RMSI & Landmark Information Group, jointly develop UKs first ever integrated database of 10,000 sports facilities

Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, in the United Kingdom, launched Active Places (www.activeplaces.com), a new online interactive database of sports facilities in England. The web portal was initiated by Sport England, the organisation responsible for delivering the Governments sporting objectives for England, and was jointly funded by Sport England and the Big Lottery Fund. The site was developed and implemented by RMSI, a global IT services company, in partnership with Landmark Information Group, The Leisure Database Company and PMP. In addition, RMSI & Landmark have been chosen to host and manage the delivery of the portal for the next three years.

NEWARK, CA (PRWEB) July 29, 2004 -- Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, in the United Kingdom, launched Active Places (www.activeplaces.com), a new online interactive database of sports facilities in England. The web portal was initiated by Sport England, the organisation responsible for delivering the Governments sporting objectives for England, and was jointly funded by Sport England and the Big Lottery Fund. The site was developed and implemented by RMSI, a global IT services company, in partnership with Landmark Information Group, The Leisure Database Company and PMP. In addition, RMSI & Landmark have been chosen to host and manage the delivery of the portal for the next three years.

The project involved creating an aggregated database of sports facility information, derived from multiple data sources using advanced data matching, cleansing and geocoding processes, as well as providing a map-based web portal for the dissemination of this information to members of the public, Government agencies and Local Authorities and professional users.

Active Places aims to be the authoritative source of information regarding sports facilities in England. It will provide information, in both map and text format, on sports sites and facilities across the country, covering a wide range of activities, including tennis, football, golf, health and fitness, badminton and swimming. Over the next year, other types of sports facilities will be added, including those on school premises. including those on school premises. The database will also allow Sport England and local authorities to audit their existing facilities, analyse supply and demand, identify gaps in supply and plan for future development.

The project was divided into the following key stages:

1. Software and system development
2. Data model development and data definitions
3. Data matching and synchronization
4. Data cleansing of unmatched data
5. Hosting and managed service delivery of the portal and associated databases

RMSI and Landmark have extensive experience both in compiling, matching and managing copious amounts of geographic data and in providing access to that information through leading edge web-based solutions. This experience underpins their hugely successful business operations and has been successfully replicated for a number of external clients. This track record made the consortium the partner of choice for Sport England and has led to the delivery of a timely, cost effective and innovative solution.

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