Microgrant Proposal: Use OSM – Promoting OSM Data Usage Through an Open, Accessible Web Platform #37
Description
Microgrant Proposal
Group Details
- Group: Unpatterned AI inc in collaboration with YouthMappers FUTA.
- Core Team: Ademoyero Victor, Dennis Irorere, Emmanuel Jolaiya, and Olanrewaju Michael.
- Location: Remote, Global (Europe, UK & Africa).
- Contact Details: Email - [email protected] or OSM - https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/Jolaiya%20Emmanuel.
Project Title: Use OSM
Promoting OSM Data Usage Through an Open, Accessible Web Platform
Project Overview
Since first contributing to OpenStreetMap (OSM) in 2015, we’ve been consistent advocates, organizing mapathons, training new users, and promoting OSM across various professional and community settings. Yet a persistent challenge remains: many people contribute to OSM, but far fewer know how to use it.
During a national electrification planning project (GIZ-funded NESP II in Nigeria) (wiki link), we mapped thousands of businesses and facilities, data that could support real planning decisions. But the hardest part wasn’t collecting data, it was convincing stakeholders to adopt and use OSM at all. This pattern keeps repeating.
That’s where UseOSM comes in.
We’re building a simple, community-driven platform that makes it easier to discover, learn from, and apply OSM data, whether you’re an NGO worker, student, local planner, or curious developer. UseOSM will bring together tools, use cases, stories, and guides, all in one place, in plain language.
Because OSM is powerful. But power is only useful if people know how to access it.
Major Features:
- Clear, simple content and a video on the landing page explaining what OSM is, how it works, and why it matters.
- Curated Tools & Libraries: A directory of essential tools to help users contribute to and engage with OSM data.
- Real-World Use Cases: Stories and examples showing how organisations and projects worldwide leverage OSM.
- Community-Driven Content: Editable via GitHub to encourage updates, new contributions, and localisations from the global OSM community.
- Modern, Lightweight Website: Built with Astro for fast, SEO-friendly, and low-maintenance deployment, deployed using GitHub pages and actions.
About Us
A group photograph after a successful mapathon event.
We are long-time contributors to OpenStreetMap with a combined approximately 5 million changesets and years of consistent leadership in the global OSM community.
- Dennis is a YouthMappers Data Scholar, Research Fellow (2018), and Regional Ambassador.
- Victor served as a YouthMappers Regional Ambassador (2023) and Leadership Fellow (2021).
- Emmanuel is a YouthMappers Research Fellow (2020), and currently serves as Communications and Technical Lead for State of the Map Africa Conference (2023 to present ).
- Michael is a HOT Data Quality Intern (2020).
Our impact includes:
- Organising dozens of mapathons across universities and institutions.
- Training hundreds of new contributors in Africa and beyond.
- Leading national-level OSM data contributions, such as the GIZ NESP II import in Nigeria.
- Advocating for OSM adoption in policy, humanitarian, and open data environments.
We’ve seen the importance of not just contributing data, but ensuring that OSM is understood and adopted by the wider world. That insight is what drives UseOSM.
We’ve contributed. We’ve used it. Now we want to make it easier for others to do the same.
Beyond mapping, our team brings a combined 15 years of technical expertise across software engineering, geospatial systems, and data infrastructure, skills critical to building and maintaining an impactful digital product like UseOSM.
For instance, Emmanuel contributes actively to HOT's fAIr, the community-driven, open source, AI Assisted mapping platform.
With this blend of community knowledge and technical skill, we are well-positioned to deliver UseOSM and maintain it sustainably.
Finally, we have never received an OSMF microgrant before.
Objectives and Impact
The core problem UseOSM addresses is visibility. While OpenStreetMap has grown tremendously in data and tools, many people, especially outside the geospatial field, still don’t know how to use it, where to start, or what it can do. This includes students, NGOs, planners, local governments, and even some contributors. There's often a gap between mapping and using the data.
UseOSM is designed to close that gap. By curating tools, use cases, community stories, and learning resources in one accessible platform, we want to help more people discover the practical value of OSM. The site will make it easier to learn, explore, and apply OSM in real-world work and decision-making.
