Ideas for FoI re use of W3W

Basically - if you see someone, especially emergency services or other public body, promoting W3W, maybe do an FoI on this basis, or some subset of this...

Go here to start an FoI request.

W3W is What3Words Limited, company 08430008, or any affiliated organisation.

Please provide copies of:-

• All minutes of meetings, copies of communications, details of financial transactions relating to W3W.
• Details of how other organisations can arrange promotion by your organisation on social media, in the same was as your promote W3W.
• Details of checks done on W3W as a company, and the fact it losing huge amounts year on year (£16M in 2020, £14M in 2019), and consideration of whether it is sensible to rely on such a company.
• Details of research you did on suitability of W3W before adopting it and promoting it to the public.
• Copies of any due diligence done on use of W3W for emergency use, in particular:
  • Consideration of the time taken in an emergency situation for the requirement (as per W3W T&Cs) to re-check the T&Cs each time, and the requirements (as per W3W T&Cs) to read and understand all the T&Cs, and how that delay in doing so can impact the response time of an emergency service.
    
    
  • Consideration that you, and the user, should not be relying on W3W, as per 5.7.
    
  • Consideration of the fact that W3W T&Cs prohibit use where its use could lead to loss of life.
    
  • Consideration of error cases, such as mis-heard words, different accents, different languages, homonyms, plurals, and so on. This is one example of two locations, both "by the Clyde river, near Dumbarton". There are many others - were these considered?
    
• Details of alternatives considered, and if they have also been deployed, such as
  • AML (Automatic Mobile Location)
  • Ordnance Survey grid reference, and use of free apps and web sites that show this such as OS Maps and OS Locate.
  • SARLOC (Search and Rescue location) text message system.
  • Simple latitude/longitude as provide by any GPS enabled devices.
  • etc.
• Confirmation that you do not insist on a W3W location, and will accept alternatives such as the long established UK Ordinance Survey Grid reference as printed on actual maps.
• Confirmation of whether or not you considered FREE alternatives like Four King maps.