the Home Office Border & Immigration agency and Direct.gov), and about topics that do not only relate to immigration matters (i.e. different touristic attractions, job searching advice, cheap calling rates and local language schools).
The website will resemble a wiki (similar to Wikipedia), a website where almost anyone would be able to enter information in any language. It will also be very interactive, allowing people to contact others in order to ask for advice on a wide range of matters relating to living and working advice.

What information or services do you need?

I will need three main types of services.

Firstly, I will need funding support to help cover the costs of the design of the website and other related costs (IP rights, legal related matter, marketing, travel, etc). The cost of designing the website by itself is estimated to be around £3,500.

Secondly, I will need useful information from the government that can be put onto the website in order for EU Nationals to access. I will have this information translated and will add additional information based on my own experience. As the website starts attracting initial users, people will be able to enter their own information (which will be edited upon submission).

Finally, I will need help in promoting the website through a variety of media outlets. The government is in the best position to do this. I firmly believe that this idea corresponds with the goals and objectives of the UK Government in relation to helping non-English speaking EU Nationals integrate themselves within British society.

BlackFoot : Social Synergy Monster Mash

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

You have ideas like Showusabetterway that enables people to  make use of free data held by the government. What if you could do the same and build real life creations using elements in and around your community ?

This could include free things that are given / donated by people (free space, rooms, offices, areas etc) and other resources such as time, materials and teamwork.

In a local area there are resources that are waiting to be used and integrated with ideas that people have. You could combine a bunch of people, scrubland, bits of wood and some equipment and build a natural reserve or open park. You could also create a sculpture or a cycle path to promote fitness.

People can log-on and search an area to see what others have submitted as a resource. So for example, in Area 51, there are a number of computers and spare rooms lying about. This combined with the need to create a learning environment then synergises to create an after school club for under-18s.

Searching Area 53 returns a list of resources that includes people's experience of building, planning, design and development. This knowledge harnessed with tools donated by others leads to the creation of a new community centre that serves the needs of its people.

It will be like a cross between Challenge Anneka and Blue Peter - where you have a goal/idea + spare resources given by others + teamwork = final realised creation.

Or to put it better :

1+1 = 3

Where the total is greater than the sum of its parts. People working together to create something better and greater than what was initially thought possible.

What information or services do you need?

google maps, ordnance survey maps, postcode search, local services

SchoolGuru

Submitted by: Catherine Bassindale

Website: http://www.SchoolGuruHertfordshire.co.uk

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

SchoolGuru uses the latest data from Local Authorities to reveal your chances of getting a place at your chosen state schools. Our pioneering Admission Calculator will tell you whether you would have got in, on allocation day, in recent years.

You just put in your details - the school you want, the admission rule you will be considered under, and the distance from your house (which you can estimate by using our bespoke Google maps). We'll hold your hand every step of the way. Once you've put in the information required, the Admission Calculator will generate a report showing whether you would have got a place, or not, in previous years. It will also judge whether or not you're likely to get a place this year. It takes, oh, about a second.

The system is simple to use, completely free, and it could potentially revolutionise the way that parents apply for schools. As 'catchment areas' are now longer legally enforceable, following the Greenwich ruling in the early 1990s, parents typically have difficulties working out if they are likely to gain a place at a particular school. They have previously had to rely on gossip, guesswork and potentially misleading tip-offs from head teachers and estate agents. Now, with SchoolGuru, they have fast access to the up-to-the-minute data that's relevant for their particular circumstances. They can use this information to make realistic and strategic choices on their application form.

Parents can use the Admission Calculator to help them find the best school for their child, whatever their criteria (eg, they might want a faith school, or a school they can walk to, or a school with good academic results). The service is invaluable for parents moving into a new area, and for anyone who wants to avoid the heartache of being allocated a school they haven't chosen.

The Local Authority stands to benefit, too. If parents are aware that they may not get their first-choice school, they can prepare themselves for this eventuality before allocation day, and shop around for acceptable alternatives. We will have urged them to include at least one 'safe' school that they are happy with, among their preferences. As a result, they will have a realistic view of what could happen on allocation day - and are less likely to end up going to appeal, offering considerable cost-savings to the LA.

There are benefits to schools, as well. Parents spend a great deal of time at open evenings, asking the teachers whether they are likely to get in. Without access to the technology that we have, it's difficult and time consuming for the schools to answer this question. However, if they direct parents to our site - we can offer them fast, reliable information, instead. In addition, SchoolGuru will soon offer individual schools the opportunity to publicise any vacancies for pupils (free of charge). This could help them financially, as schools are funded per capita. It will also assist parents moving into the area.

We've just got SchoolGuruHertfordshire up and running, and we are now working on the rest of the country. This is a huge task, as there are 150 Local Authorities, and each requires a new website (eg, SchoolGuruRichmond, SchoolGuruKent, etc). We would like to offer nationwide coverage asap - and inform parents about this unique and helpful service - and this is why we need to win the prize money, please!

What information or services do you need?

SchoolGuru uses information from:
- Local Authorities (admission data)
- Google maps
- Individual schools (admission data)
- Sats, GCSE and A level results for individual schools, as well as county and nationwide averages
- Ofsted reports

The Pinpoint Map System

Submitted by: Duncan McGowan

Website: http://www.pinpoint-mapping.com

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

The Pinpoint Map System is a web mapping system that offers Google Maps-style behaviour and performance, but unlike Google Maps it supports any Ordnance Survey or other map data. It also supports LiDAR, IFR, bathymetric and geological data, site plans or anything else that is arranged in a geospatial layout.

The system is the fastest system available, having been designed using a unique pixel-based map engine based on image processing techniques. It runs on very low cost hardware, such as sub-£1000 Intel servers.

At the front end is a sophisticated AJAX API which enables a developer to strongly customise the user experience while delivering web2.0 interaction to the user.

The idea behind the system is to free public sector from the limitations of Google Maps (as well as the threat of advertising or service withdrawal) while providing scope for deploying any map data product. It was also intended to decimate licensing and development costs for the public sector, by offering turnkey deployment, cheap hosting and minimal maintenance fees, so instead of a public sector team spending £100K on a webGIS service the cost plummets to a tiny percentage of that. I estimate that public sector can save £millions by using my system.

The Pinpoint system helps public sector by: (a) offering a "drop-in" web mapping component to existing websites; (b) slashing costs dramatically; and (c) providing features that are only available with hugely complex "solutions" such as ArcIMS.

