Ordnance Survey and Esri launch housing innovation challenge

Ordnance Survey and Esri UK have launched the Social Housing Innovation Challenge, inviting housing associations and local authorities to develop practical applications for geospatial technology. The competition will provide selected organisations with mapping data, software and specialist support to create pilot projects addressing housing management, repairs, environmental resilience and development planning.

Applications opened on 27 October and close on 30 November 2026. Eligible UK social housing providers and local authorities can submit a short description of a problem they want to address and how geographic information could help, without preparing a complete technical solution before entering.

The competition offers support for up to three winning organisations, depending on the quality and number of submissions. Successful applicants will receive access to relevant Esri software, Ordnance Survey National Geographic Database information and consultancy to develop their proposed ideas into working pilots.

The initiative combines Esri’s ArcGIS geographic information system with authoritative mapping data describing Britain’s physical environment. These technologies allow information associated with particular locations to be organised, analysed and presented spatially, making it possible to examine relationships between buildings, infrastructure and surrounding conditions.

Social housing providers manage properties with different construction types, ages, conditions and maintenance requirements. Relevant information is often held in separate systems covering asset registers, inspections, repairs, energy performance, planned investment and resident services.

Connecting records through a geographic information system allows them to be examined in relation to the same property or neighbourhood. An organisation can map the distribution of maintenance requirements or compare asset characteristics across different areas, provided the underlying records can be associated with reliable locations.

The quality of those connections depends on consistent property identifiers, accurate geographic references and suitable arrangements for maintaining the information. Records that use different addresses or refer to different parts of a building may require preparation before they can be combined effectively.

Once records are aligned, spatial analysis can support the planning of surveys and maintenance activities. For example, mapped information can help identify concentrations of properties with similar repair requirements, allowing housing teams to consider how inspections or construction work might be organised across a wider estate.

Such analysis must be considered alongside the condition and operating circumstances of individual buildings. A geographic pattern can identify where further investigation is appropriate, while detailed surveys establish the actual repairs required and the technical arrangements for completing them.

Retrofit planning presents another potential application. Housing associations increasingly need to assess the performance of their existing properties and determine where insulation, heating or other building improvements should be prioritised.

Property condition and energy performance records can be mapped alongside information about building types, local infrastructure and environmental conditions. This can help organisations examine groups of properties with comparable characteristics and coordinate the technical investigations needed before committing to individual improvement schemes.

Retrofit measures remain dependent on building-specific assessments. The suitability of insulation, heating equipment and other upgrades is influenced by the existing construction, ventilation arrangements, thermal performance and condition of the property, with those factors determining the specification of any eventual work.

Geospatial information can also support the assessment of environmental risks. The organisers have identified helping vulnerable households prepare for heatwaves as one possible application, using location intelligence to contribute to a better understanding of housing and community conditions.

Housing teams may need to consider how the surrounding urban environment relates to conditions experienced by residents. Mapping can provide a framework for connecting relevant environmental and building information, while decisions about individual households require suitable evidence and appropriate handling of personal data.

The development of predictive approaches to repairs is another area open to entrants. Historical maintenance records can be examined alongside building characteristics and geographic information to investigate whether patterns exist that could support earlier intervention.

The reliability of any resulting model depends on the information available and the method used to analyse it. Pilot projects provide an opportunity to test proposed approaches against operational requirements before an organisation decides whether to extend their use across its housing stock.

The challenge also covers the identification of opportunities for new housing. Geographic information can help development teams examine land availability, existing buildings, transport connections and surrounding infrastructure during the initial assessment of potential sites.

Those investigations can inform feasibility work before a project progresses into planning and design. Suitable land still requires the appropriate technical assessments, infrastructure arrangements, commercial evaluation and statutory approvals before housing construction can begin.

Applicants can therefore propose projects dealing with existing homes or future development opportunities. The organisers are seeking ideas that have a practical application within housing services and could generate learning relevant to other organisations in the sector.

Winning projects will receive access to Esri technology appropriate to their proposed solution. The competition terms anticipate up to ten days of Esri consultancy, with the relevant software made available through evaluation arrangements or other suitable licences where necessary.

Ordnance Survey will provide up to five days of consultancy to each winning organisation, together with National Geographic Database access under a Data Exploration Licence. The data access period is up to six months, reduced to three months where relevant third-party information is involved.

The support is intended to help applicants configure existing technology for their projects rather than commission an entirely new software product. Participating organisations will need to provide suitable staff involvement, access to the information required for the pilot and organisational support for the work.

Entries will be assessed according to their technical feasibility using Esri technology, the benefits they could deliver across social housing and their alignment with relevant housing outcomes. Winners are expected to be identified in early 2027, after the competition closes at the end of November.

Isabel Clouting, housing lead at Esri UK, identified asset performance, investment decisions and resident services among the areas where location intelligence could help housing providers. Isabelle Chatel de Brancion, market development lead for land and property at Ordnance Survey, connected the programme with the maintenance of housing stock, regulatory responsibilities and decarbonisation planning.

The organisations have worked together for more than 25 years, with over 2,000 joint UK customers using their mapping and geographic information technologies. The new competition will apply those capabilities to proposals submitted by housing providers, with the selected pilots intended to demonstrate how location-based analysis can improve specific operational decisions.