When I received news that my idea had reached the TSO OpenUp final, and after the initial ‘high-fives’ and punching the air, I got down to business and created a presentation for My Neighbourhood, which was to be presented to a panel of six experts at the Millbank Tower in London.
How My Neighbourhood came to fruition was simple really. Fed up of having to browse numerous websites to find simplistic information about transport schedules or GP contact details within my area, I began to jot down an idea of how using a mobile site could be the solution to a problem commonly shared by the general public. Using practically any relevant data available via www.data.gov.uk I envisaged that the site would use GPS to enable anyone within that area to access a range of information on a map interface which could also be used for navigation purposes. I named this idea My Neighbourhood.
Initially I submitted the idea based on services within an area. Information on services can be portrayed on a map interface with a marker placed in that service location. To keep this simple and easy to navigate on the map, this information can be subcategorised so that the person can refine their search to cater to their needs. So, if I required information on NHS dentists in my area, I could select the relevant subcategory, which in turn would display a set of markers associated with that particular service. The markers displayed on the map would hold basic information about that dentist and its web link. This method could then be applied to a wide range of data already available, which I’m sure would benefit any area in the country and which I elaborated on in my presentation to the panel.
The day of the presentation was truly a once in a lifetime experience and it was a great pleasure to meet the other finalists, the panel and of course the people at TSO, who I cannot thank enough. I took a lot away from the event, the words of encouragement and feedback received have been invaluable in refining my idea, and thanks to those invaluable words of wisdom, I strongly believe that My Neighbourhood will be a great addition to any area in the UK. As Robin Brattel said, “there clearly is a need” for a site like My Neighbourhood.