It also helps the public, as the system can be used by any government agency (such as the OS, BGS, UKHO, etc) to offer attractive online services for their data, instead of expecting visitors to be happy with either a child-like Java applet or downloading of raw data for use in an expensive desktop GIS product.

The system is being used by Directgov, Camden, Islington and Hackney Councils.

What information or services do you need?

1. Bathymetry data from the British Geological Survey.

2. A 1Km square section of urban MasterMap data from the Ordnance Survey.

3. Assistance/resources for marketing directly to the public sector.

Govdata Portal

Submitted by: Christian Hugo

Website: http://www.govdata.co.uk

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

The problems we currently address in our data mash up are, for example:

For the civil service

capacity planning when going to market with a procurement requirement;
supplier evaluation across all contracts the supplier holds within public sector;
sharing best practice to allow peer to peer advice prior to a procurement from public servants who have already gone through the buying process previously and can share experiences;
aggregated procurement by using collaborative procurement in amalgamating market needs under shared service or multi agency service agreements;
one touch access to finding the right partner within another public body;
exploring the 'internal market' before going to tender
price comparisons against other public bodies;
reducing risk of buying from a suppliers reputation when the skills have long since moved to another provider
create shortlists of proven suppliers who meet the 'typical qualification tests' often examined later in a procurement process;
end result is quicker and more effective efficient procurement presenting a lower risk to the taxpayer and better return on public expenditure;

.......and many many more!

For the private sector, the datasets also:

enhance understanding and raise knowledge levels of choosing the right partners;
understanding their government customers;
reduce their bid to win ratio by avoiding contracts they are not suited to;
reduce the time and effort needed by procurement professionals who usually have to qualify these bidders out;
identify opportunities ahead of the procurement process to allow for better planning, resource allocation, and board level sponsorship on the SRO SRIE model;
less investment in cost of sales activity leading to reduced prices to the end customer;
less uninvited contact with civil servants when 'trawling' for new opportunities leaving the civil service free to deliver their PSAs rather than answering 'fact finding' questions on a frequent basis;
reduced chance of allegations of lack of transparency or biases within procurements;

In a nutshell, after 12 years in the pre procurement market, I learned that 70% of cost of sale goes on failed bids, which is passed on to customers who do award to these companies, which costs our economy billions of pounds per annum. The info exists to eradicate this problem completely!

What information or services do you need?

access to approved spending plans (normally called implementation plans or strategies)
annual reports
official performance audit data
existing contracts registers
contract award data electronically
spend figures itemised according to approved government finance classification codes for each and every public body

Memory Lane : Where does your's live ?

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

I have often wondered "what happened here x years ago and what is the history of this" when walking past a road, house, shop or area.

For example, I was walking past a local primary school the other day and on the wall it said "Jen & Becca friendz4life '89". It got me thinking that on this spot nearly two decades ago was the start of a friendship. That spot held someone's memories, experiences of growing up and most importantly told a story.

Knowing where you came from and where you grew up is key to shaping how you view the world. It underpins your social circle, experiences and what you can acheive in life.

It would be great to be able to view peoples' memory "hotspots" and trails of places to find out what they did, experienced and remembered. It could be an outing, sports day, dinner date, friends growing up, first house , school day etc.

Then others who shared the same spot years before or after can add their own memories, photos, videos, commentaries etc. Sharing experiences from one another to have a unique thing in common - history.

I could type in a postcode and view recently uploaded memory trails that detail one person's experiences and journey of life. It could show their memories in video, photos, audio and commentary.

It would be social history in the making enabling the community to come together online and see how important events in a person's life ultimately shaped it creation.

Some people would leave an area to migrate abroad or go in search of work then come back to where they grew up. This powerful need to know one's roots and the idea of belonging is central to a person's identity.

It would be fascinating and also educational for school children to learn about their area in more depth. For them to know how a certain place or area shaped a person's life and how it has changed over time. It would give an insight into the hidden historical aspects of a community or area that would be almost forgotten - except in people's minds.

I could view what people's experiences were of going to hospital 50 years ago and compare it to standards now. I could see how roads have changed and how communities divided due to expansion and modern growth. This all affected people in some way or another.

I can also cross reference areas and people's memory trails with Offical Notices (bankruptcy, official appointments, etc) from the London Gazette to find out more in depth information.

Couple this with medical information from the NHS and neighbourhood statistics would provide a greater scope of how people have changed over time.

This could serve as an education tool with historic, social and personal elements rolled into one. Whereby, the entire community is connected to one another in some intrinsic way via memory and historical associations.

You can use Google Maps or Ordnance Survey data to create or search for a "memory trail". It will then display the route and associated uploaded content submitted by others. You will then be able to explore their personal journey of life through video, photos and audio.

For example, I want to view what happened between Threadneedle Street and St Paul's in London. It will then present me with a number of routes that I can view and learn about. I can then watch associated uploaded content and follow the route via google earth.

This is social history created by YOU.

What information or services do you need?

google maps, postcode search, medical data, neighbourhood stats, Ordnance Survey, Public Notices from London Gazette.

Use The Land

Submitted by: Stuart Lester

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

People use the site to identify local areas of land (perhaps from a map), then see if it is publicly owned (requires the data to be available form local councils, land registry, etc.) and then they can suggest uses for the land that are for social, local community clean ups, artistic, green or educational purposes. Other public information could be used to help guide best use ideas, e.g. PCT health information to suggest activity centres would be of better use. The suggestions could be for temporary or permanent exhibitions depending upon what the public body owning the land intended to do with it, for example if the land was identified to be redeveloped as part of a large scale scheme that may take some time to get going, it could be used to promote local artists, outdoor theatre, temporary school projects.

What information or services do you need?

Maps would be useful to identify the land. PAF data as the basis for a gazetteer. Crime, Health and other vitality indicators could be used to help support certain ideas as positive to the local community, these could be map overlays or textual based on postcodes within Super Output Areas.

The crucial data would be public land ownership, this would need to be available. Not necessarily Land Registry but more likely Local Governement and other public bodies that own land.

Deposited Plans Ordering System

Submitted by: Michael Blom

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

There are so many plans of property subdivisions, consolidations (hopefully they're all scanned by now), why can't they be offered up to the general public, georeferenced in a map, viewable by year, with the functionality to order a copy of one. Historical Land Title agreements could possibly be offered as well?

What information or services do you need?

HTML / Javascript based map (front end), all surveyor plans georeferenced and sitting in a tidy database (back-end), some scripts to query for relevant plans within the users field of view (Middle tier).

