The Locus Association - About Us

The Locus Association was established in order to encourage the public sector to maintain a trading environment that is fair and equitable, in particular in relation to the licensing and re-use of public sector information (PSI).  Our members are private sector companies who are committed to working with PSI holders towards the maintenance and development of a vibrant, information-driven UK economy that ultimately works to the benefit of the public sector, private sector and the end consumer. 

The Locus Association - Manifesto

 
Locus would welcome a clarification of the role of Public Sector Information Holders (PSIHs) which it believes can be subject to  undesirable conflicts of interest.   Some PSIHs have a statutory obligation to collect information as part of their “Public Task” but are also encouraged to innovate and exploit new opportunities to sell data at a retail level, sometimes in competition with their own private sector distributors.  PSIH terms for licensing data can cause operational difficulties for the public as well as the private sector. 

• Locus members believe that, in many cases, PSIHs’ core competencies lie elsewhere than being commercial organisations and that PSIHs should concentrate on using their considerable skills in collecting and managing base data, whilst ensuring that others can use this data on a non-exclusive basis to develop ideas and widen PSI use for the benefit of UK Plc. 
• Locus further believes that PSIH licensing terms should cover periods long enough to allow industry investment in dependent products and should only be changed after the bodies give a sufficient notice period and that the scope of a PSIH’s publicly funded data and services should be clearly defined, and should not be subject to change except after public consultation with those companies affected by the change and a warning period of five years. This would enable the private sector to be fully aware of their scope for developing products and services which lie outside the remit of the PSIH.
• Locus would like to see the Government issue much more detailed policy and guidance on PSI Trading activities to encourage the development of a fair and competitive market-place.  This policy and guidance should:encourage the widespread availability of unrefined PSI at the lowest possible cost;
  • ensure that PSI is properly and transparently accounted for by PSIHs so that there is a clear separation between costs related to Public Task activities and Value-Added services
  • ensure that each activity/product is separately accounted for so that its costs and revenues can be accurately, openly and transparently measured
  • ensure product “bundling” is avoided
  • ensure that where PSIHs wish to compete with their own distributors, they set equivalent terms and prices for unrefined information for their own downstream arms as for their competitors
  • ensure that no cross-subsidisation takes place between products.
• Locus welcomes the establishment of asset lists. However, the association believes that more information regarding ownership and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) is necessary. Often, IPRs are held by more than one PSIH for one data set. This increases the difficulty the private sector experiences accessing data and cause confusion amongst PSIHs themselves.  Association members are keen for Locus to uncover the metasources of data on information as it is not always clear who has rights over PSI. 
• Locus believes, that the government should carry out a full and impartial review of the commercial aspects of Public Sector Information trading, the role of Trading Funds and examine its benefits and disadvantages for the public sector, the private sector and the end consumer.
• Finally, Locus has concerns that the current powers and resources of the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI), the key regulator for PSI trading activities, are inadequate for the task that it faces and need to be urgently increased so that it can fulfil its role.

The Locus Association - President

The Locus Association - Sectors

• Mapping Industry
• Nautical Charts Industry
• Weather Industry
• Environmental Consulting
• Legal Information
• Aerial Imaging Industry