This project aligns with OSM’s mission by lowering barriers to access, encouraging broader adoption of open data, and promoting a more inclusive and global OSM ecosystem. Rather than building another tool for mappers, we’re building a tool for users. That includes people who may never map but could benefit from open geospatial data in their work or communities.
We believe this is innovative because it shifts the focus from contribution to application, from "how to edit" to "why it matters." And we believe it's valuable because visibility leads to usage, and usage leads to sustainability.
In the long term, this project will help:
- Increase OSM adoption in new sectors and regions.
- Showcase the social and economic value of open map data.
- Encourage more contributors to see the impact of their work.
- Provide a sustainable, community-driven entry point to OSM.
UseOSM isn’t trying to replace existing tools. It’s trying to make them easier to find, easier to understand, and more widely used.
Grant Amount Requested (In EUR)
Total Requested: €4,862.
| Item | Amount (EUR) |
|---|---|
| Developer time (2 main developers @ €500 each, partially pro bono) | €1000 |
| UI/UX Design (partially pro bono) | €500 |
| Use cases, mapathon, curation, data aggregation and research | €800 |
| Community outreach & hackathon (includes €1,000 in prizes + €500 planning/resources) | €1500 |
| Travel support for lightning talk at SotM Global (Victor Ademoyero) | €500 |
| Hosting (GitHub pages) | €0 |
| Domain (9 years) | €120 |
| Sub Total | €4420 |
| Contingencies (10%) | €442 |
| Total | €4,862 |
Notes:
We have already purchased the domain (useosm.org). To ensure long-term sustainability, we propose purchasing for an additional 9 years. However, we are also open to an OSM Foundation-supported subdomain (e.g. useosm.openstreetmap.org) to avoid future renewal costs. If the OSM Foundation approves the subdomain, then the budget will reduce accordingly.
The only funding already committed to the project is a personal contribution of $12 for the domain. No other external funding sources are involved at this stage.
The team will contribute significant additional time, partially pro bono, especially in development and design. We are not relying on the grant to fund core development and design, as the team has the technical capacity to execute it. However, funding is essential for community outreach, user engagement, hackathon planning, and travel support. These components are key to giving the platform the visibility and credibility it needs from launch.
We already started with the Figma design here and have been having brainstorming meetings for the past one month.
This funding is critical to support the planned activities and to ensure we achieve the potential of UseOSM and have real impact.
Implementation Plan
Timeline
We anticipate a 4-month implementation timeline from the date of funding. There are no external dependencies, allowing us to begin immediately and work in parallel on content, development, and outreach.
Milestone Breakdown and Anticipated Completion Date
| Milestone | Anticipated Completion Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Project kickoff | June, 2025 | Done |
| Figma prototype design | July, 2025 | In progress |
| Community review of UI design | July, 2025 | Planned |
| Content research (use cases, tools, metadata) | August, 2025 | Planned |
| Core site development (Astro) | August, 2025 | Planned |
| Hackathon planning & outreach | September, 2025 | Planned |
| Hackathon event | September, 2025 | Planned |
| Public launch of UseOSM | September, 2025 | Planned |
| Lighting talk at SotM Global | October 3 - 5, 2025 | Planned |
| Post-launch feedback and content adjustments | October, 2025 | Planned |
| Final report and outcomes | October, 2025 | Planned |
| Evaluation and future planning | October, 2025 | Planned |
| Lighting talk at SotM Africa | November 28 - 30, 2025 | Planned |
Community Engagement
We will engage the community through a public GitHub repository here, where issues, discussions will be enabled, and contribution guidelines will be provided. This will allow both technical and non-technical users to track progress, suggest features, and contribute content.
A dedicated topic will be created on the OpenStreetMap Community Forum to invite feedback, and we will maintain a project wiki page on OpenStreetMap.
Updates will also be shared via OSM community channels, including Telegram groups, and mailing lists. To increase visibility, we plan to publish a blog post on openstreetmap.org, submit to the weeklyOSM newsletter, and potentially feature the project on the YouthMappers and HOT websites. We will also host a virtual user feedback session to gather input and refine the platform.
Finally, we will also present UseOSM at the State of the Map Global and Africa to reach the broader community.
SLA, Maintenance, and Sustainability
We plan to maintain the project voluntarily after the grant ends. Since it’s a static site with low overhead, upkeep will be minimal, mostly reviewing contributions and occasional content updates.