Moving Minds

Submitted by: Will Pearson

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

An online and mobile system for engaging a dispersed and often isolated population of individuals, who have a negative schema about themselves, and maybe suffering from depression and anxiety. The system has an escalating series of levels of communications, and suggests walks, activities, social gatherings and positive mood effecting locations for users of the service.

The system feeds you, via the web or mobile, with communications and thoughts from the 'outside world', the world with whom you may have lost strong contact. It will visualise a path way for you, from place to place, and from meeting to meeting, that reduces stress and anxiety, a form of 'error free' living for the duration of your involvement in the system. You are able to look forwards to meeting with others who understand and appreciate the issues you have been facing, blurring the lines between the traditional 'service user' and the teams of volunteers, professionals, friends and family who sit behind the scenes, often invisible.

The system aims to create a positive series of pathways through the world, allowing you to feedback and organise as you get stronger. It permits creation of discrete scenarios, which address sub-group needs, such as a location based game within an urban centre, giving purpose and fun to what might normally be a trigger point for acute stress.

It tackles the acute symptoms of depression (arbitrary inference, selective abstraction, overgeneralisation, magnification and minimisation) by harnessing mobile technologies, in a supportive and non-intrusive manner

What information or services do you need?

Local maps, information about cultural services, information about volunteer and support services in local areas, local history (archives), links to artists and art practice within a locality

Rate the Policy

Submitted by: Tom Kan

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Having a means for people to rate the importance to them on individual policies will mean that government can be more efficient in concentrating on things that matter to people, rather than things that have the loudest/most powerful lobbyist behind it.

This rating site should be tied in to the BBC radio4 today programme, as almost all policies by any party are announced there first.

It should be distinguished between other opinion sites e.g. instead of asking "should foxhunting be banned? yes/no", we would ask "is foxhunting issue important to you? rate 1-5".
In the end, we should end up with the most important policies/issues the population is concerned about, which government can concentrate on.

What information or services do you need?

Mentions in Radio 4!
Facility to rate a policy (1-5), measure stats and display them.

Schools Portal

Submitted by: Tom Kan

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

There is a wealth of information on schools that currently there is no central resource on. Each year exam results, Ofsted reports are published, but they are very dry lists in alphabetical order. Putting these on maps for your area will bring them to life. And once they are put on maps, and accessing all things related to a school is available, it is then easy to compare schools in your area. Hidden information like school catchment areas would be extremely useful for parents and forward planning.
A central onestopshop for schools will also encourage parents, teachers, pupils to come together for Web2.0 activities, such as forums, blogs, wikis, sharing knowledge like organising school fairs/open days/fundraising.

What information or services do you need?

Catchment distance for each school
Ofsted reports
Exam results
Hosted blog/wiki/forum facilties - this can be open source
Portal facility - also open source

Drive a green machine

Submitted by: Supertzar Fuels

Website: http://www.supertzar.co.uk

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

The basic idea is to provide an example of how much a UK city to city journey would cost driving a car which uses bioethanol or biodiesel. This would increase public and commercial interest at a time when rising energy costs are leading to people looking at alternative fuels.

What information or services do you need?

Information source would include Yahoo currency api, Google Maps, DEFRA Passenger transport emissions factors and Transport Direct journey planner API, and a reliable source of car data such as provided by WhatGreenCar.

Code RED : emergency crisis management

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

My idea is disaster management that displays reported events and crises in real time. This includes fire, traffic, 999 responses etc that happen in your local area.

We live in a day and age where malicious threats have comprised our safety and security. The need to know that services are on call 24hrs a day to respond to these crisis enables us to have confidence in the system. So when disaster strikes it is dealt with in a strategic and efficient way.

I want to know how safe I am in my local area and how well incidents are dealt with. I want to view what is happening where so I can see the major hot spots of road traffic, crimes, crowd disorder etc. Upon this I can gauge how safe I am in my area and how well services respond to accidents, incidents and events.

Categories of data shown could be crime (assault, property crimes, aggravated assault, theft, vehicle theft, violent crime etc). You can then view the areas which have the most incidents and real time data on recent activities that have occurred.

You can also view where local police and fire stations are located in proximity to where crimes / events are committed. Also, view and find names and addresses of local services such hospitals, health centres, public toilets, schools etc.

People can access this service online or on the move to view what is happening where. So if disaster strikes, they can view what to do on their mobile phones. It will then display appropriate routes, services in relation to where the CODE RED event has taken place and where that person is.

People will also be able to report and place pinpoints on a map to show what they have recently witnessed (traffic crash, accident, blocked tunnels etc) to let others know in real time.

Everything you need to avoid the incident will be taken care of - safe routes, who to call and where they are including response times to certain areas in your locality.

What information or services do you need?

real time accident and crisis data, google maps, post code data

WeR1 (we are one) TV

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

You create content based upon your experiences living in your local area and then book a time slot. This is then checked and uploaded to be broadcast via mobile phones, online or played on buses that pass through certain parts of a city at certain times.

So for example, people are travelling on a bus and this goes through Camden. The TV on board the bus then plays content that is connected to the area in which it is travelling through. In this way, people will have an insight into how people live and what goes on within a community.

The content that is played could be about one person's transition from drugs to becoming successful or how an area of a borough was changed through community teamwork.

It could also carry positive messages of how individuals have overcome problems, issues or made changes in their lives and their community.

People will be able to select the area or city that they want to view content about. They can then select what issues it covers - news, views, services, debates, historical information etc.

I have been on many London Buses and have get bored of watching the same thing being repeated over and over again - images of the bus entrance and the traffic behind the bus etc.

It would be great if I could learn something about the area I am passing through so that it brings travel to life. This will enable community residents to create useful and informative content to educate and inspire others.

People can use the online schedule to see what will be played, what routes it will be shown and what others have created. They can book time slots and select what area/route they want their content to be played on.

What information or services do you need?

Maps, Ordnance Survey data, local services, travel data, stats

Project Nirvana

Submitted by: Dotted Eyes Ltd

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Many people these days are forced to relocate for work or family reasons. Project Nirvana helps the public to find a place that suits their personal requirements. This includes housing, transportation, healthcare, social, and childcare & education requirements.

Different people will have different priorities - Project Nirvana takes care of that.

The website draws on existing sources of information that are already in the public domain, including government databases and other public-facing web applications.

The application will enable users to apply their own weighting to each of the requirements categories in order to identify their optimum location. It will also enable the user to enter 'known' information, such as work/childcare location and maximum time/distance/cost of travel.

