Open European Location Services
European open geospatial data services from official national sources
OpenELS is a core component of EuroGeographics’ wider vision for operational European Location Services.
It complements the national activities of members and will respect national policy, legislative and business requirements.
It aims to provide user-focused services using open geospatial data which is already available from members.
LATEST NEWS
#OpenELS blog
5 February 2019
New report: Open geospatial data from official sources is opportunity to boost SME productivity & competitive advantage
Centralising access to official national geospatial and land information from Europe would enable SMEs to be more competitive by cutting costs and boosting their ability to scale up and enter new markets, says a new report.
5 December 2018
Guidance on cross-border harmonisation
The Open ELS Project has issued guidance on implementing cross-border harmonisation for data providers so that they can edge-match topographical features along borders.
16 October 2018
Open ELS at EFGS 2018
As part of the session on international cooperation at the 11th European Forum for Geography and Statistics (EFGS), Dominik Kopczewski from EuroGeographics shared recent research on the current position of open services in Europe.
19 July 2018
Product update
The definition, specification and development of data products and web services with a strong user focus is a key task for the Open ELS Project. the latest update is now available.
9 July 2018
Data policy to boost use of official geospatial information
Harmonised geospatial data from official national sources will be free to access and available under an open licence through the Open European Location Services (Open ELS) Project.
20 June 2018
Information for data suppliers
If you are providing content for European Location Services or Open ELS, a list of important information is available by logging onto the EuroGeographics website.
10 April 2018
Open ELS Open Data Policy and Licensing Workshop
Representatives from 21 NMCAs, NSAs and the research community met recently to learn about the open data policy and licensing framework for the Open ELS Project.
20 March 2018
Open ELS all partners meeting
The Open ELS Project partners met to discuss progress on developing European open geospatial data services from official national sources.
23 February 2018
Ukraine NSDI Conference
Delegates at Ukraine NSDI conference have heard about progress in the Open ELS Project.
18 January 2018
Open ELS Products & Services Workshop
Members of the Open ELS Project met to define products and services following feedback from a user workshop and survey on data availability.
19 December 2017
Frequently Asked Questions Published
Do you have a question about the Open ELS Project? Then please visit our new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.
15 December 2017
Open ELS Project update – December 2017
Find out what the Open ELS Project has achieved in the past two months and more about the next steps in our latest update.
5 December 2017
Research reveals scope of open geospatial data from official national sources across Europe
Open data is available from the majority of European National Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authorities (NMCAs), a new survey has found.
16 November 2017
Launch of Open ELS Help Desk marks first Project milestone
The launch of the Open ELS Help Desk marks the delivery of the Open European Location Services (ELS) Project’s first milestone. This provides an important tool for data providers, potential users and others with an interest in European open data geospatial service to contact the Open ELS Project team.
20 October 2017
Technical infrastructure update
Activities are currently focussed on: Planning the activities to strengthen the technical infrastructure and the availability of services; the activities will be carried out in 2018. Further platform activities, dependent upon upcoming usage and content/ services. Consolidation of software components and, if needed, introduction of new components based on identified requirements. Kartverket Norway is leading […]
17 October 2017
Data supply support update
Work has focussed on the following activities: A “European Location Services Data Supply” Basecamp group has been set up to communicate progress to data providers, handle issues in national services and share presentations and records. Regular webinars are being organised for subscribers. Further development of procedures for quality checking, testing and application of validation tools, […]
10 October 2017
Product development update
Activities, including user orientation and marketing, are currently focussed on: Running a number of user workshops to assist in the prioritisation of development and ensure a customer centric approach. Making available evaluation services to seek further input and feedback from key users. The development of Open ELS demonstration use cases, to provide decision makers with […]
4 October 2017
EuroGeographics members give green light to new strategy
The Open ELS project is a core component of EuroGeographics wider vision for European Location Services. Building an operational European Location Services is integral to EuroGeographics’ future plans and is a key part of the Association’s strategy for 2017–2020. Following its approval by members at the 2017 General Assembly, the process of defining the operational […]
12 June 2017
Plan to deliver authoritative pan-European open data services unveiled today in Brussels
Members of EuroGeographics have today (12 June 2017) unveiled plans for pan-European open data services underpinned by geospatial information from official sources.
EVENTS
See what’s been on and what’s to come

10th Annual European Forum for Geography & Statistics
EuroGeographics Secretary General & Executive Director, Mick Cory will speak on the importance of collaboration.

Land Use/Land Cover Products: Challenges and Opportunities
A joint workshop organised by EuroGeographics INSPIRE KEN, European Environment Agency, EuroSDR and the INSPIRE Thematic cluster LU-LC.

State Boundaries of Europe Knowledge Exchange Network Plenary
EuroGeographics Services Development Consultant, Saulius Urbanas will provide an update on Open ELS activities and guidance on implementing cross-border harmonisation. Please note this event is for EuroGeographics members only.

DGI Europe
EuroGeographics Secretary General & Executive Director, Mick Cory will participate in a panel discussion during this annual conference on geospatial intelligence for national security.

2nd International Workshop on Spatial Data Quality
A two-day workshop organised by EuroGeographics Quality KEN, EuroSDR, Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), and International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 211Geographic Information.

Open ELS Partners Meeting
Open ELS partners are meeting to discuss the strategic direction and value chain of the Project and to align activities. Activity Leaders will present the key achievements from the first year and update on plans for 2018.

Update on ELS Data Supply activities
Webinar to update EuroGeographics members on in ELS Data Supply related activities. The agenda will include: Status of ELS web-services Data Provider Agreement (DPA) Contributions to Core Reference Dataset (CRD) Future ELS technical architecture Opportunities for strengthening capacities in NMCAs Please register via the ELS Data Supply basecamp or contact Saulius Urbanas.

INSPIRE 2018 – Make It Work Together
Friday 21 September National approaches, strategies and international cooperation, Room C 12:00 Abigail Page, Technical Product Development Manager, presents on Putting the User at the Centre – Experiences in the development of European Location Services. The Open ELS Project is a core component of a wider vision for operational European Location Services. These will provide European geospatial […]

11th European Forum for Geography and Statistics Conference
The European Forum for Geography and Statistics Conference will be held in Helsinki, Finland, on October 16-18, 2018. The conference is hosted by Statistics Finland and the National Land Survey of Finland supported by the Statistical Office of European Union (Eurostat) and the European Forum for Geography and Statistics. More information about the EFGS 2018 […]

Open ELS Activity 3 Project Partners Meeting
The 2nd physical meeting of Open ELS Activity 3 project partners will take place at the National Geographic Institute of Spain on 30 and 31 October. More information (for members)