Gareth Sumner is Head of Geovation – Ordnance Survey’s open innovation lab, supporting startups to experiment and deliver impact through geospatial data. He brings 20 years experience across innovation, urban design and transport, with early-stage startups, Nesta and Transport for London. For the past seven years, he has focused on unlocking the value created when large organisations partner effectively with early-stage startups. He built TfL’s Open Innovation and Design Thinking functions and has the scars of trying to make innovation happen from inside startups and inside the public sector. He is driven by the desire to make things better – whether its cities, products or simply life.
Geovation is Ordnance Survey (OS)’s innovation programme, pioneered more than 15 years ago to foster a geospatial ecosystem for startups to solve real world challenges. The programme’s head, Gareth Sumner, considers the importance of trusted