Property - Users will be able to identify areas that have property of a certain price range, type, council tax band and flood risk. Information will be displayed on thematic maps, and house price data by area. This part of the application pulls together property information from several sources in response to users' requirements.

Transportation - the transport section will identify key public transport facilities such as bus stops, stations, airports, etc within a specified distance from a location. OS ITN will be used to calculate walking, cycling and driving time and distances to public transport, but also to other facilities & workplaces.

This will output times and distances to facilities and will also provide a find my nearest capability using the most detailed and up-to-date transport data.

Healthcare - This section will enable the users to specify the healthcare facilities in their area, by entering any medical conditions the application will look for highly rated NHS services that will best meet the user's needs, and have the shortest waiting lists. The system will also look at the makeup of the user's family/transportation circumstances to place them in a location where they will have the kind of dental care, opticians and pharmacists that best suit their needs.

When entering the system through a commercial view the application will target the health make up of an area that will provide the best synergy with the service you are providing, for example transportation businesses may focus on providing services to disabled people, pharmaceutical companies may focus on areas where the pharmacy to population ration is low etc.

The areas meeting these characteristics can be visually represented on a map, and shown in context with the healthcare facilities available, and their ratings, waiting lists etc. The system will ensure the user is aware of areaa that provide access to the specific healthcare they and their family require.

Social - From a first-level query, the user may wish to include social criteria in their search choice. This would be primarily PointX based, i.e. within x miles of a leisure centre, etc. As a second level search, i.e. after finding any area that matches the main criteria, the site could display a representative map of what is on in an area, e.g. linked to the already geocoded links in Gumtree, to give an idea of what goes on. Due to a limited amount of this info being in the .gov.uk domain, this would primarily rely on commercial tie-ins, hence providing a revenue stream to the site to maintain it; look at transportdirect, which links into various commercial sites to provide a fuller service.

The output from this section would be factored into the overall search and could be displayed in both list and map view. Users would gain an understanding of social activity in an area, without having to visit an extra site.

Demographics - This section will enable users to specify the demographic make-up of their ideal locality. For example, they may prefer to live in an area not heavily populated by families or young people. When defining the characteristics of their preferred location, users can complete a mini-questionnaire to qualify their likes and dislikes. This information is then taken into account when searching for new areas.

The areas meeting these characteristics can be visually represented on a map and used in conjunction with the outputs from other sections to suggest localities that best fit the users requirements. This capability will match users to areas with the demographics that they are looking for.

Education - Those with children of or approaching school age will want to include criteria for educational facilities. Routes to school can be calculated (safe routes where available), so that distance criteria can be applied. Catchment areas and Ofsted ratings can also be considered in the location choice.

Localities satisfying criteria on distance, quality, pupil age (where there is more than one child, only localities satisfying the criteria for all children will be included). Further information can be supplied on request (e.g. details of schools, links to Ofsted reports).

This provides an assessment of localities by the educational facilities available; filtering localities depending on quality and distance criteria.

What information or services do you need?

Backdrop maps for information display using Google Maps or similar, house price data from Land Registry, flood risk data from Environment Agency, housing availability from public websites such as Rightmove and Nestoria, Integrated Transport Network from Ordnance Survey, NaPTAN public transport database from DfT, NPTDR, NHS Choices, The Healthcare Commission, UK Statistics Authority, points of interest from PointX, social data from Gumtree, financial data from HMRC, school list from Department of Children, Schools and Families, performance reports from Ofsted and school catchment areas from Local Authorities.

Freesource - Free Done

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

First you had freerecyle - now you have freesource where you can tap into the huge pool of services and tools available to you at no charge.

Maybe you are on a shoestring budget and need to access certain or specific services but these are too costly or far away. Or you need help on an aspect of your life but don't know where to go (education, under 18's, school leavers, benefits etc) - then type in your postcode and the types of services / resource your require.

It will then display all the services / resources available to you within your local area. This could include free I.T. courses, DIY, First Aid, College Courses, Diplomas etc.

For those on benefits or pensioners this could be of great use as they are on a budget.

Maybe you want to offer a free service to others - teaching, doing a task, errands, work experience etc - then someone will find that useful.

You may have clothes that you do not need no more or electronic equipment and want to offer it to others. Or maybe you are on a food budget and need some good food and want to know places where food is almost out of date and being thrown away by supermarkets and shops.

Finally, you can tap into the wealth of government information and services available to you in one site without having the navigate through the endless results from Google. This could include tax advice, free consultations on business issues, health, screening for diseases if you are going on holiday, home care, benefits you may be entitled to etc.

Additionally this could cover tourism - free tours, days out, exhibitions, walks, talks, festivals in and around your local area. This can give people access to a wealth of cultural experience and knowledge that they may otherwise miss out on.

There are two routes to find things - expensive and free. You can either pay money for a service you could get for free or you can take the time to see all the range of tools and services available at no charge.

So to summarise - a searchable database of free services and resources available to you. This would cover tourism, education & learning, business, sport & fitness, legal advice, personal issues, government services, finance, grant, social debates, meetings etc. Anything and everything that helps you personally, socially, mentally, physically and spiritually.

What information or services do you need?

Post Code Information, Ordnance surveys, services available from government and local authorities, datasets, SQL database and PHP, real time updated data, google maps to pinpoint these services.

EventMap - Local Events on a National Scale!

Submitted by: Mr David Eagle

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

The information displayed on the interactive map would cover everything from regular scheduled food or antique market locations and opening hours to theatre, concerts, one off free Local Authority firework displays, art exhibitions, agricultural and historical events.

The website would be aimed at:
- Tourists from out of the area planning what to do on their trip/holiday.
- Increase interest in local businesses, council facilities such as swimming pools and natural areas such as nature reserves that may be operating summer wildlife trails and guided walks.
- Improving quality of life for locals by making them aware of events on their doorstep such as farmers markets. Reduced journey times would decrease carbon footprints.
- Gauging interest in local events from the number of website hits so that Local authorities and emergency services could be better informed prior to events.
- Fostering competition at national level for the most entertaining county!

The website will comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) by following the W3C accessibility guidelines.

What information or services do you need?

This web service could initially collate all information available to Tourist offices around the country to create a map of Points Of Interest (POI). The service would also coordinate sub-services at local level maintained perhaps by local interest groups. It should be possible for everybody to register and add events as well for example concerts at a local pub or car boot sales.

RSS and GeoRSS feeds will be broadcast from the site so that subscribed members will receive notification of events as they are added to the site in their registered geographical area of interest.