The site will run on GitHub Pages with automated deployment via GitHub Actions. This keeps costs low and makes it easy for others to contribute to or adapt the project. As a static site, it’s fast, stable, and easy to maintain.
We’ll provide clear documentation and accept feedback through GitHub issues. Content will pull from sources like the OSM Wiki, WikiData, and Taginfo and other external OSM websites identified during research.
We’ll request an OSM Foundation subdomain for long-term visibility. The project is built to be simple, open, and community-maintained beyond the grant.
Evaluation and Success Metrics
The primary measure of success will be the launch of a fully accessible website at useosm.org, or an OSM Foundation subdomain. We will monitor user engagement through key interactions that indicate interest in OpenStreetMap, such as clicks on the Start contributing button, exploration of the timeline slider, and interaction with the tools and community map sections. These actions help us understand how visitors engage with the content and whether they are inspired to contribute or join local communities.
Additional indicators of impact include downloads of educational materials like the OSM eBook (basically the website as a PDF), views of the OSM intro. video, and clicks on conference announcements banner that connect users to OSM events worldwide. Tracking clicks on the GitHub link will show interest in contributing to the project itself.
Key success metrics include:
- Achieving 100+ unique visitors within the first month.
- Receiving 5+ community contributions through GitHub or feedback forms.
- Collaborating with the author of OSM Apps to document OSM tools and libraries.
- Documenting about 10 real-world use cases.
- Hosting one virtual outreach event and delivering two public talks at the State of the Map (Global and Africa)
- Publish at least one article on platforms like the OSM blog or weeklyOSM.
- Evaluation will rely on continuous monitoring of website analytics to track visitor numbers, geographic diversity, and engagement with core features.
Community involvement will be assessed through GitHub activity, feedback submissions, and participation in outreach events. We will conduct regular reviews of content quality and repository engagement to guide future improvements and ensure the project remains relevant and effective.
Risks
The primary risk lies in community engagement. If contributors and users do not actively participate, content updates and feedback could be limited, reducing the platform’s relevance and impact. To address this, we will leverage established OSM networks, promote events widely, and create simple contribution processes to encourage broad involvement from both technical and non-technical users.
Another risk is sustainability after the grant period. Without ongoing maintenance and community contributions, the site could become outdated. To mitigate this, we’ve designed the project to be low-maintenance and open-source, with clear contribution guidelines. Securing an OSM Foundation subdomain will also support long-term visibility and continuity.
Additionally, we will source content from trusted community resources and schedule periodic reviews to ensure accuracy and trustworthiness.
Conflict of Interest
We confirm that we have no conflicts of interest with the OpenStreetMap Foundation that could influence the evaluation of this proposal. We have made a good-faith effort to ensure that our application will be judged solely on its merits.
We have no financial interests, personal relationships, or affiliations that could affect the impartiality of this application. We commit to full transparency throughout the process and will disclose promptly if any potential conflicts arise.
Recommendations: from the Community and possibly from Working Groups
We welcome recommendations and testimonials from community members and relevant Working Groups. Supporters are encouraged to add their comments below.
If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions while reviewing this proposal, please feel free to leave a comment. We are open to constructive input and look forward to engaging with the community.
We recognise some similarities between our proposal and this proposal. While there are overlapping themes, we believe our approach offers distinct elements and complementary value. We are open to collaborating with the author to align efforts and avoid duplication.
Ultimately, our shared goal is to showcase the power of OpenStreetMap, its capabilities and how it positively transforms lives and communities worldwide.
When we think about what UseOSM aspires to be, a useful comparison comes to mind: Missing Maps. Just as Missing Maps has played a pivotal role in driving contributions to OSM, especially in humanitarian contexts, UseOSM wants to do the same, but on the other side of the equation: promoting usage, discoverability, and real-world application of that data.
We want to build a central, trusted, community-driven entry point that answers the question:
“Now that we’ve mapped it, what can we do with it?”
We see a future where students, journalists, NGOs, developers, and decision-makers can discover the value of OSM data in their work, without needing to be GIS experts. Where stories of impact, not just edits, are part of the OSM narrative.
That’s the vision behind UseOSM. We’re grateful for the opportunity to share it, and we’re ready to build it with and for the community.
Thank you for considering our proposal.