Bristol start-ups will continue to get access to national location data and expertise following city enterprise hub Engine Shed’s renewal of its partnership with Ordnance Survey’s innovation arm Geovation.
Under the agreement, which started early last year, specialist data support from Ordnance Survey (OS) and HM Land Registry (HMLR) is available for start-ups that use location or property data in their offering. 
The partnership provides Engine Shed’s network partners with a range of benefits to join its community for free, including expert business advice and mentorship, weekly tech surgery drop-in sessions by Geovation’s software developer team and free desk space at its London hub as well as including access to OS and HMLR data.
Geovation’s Accelerator Programme has so far supported 117 early-stage start-ups, helping them launch innovative digital products and services to their respective markets. This in turn has allowed them raise more than £77m in third-party funding and create 484 jobs.
Among the Bristol companies to have benefited is DronePrep, a platform that supports drone flights and recently assisted in the UK’s first medical drone deliveries.
Its CEO Gareth Whatmore said: “In the early stages of our product build and validation we found receptive clients and partners in the form of Bristol City Council, Bristol Film Office and the University of West England.
“All of these connections and subsequent growth was made possible by the fabulously supportive teams at Engine Shed and Geovation.” 
Bristol-based Atmo, which provides air quality monitoring for heavy industry, has also been supported through the partnership.
Founder Guy Barkley said: “We met Geovation at Engine Shed and applied to their funded Accelerator Programme.
“We found the support on geo-location data super useful and appreciated the financial backing, especially given there is no requirement for equity.”
Head of Engine Shed Marty Reid said: “Since our partnership with Geovation began we have introduced a number of Bristol start-ups to Geovation and provided space for geospatial workshop sessions and meetups.
“This partnership renewal will continue to help ambitious early stage companies access valuable data and expertise to develop their offer and make an impact.”
Geovation partnership & outreach manager Luke Hampson added: “Location data is often likely to be implicit or explicit ingredients to scalable solutions.
“We have a successful track record in helping our start-ups design and launch ventures whose purpose is to generate positive impact, and we’re delighted to continue our partnership with Engine Shed, as we know they hold a similar vision and ethos to ours.”
Engine Shed’s network partners include Bristol Robotics Lab, Bristol & Bath Science Park, Bristol VR Lab, Emmaus incubator, Future Space, Pervasive Media Studio, Quantum Technology Innovation Centre, SETsquared Bath, SETsquared Bristol, Spike Design, The Hive and Unit DX.