SkillShare - The Charity Sharing Site

Submitted by: Mr David Eagle

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Could your organisation be doing more to enhance their corporate social responsibility? Are you looking for help? Would you like to give something back? SkillShare is a website which brings together individuals and organisations with a skills shortage. This offers organisations the chance to bring in much-needed help without charge, and offers individuals the chance to keep their skills alive and give something back to society.

Organisations can register their need(s) on the site. A need could range from a one off, semi-skilled requirement, such as help needed to redecorate a community hall, through to an ongoing skill-based relationship, such as a charity requiring experienced commercial advisors to sit on a board. Each 'need' entry would include the organisation's geographic location and an introduction to the aims of the organisation and what work they carry out.

Individuals can register on the website to offer their services in a geographic area, or on a national level if the need can be met through electronic communications (e.g. brochure design or web site design). There is an increasing trend for individuals to take early retirement and then actively seek out fulfilling activities to provide them with the opportunity to interact with others; to give structure to their week. A scheme such as this is an ideal way to attract such people, and offer them a worthwhile way to spend time whilst also keeping their minds active and their skills current, softening the transition to full time retirement. The scheme would also be of interest to unemployed people who need to build their confidence before returning to paid employment and would enhance their CV for when they do start job hunting as they will have demonstrated initiative.

Businesses, both small and large, can offer their skills on the site. Businesses would be encouraged to integrate ongoing SkillShare volunteer work as a component of personal development plans, or as a one-off team-building activity. It is also feasible that this approach could be aligned with the Investors in People (IIP) Standard.

Schools may benefit from the SkillShare as a recipient of skills, e.g. bringing in experienced business people to act as careers advisors, or as a skills donor, encouraging responsible sixth formers to spend time working in the community.

This scheme is likely to be of interest to schools, registered charities, youth clubs, drugs rehabilitation centres, family support organisations, skills for life training centres. This is not an exhaustive list.

RSS and GeoRSS feeds will be broadcast from the site so that subscribed members will receive notification of 'Skills' or 'Needs' as they are added to the site in their registered geographical area of interest.

SkillShare will act as a facilitator for local neighbourhood and communities to work more effectively and harmoniously and could assist with the breaking down of some social divides.

What information or services do you need?

To generate initial interest a dynamic mapping component integrated into the website could be populated with Points-of-Interest (POI) data derived from various government sources. These POI over time would have organisations own information associated with them thus building up a searchable database available to query geographically via the map or via a simple database table lookup.

Users can access the site once registered to enter details of their skills/requirements and also run searches such as 'search in region'. This would allow users to search for organisations or individuals within close proximity; the results of which would be displayed on a map.

Two sub-components of the system are a skills matrix where organisations or individuals offering their time could be classified. The classifications would serve to allow subsequent theming of the data by Census Output Areas (COA) for example based upon the time they have to offer and the skills they have. Additionally, as the system is populated with worthy causes a needs index could be derived so that at a glance users could see where hotspots of 'need' exist on the national map.

The website will comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) by following the W3C accessibility guidelines.

Other information required could include:

- Information about unsuccessful bids for lottery funding and the geographic location of the bids.
- COA boundaries from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
- ONS demographic data to review areas of deprivation.
- Geographic location of schools and FE colleges.
- Local Authority youth clubs
- Scout and Guide Packs (The Scout Association and Girlguiding UK).
- Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), The Wildlife Trust, Environment Agency, British Waterways, Countryside Agency. Data relating to the location of countryside conservation projects in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) at Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or clean up operations along canals and towpaths.
- Keep Britain Tidy Campaign data.

RecycleMap

Submitted by: Dotted Eyes Ltd

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

It's simple - we have to recycle more. In order to recycle more, we need to know what we're recycling already. Picture the now often-seen crime maps of your local area. Now replace the coloured-up 'crime density' overlay with a thematic map based on anything to do with recycling, such as number of tonnes recycled or type. This could be broken down to postcode sector level, for example. A kind of 'crimes against the environment' if you like! Green coloured areas are performing well, Red areas need focussed improvement.
Add to this further (toggled) map layers (geolocations or map symbols) on recycling infrastructure, such as bottle and clothes banks, green waste disposal sites etc and a postcode search facility and you will quickly enable the user to pinpoint their local facilities. Information (such as type of material accepted) on those facilities will be given via an info-tip tool. This would equally serve local authorities or charities in enabling smarter positioning of facilities to serve the public.
Every one likes an incentive (or more accurately, no one likes being penalised!) There should be a target level to reach (to turn the thematic map more green) within each street or sector. Beating (and maintaining) this level for, say 6 months a year, could mean a rebate on Council Tax for those residents. A "Neighbourhood Green Watch" scheme which could also help promote a community feeling.

What information or services do you need?

Postcode sector boundaries and unit points
Administrative boundaries as required
Recycling data from local authorities and charities
Recycling facilities information from local authorities and charities
Backdrop maps (could easily be Google Maps)

TakeMeHome

Submitted by: Dotted Eyes Ltd

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Many new mobile phones are location-aware, which can be used to get a person's position. This can be combined with a variety of traditional route finding, and journey planning, websites, to provide transport options from where you are to where you want to go. This could be useful for anyone who is unsure of their surroundings, for instance tourists, or the drunk, or both.

Users of the application would spark up the application, let it know where you want to go, and it would come back with a variety of ways to get home, for instance public transport, walking, numbers for local taxi companies or even nearby hotels/hostels.

For ease of use, users could bookmark their physical location, which could be used for later route planning. For example, users could bookmark their hotel, or their local supermarket.

What information or services do you need?

Public transport routes and timetables
Street Maps
Yellow Pages

iFool

Submitted by: Dotted Eyes Ltd

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Any available public dataset will be tagged with attributes that describe the dimensions which it pertains to. For example nearly all data will be for a specific time (a traffic accident) or period of time (validity of an alcohol vending license) and will relate to a specific place, or a region (such as county boundary), or perhaps to the whole of the UK. Datasets will also be tagged by the aspects of government that they relate to, for example safety, public order, well-being.

Initially there would be two ways of exploring the data, via a location and via the scorecard.

To explore the data via a location, users would locate a point on a map of the UK. The system would initially find the most up to date data for that location grouped by concern. Users could then filter out any aspects of government they are not interested in and either choose to move back in time to look at older data, and/or choose widen the geographic area that they are interested in thereby displaying different data sets that relate to larger areas.

The scorecard would display the highest level aspects of government and then users could drill down through each aspect of government to find supporting evidence of the area of their concern and compare datasets for similar time periods (for example annual reports) to other time periods of the same size.

