OpenActive in the outdoors

Work with us to open up or use data about outdoor opportunities.

To date on OpenActive we’ve focused primarily on working with UK leisure operators to open up their timetables and venue slots, and to start making them bookable.

Yet we recognise that this opportunity data is not suited to every type of consumer or data user. Some consumers will gravitate more towards an opportunity taking place outside. Some data users, such as Ordnance Survey, only want to signpost people to outdoor opportunities (such as organised bike rides, walking routes or climbing sessions).

We know that outdoor opportunities are not yet well represented across OpenActive data. To give organisations an incentive to open up data about outdoors opportunities, we are working with the Ordnance Survey to develop their outdoors activity finder, in the run up to national GetOutside day on 29th September.

Part of this work involves making it easier to publish data about routes in a standardised way. Some information about routes is not currently covered by the existing OpenActive standards, and this is something we want to address. This is the kind of information that a consumer might want to see when deciding whether a route is right for them or not — things like length, incline, surface, amenities, obstacles. This can cover a range of activities like cycling, walking, running and horse riding. We will therefore be creating a routes standard with community input, for activity providers to publish their routes data against.

Importantly though, Ordnance Survey are interested in more than just routes. There are a range of other outdoors activities that we would like to see opened up. These could be things like group exercise classes in a local park, instructor-led climbing sessions or outdoor swimming.

“Across the country, there are almost 20 million people who want to get outside, but for whatever reason don’t, and this is a huge opportunity for us all.

As an initiative, GetOutside is there for everyone, and now’s a great time for you to get involved, reach new customers and show them how good it feels to be outside.

We’d love your help to rally the nation by simply asking the question: ‘Will you go out with me?’ Just imagine what a difference we could make if we all invited one extra person out for the day, who wouldn’t normally choose to go outside.

And because the outdoors means different things to different people, it doesn’t matter about age, location, ability, or gender. It’s just about getting people moving and having fun, and we hope you will join us again.”

Liz Beverley, Consumer Marketing Manager, Ordnance Survey

What we want to achieve

Through this project we want to:

• Increase the use of outdoors data, to create an incentive for outdoor activity providers to open up their opportunity data. We’ll be supporting Ordnance Survey here, but we’re interested in supporting other outdoor-focused data users.
• Increase the volume and variety of outdoors data. We want to encourage and support outdoor activity providers to open up their data. A key part of this includes creating a common way to publish data about routes with advice from experts within the sector.
• Write up everything we learn during this project so that the community can see the value in this approach and build on our work.

Where are we now?

We’ve begun speaking to a handful of organisations that have expressed an interest in publishing or using outdoors data, and/or helping us shape the routes specification. As well as Ordnance Survey, some big names already on board include British Cycling, National Trust and the Forestry Commission.

Many of these organisations gave up their time to join a workshop at the ODI to scope out what they need from a routes metadata specification.

The next step is to work with these organisations in opening up their data over the summer.

Get involved

Do you provide outdoor activities or routes and want to benefit from having your opportunities listed with Ordnance Survey and other activity finders? Or are you interested in using data to signpost people to outdoor opportunities? If so, then please get in touch with us (hello@openactive.io) to see how you can benefit from being a part of this piece of work.