The system would benefit local and national politicians, policy makers, policy influences, journalists and active citizens.

What information or services do you need?

Any public aggregated data sets, preferably described in a government-mandated standard metadata format (such as the GEMINI metadata standard).
To tag data with the most specific locations (say individual properties or postcodes) would require access to non-free data, such as the national land and property gazetteer database.

Hospital Waiting Lists

Submitted by: Tim Driver

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Enter your postcode and how far you are prepared to travel - the search engine returns the shortest waits within your chosen range and then links to an online booking system. All patients requiring referral to Acute/Foundation Trusts would benefit and PCTs would be able to use the facility on behalf of patients. More efficient use of NHS capacity.

What information or services do you need?

GIS data of hospital / PCT locations.
Gazetteer of Postcode data.
NHS Waiting list data.

Targeted Partner Prospecting

Submitted by: Paula Holdstock, Dotted Eyes Ltd

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Helps busy single people locate areas on the map where a large concentration of suitably matched potential partners reside. Users would identify an area input a requirement profile which would result in a 'Hotspot Map' with suitable areas for prospecting. Once a 'Hotspot' area has been located the user is then presented with a variety of intelligent information suggestions for places to socialise in the locale i.e. Museums, Art Galleries and Licensed Premises. When a suitable location has been chosen you will be provided with the relevant information for the most efficient and safe route to your destination by whichever means of transport has been selected as a preference. There is also the option to be more particular on the socio-economics of your prospective mate.
In the 21st century work environment when working hours out number the social hours available this solution would be an invaluable asset to the single person looking for a partner and in the long term could help improve GDP so that people can spend less time looking for that special someone. A happy workforce is a more productive workforce!

What information or services do you need?

Census, Neighbourhood Statistics (ONS), Code Point, POI data, Crime & Safety, Community Well Being/Social Environment, Economic Deprivation, Mapping, Transport links to other sites.

The Soscars - Awards for Excellence in Society

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

A random act of kindness from a stranger...

Receiving excellent customer service in a supermarket...

Making someone's life more easier...

Going the extra mile...

Helping a woman across the road or with her shopping...

Handing back a purse / wallet or money left behind...

Giving up your seat on a crowded bus...

Trains running on time...

These are just a few of the many small acts of kindness that are carried out by anonymous people across the country each day. It is these small things that lead to and create a better social environment for people to live in.

Maybe you have received excellent service from your council, hospital, a nurse, doctor, teacher or someone that you didn't know went out of their way to help you.

You wanted to say thank you but didn't have the time or means to do so. Maybe it was unexpected and happened so fast you couldn't express your gratitude in time.

Well now you can.

Why not nominate that person, service or act for a SOSCAR and let others know that there is still good left in this society.

You have awards and ceremonies for TV shows, music, entertainment etc voted for by the public to famous celebrities. Then you have other awards such as bravery, business, educational achievement and sport. These are in the public eye and won by a select few.

I want to be able to award SOSCARS anytime and anyday to anyone anywhere regardless of whether or not it has had a major impact nationally and globally.

The key thing is that it had an effect on the social wellbeing of the people and services involved - so it is personal from one member of the public to another. Not based on votes, popularity ratings, telephone contests or celebrity endorsements.

You can decide what the SOSCAR could be - an actual award, a thank you, a donation to charity, a gift or anything that represents your gratitude to them.

What information or services do you need?

Google Maps of places where most acts of kindness were carried out.

OpenParliament

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Find out what's really happening in Parliament and how this relates and affects you.

Decisions that are made in Parliament affect us in one way or another and to keep up to date with recent developments will help people build better trust in the political system.

You could view selected news that you want to receive - statistics, reports, passed leglislations, upcoming debates, open meetings so that you know what is happening where and can voice your opinions and concerns.

It will be like an online structured version of Speaker's Corner at Hyde Park - where you can choose what specific information you want to receive and take part in.

You can also view and keep up to date with your local MP and what they have been doing for your community. So instead or having to go to multiple websites, all you need to know and do will be available on one site.

You can also choose to view and receive related news, discussions and blog posts about certain bills, motions, debates, meetings that have or will happen.

For example, if I work in education I could choose to view and receive news about recent proposals on education budgets, bills, meetings etc that affect me in and around my local area.

What information or services do you need?

RSS Feeds, news, maps, postal codes

We Need You NOW !

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

In and around your area there must be countless organisations, charities, shops, common causes, people, schools etc that need extra hands to help them.

My idea is to match vounteer opportunities with people who have that spare time to offer in a given day, week or month.

They sign up and list their talent, skills and what they want to volunteer to the community. This could include helping run a charity shop, setting up a community event, teaching, product testing, mentoring etc.

Someone or an organisation that needs that particular skills or help will then text or phone that person to say WE NEED YOU NOW!

So, if you have some spare time on your hands put it to good use and volunteer in the community.

You will also be able to search and pinpoint volunteering opportunities by typing in a postcode or a keyword.

What information or services do you need?

databse, SQL, google maps, postcode checker, voluntary organisations that need help

what is within a walk

Submitted by: Andrew Stuck

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

a destination resource - that offers you destinations within walking distance (and a route for you to follow - one could link to walkit.com for example, and provides you with the ability of selecting your favourite route and adding destinations of your choice

you can either read the information on-line or via your mobile phone (this could link to GPS enabled phones)

help us all to find a healthier route to destinations in our local neighbourhood, or local to key destinations and trip generators

this links with the government's obesity strategy, and efforts to reduce short journeys made by private car, it could be publicised via the National Walking strategy, link to Well @ work with employers providing information to employees and customers, and be offered by education providers too. I was involved in developing a a fore runner and prototype affectionately called Ask Bob, that was an extension of the Young TransNet website, part funded by DfT, DH, Sainsbury's Family Charitable Trusts, and 3 local authorities.

I have been exploring its application with NHS hospitals in London (on behalf of Transport for London's I move London campaign) and have discussed it with Sir Muir Gray, Director of Knowledge at the NHS. Interest has also been expressed by Extended Services in Dorset, the DCSF school travel advisory in the south west, and by the Ramblers Association. It could also link with several of the other ideas posted on your website, and could also complement the Home Office funded PLINGS initiative

What information or services do you need?

Information on the whereabouts of government and local government services and their opening times.

Dorset Extended Services have offered an opportunity to pilot and explore how we can empower young people to help us. Goldsmith's College, with whom I worked on the No Lingering in Lewisham project have also expressed interest. We have started exploring how to make something happen at an NHS hospital in London - University Hospital Lewisham - and to seek how to incorporate it in NHS networks and hospital intranets.

Like everything else, there is a lot of linking up existing sources, mapping what's already being developed, and bringing people together to work in partnership to deliver what really could be a fairly simple and exciting resource that chimes well with government policies in getting us out, and about on foot.

What is my local Council up to. (Today? Right now?)

Submitted by: Michael Blom

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

GPS and internet enabled cameras (Nokia n95, iPhone) are taken onto the job site by council workers. The photos are automatically geo-tagged and uploaded to an online map as soon as they are taken.

The scope of this project could vary depending on who the photos are taken for. Managers back at the office could have a continuous idea of what's happening on site, how things are progressing.
For the general public, an overall idea of where workers are, and what they are doing can be understood.

What information or services do you need?

This can be put together using Shozu software and an OS Open Spaces map linked to an RSS feed coming from Flickr.

Greentogo

Submitted by: Gordon Jennings

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Greentogo is aimed at unifying the timetables of all train, bus, underground and coach routes. The resulting information will enable the creation of personal travel itinerary covering departure times, arrival times and duration in addition to displaying the best route and cost.
The information provided will be net based and configured for mobile communications. The user will have the option to select from a graphic display or plain text. This ensures the delivery of the content to them will be in the most appropriate reading style. The information can be downloaded or cut and pasted into their mobile device for future use.
When built, the system will be decentralised and self populating for swift and accurate updating. The revision control will be the charge of the transport providers and fed into a national database for automatic upgrading in real time. This model will reduce costs and keep accuracy high.
The network needs to be UK wide for it to reach its full potential in terms of usefulness to the commuters and for it to be a catalyst towards more efficient travel and environmental improvement.

What information or services do you need?

Most statistics are fortunately already in the public domain.

Direction Roadsign Database

Submitted by: Bill Chadwick

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Including directions like 'take the left turn marked Swallowfield' would increases confidence and ease of use when driving from route descriptions.

In the future, roadsigns could be part of the 'Internet of things'

What information or services do you need?

Online Roadsign database with web service lookup.

London-wide bus route map

Submitted by: Benjamin Kermah

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

This would help people plan bus journeys across London. It would encourage people to use buses, and help ease traffic congestion. It would also ease pressure on other public transport. Showing connections with train, tube and tram services would help integrate public transport as people would easily see the links and make better use of public transport. As people switch from private to public transport, there should be less pollution and less demand for petrol.

What information or services do you need?

The bus map used to be published by London Transport Users Committee. It is unclear why such a useful facility was withdrawn.

All Our Yesterdays

Submitted by: linda desouza

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Wouldn't it be great if you could discover your family tree without the cost of joining sites and the expense of accessing deaths, marriages and births.
Everything these days can be achieved from the comfort of your home at a click of a mouse.

This would help people who are keen to find out more about their family tree, those who have started a family tree and have come to a halt for whatever reason.

What information or services do you need?

Access to Births, deaths and marriages

Self made Interactive Guides

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

In and around London I used to see posters that said :

7 M1LLION
LONDONERS

Everone has their own unique perspective, viewpoint and experience of living and working in London and the UK. Why not put all that to use and enable people to create their own custom made guide to how THEY see London ?

This could be an educational tool that enables someone to see how others experience London and the UK through their eyes and walk their journey in their shoes.

Someone could create an interactive guide to rare and wonderful days out for free in and around the capital. They could upload routes, photos, maps and videos of what to see, expect, historical information etc. Anything and everything that makes London and parts of the UK unique for them.

I could also view how different classes of people experience life in the UK and how this affects their access to basic services and standards of living. Maybe living in a certain part of London is advantageous compared to elsewhere in the UK - this could be one viewpoint from an uploaded guide.

Maybe someone wants to create a route of places to visit in the UK, or summer breaks in the Lake District or even create a history trail based upon Jack The Ripper. They have the experience, knowledge and data to create it and can enable others to enjoy what they have been a part of.

There would be an interactive map and people can click or type in an area name / postcode and view uploaded guides.
They would then be able to take a 3D walk and view it in splitscreen where one side would show a map and the other would display videos and photos with audio content. As an arrow moves across a road or along a route it changes the content displayed to show what to see, expect, view or do.

They can also create guides about healthcare, best hospitals, finance, green parks, recycling locations, tourism, transport, best routes for cycling etc.

People can use the datasets available and then create content based around their needs or what they want to publish.

I want to see London and the UK from all angles to see and experience how others live and the many facets to discover and explore.

What information or services do you need?

Google Maps overlay, Ordnance Survey Maps, stats, photo tools, routes, popular attractions, postcodes, news articles

Travel to and from school

Submitted by: John Stout

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Given a home postcode and an educational establishment's postcode (or more than one for comparison purposes), together with data on road works, traffic holdups, accidents, from public and private sources (e.g., teachers, students, ...) this would allow any student to see their likely journey time and plan accordingly. It lets staff see correlations between distance travelled, day of week, class taken and punctuality/absence, let students and parents plan travel, indicate alternative methods for travel.

What information or services do you need?

Postcode data, distance between two postcodes (rough metric), route and mode of travel planning, maps of routes, details of road works planned or currently taking place.

Back to work by working together

Submitted by: Craig Cockburn

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

People want to work. No-one wants to be in poverty, yet in a credit crunch even highly skilled people (myself included) are finding it extremely difficult to find work and of course there is no sense of precedence of having two candidates with nothing to choose between them, so you take the candidate who has been out of work the longest.

The financial pain and emotional suffering from long term unemployment splits families, causes crime and hurts children. My plan goes some way to address these issues by addressing them at source.

It ties up with the DWP and the local Enterprise networks and statistics on unemployment and government info on enterprise zones, regional aid and so on.

When someone goes to the local jobcentre or claims income support or jobseekers allowance, they should be given the option of also registering to say if they are interested in setting up in business, what kind of self employed work they want to do and what they can offer.

Jobseekers can then search a database of other people looking for similar work so that teams of related complimentary skills can be found. e.g. a technical person could locate a marketing person to help them develop an idea. A business manager could find someone to help them with the accounts. Businesses are stronger and more effective when the workload can be shared and there are complimentary skills working together. A part time mum looking for some income might be able to contribute valuable skills to a start-up specialising in children's goods for instance.

In this way, core teams to start the business can be formed and it will be easier to get the business off the ground with the team on board, possibly with the help of government funding and support from private individuals/investors etc who always invest in a team, not just an idea!

The effect of this is that rather than waiting in a long queue for a permanent job, people can set themselves up and do what they really want to do, easier and faster and help their local community in the process by providing employment and economic support through a successful startup.

What information or services do you need?

A searchable map of the UK showing what help was available in any area/postcode for people wanting to set up in business, with a particular focus towards help for unemployed and/or people claiming income support (not just those seeking jobseeker's allowance). This could then plug into the additional information supplied by prospective jobseekers showing where the "help" resources are.

The government would also be able to use this information to target funding more accurately towards people's needs and where appropriate involve industry/venture financiers in to provide matching funding and support (or possibly even all the funding if it's a knock out idea, the next Google etc)

NAME AND SHAME

Submitted by: Rachel Stelmach

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

If you see someone parking in disabled parking spaces without displaying blue badges, you can note the numberplate of the car and/or take a picture and the location and upload info to the site. The site will overlay this data onto maps a create league tables of worst locations in terms of offenders and location, then relay information to people who can do something about it, eg. supermarkets and businesses as well as parking wardens etc. Prizes could be given to people who post the most offenders. Multiple offenders could be sent a warning letter.
The idea would be to create a culture whereby using disabled parking spaces illegally would be regarded as shameful and embarrassing and something that everyone should be involved in pointing out, not just disabled people.

What information or services do you need?

Maps of car parks and where disabled parking allowed. Data from DVLA.

Best of the Best Top Ten

Submitted by: Linda Desouza

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Website based A to Z Collated information on how the public rates anything from Architects, Attourneys, Accountants to Banks, Butchers, Bakers, to Chemists, Communication providers to Zoologists.

This will provide the general public with the best of the best

Learning doesn't stop ( LearningBook.com )

Submitted by: Andrew Kelly

Website:

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

A passion of mine has been learning as a mature student returning to University, gaining experience from many University lecturers on a different level from many of today's students. As an adult keen on networking with many valuable sources of life experiences and knowledge just through conversations in an informal manner I am fascinated with sharing that information with others.

Just how does relate to this project?
I have seen good examples of individual projects doing just this but I am looking at the larger picture of using census data, relating to geographical locations, relating to particular subjects and existing educational establishments within communities and allowing people to access a simple web-based framework that allows a common interface to school; college; university; community; local club; and even individual sources of knowledge.

Is such an all encompassing framework possible?
Given the amount of existing information available in databases and some very good networking interfaces I hope that a learningbook.com / facebook.com cross could not only be launched but would flourish if given the opportunity.

Who does it help?
Everyone outside a formal teaching establishment who wants to learn.

What information or services do you need?

Maps for geographic local of groups, clubs and educational establishments.
Census data relating to existing educational levels and population densities.
Existing trades and businesses in a given local to a guide possible local knowledge.
Exsisting educational opportunities relating to population densities, establishments and local communities.

On time, every time

Submitted by: Tom Tuke-Hastings

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

You put in the points of your commute: bus stop, tube station and train. The site (which works on mobiles and blackberrys etc). Tells you when the next three buses/ tubes depart from that location. Many bus stops and tubes tell you how long the next service will arrive in, but by the time you have arrived, it is often too late, especially on infrequent services. This site allows you to know when to leave to catch the next service so you don't have to rush or can make the last minute dash to get one that is about to leave.

What information or services do you need?

Maps and routes of tubes, buses, information on when next services are due.

Name & Shame

Submitted by: Linda Desouza

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

The public can be protected against rogue traders and bogus callers by submitting information on a website about their experiences.

What information or services do you need?

Trading Standards A to Z of companies that are breaking the law

Waste NOT : Want NOT

Submitted by: Mahmood Choudhury

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

Across the UK there are many areas, services, communities and resources that are being underutilised and wasted each day. These could include empty houses, hospital beds, money, property, land etc.

My idea would enable people to put elements onto a map to highlight areas of the UK that are being wasted or not properly put to use. This will enable us to show areas of the UK that are developed, undeveloped, underdeveloped, underutilised, vacant or wasted.

I see many resources that go unused around my area for many periods at a time - empty boarded up houses, scrub grass covered land, household goods being dumped on the street, toilets in bad condition, lights being left on standby, water leaks, cars being left on the road etc. In addition to this visible sight, you also have the personal items that people have that go to use - computers, books, rooms, clothes, time etc.

This could also extend to the workplace in terms of wasted work hours, rubbish or items that are not needed anymore that some other place may need.

The current trend now is in reducing CO2 carbon footprint emission which has had massive publicity and global awareness.

My idea would enable people to take note and take heed of the many aspects of daily life that are being wasted - time, manpower, resources, utilities, housing, expenditure etc in society, the public vicinity and our own lives.

We have all the resources we need to build a good society and provide for those that will come after us in generations to come. The thing is that at the rate we are going in using, consuming and wasting resources it will be harder for our future society to manage.

If we can know aspects of what is being wasted - how, where, why and when then we can act and turn that loss into a positive advantage.

So to put all this into context - you know or have seen a resource that is being underused, underdeveloped or wasted (an item, vacant housing, land, government service etc) and want to let others know.

You upload an image, video or description of it and then  pinpoint its location on a map. Then others can type in a postcode or click on a region of the UK and then it will display all elements that are being wasted and not properly made use of. 

With this information you will then have options of what do or what can be done to make use of that resource. This could be things like informing the local authority, offer it to someone, let someone know, exchange it, work on it etc.

Here we are using collaboration to turn this undeveloped resource into something more better and productive. With this goal in mind we can save energy, water, public services and personal resources so that it does not go to waste.

Someone's loss is another one's gain.

Thank you and I bid you farewell.

What information or services do you need?

Stats on energy useage, council services, expenditure, postcodes, facts on last decades wasteage.

National Personal Index of Locations

Submitted by: Jonathan Mayer

Describe your idea. How does it work and who does it help?

This idea is about creating New Information.

I am interested in creating a National Index of Locations that are based upon subjective experiences.

The older you get, the more location experience you have and the greater your ability to create a Personal Preference Index.

My Idea is to create a website that can harvest this information and a create a National Index Dataset that can be displayed alongside official information

Obviously, the more people who enter their information, the greater utility the index has.

How does it work:

1) People have to first enter the places that they want to rate
by selecting a postcode/ clicking a point on a map
2) System provides a compare function that finely tunes people's preferences eg Did you prefer Location A to Location B, etc.
3) System links Personal Index with existing Database based on closest geographies and recreates National Index

What information or services do you need?

Open Space API
Postcode File