LARIA - Local Area Research + Intelligence Association

Harnessing Open Data for Business Advantage
2014-11-05 | Hallam Conference Centre, 44 Hallam Street , London, W1W 6JJ, United Kingdom
MRS are hosting a full day event, specially designed with a focus on how users have been applying census and other open data, with an emphasis on ‘how to’ case studies and useful lessons learnt.
Wednesday, 5th November 2014
The next CGG seminar will focus mainly on how users have been applying census and other open data, with an emphasis on ‘how to’ case studies and useful lessons learnt.
Topics to be covered will include:

Techniques for visualising population change
Predicting retail performance using data on home and workplace populations
Using census migration and commuting data to analyse who moves where
Geodemographics of use/engagement with the Internet
Open data – suppliers’ update and user experiences
Applications and use cases for samples of anonymised raw data from the census
Social and cultural influences in the digital age – the balance between individual and area data

More details and booking

LARIA One-Day Conference 4th November
2014-11-04 | University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Tuesday 4th November – Manchester Meeting Place, Manchester University
The website is now up and running and ready to take your bookings for the LARIA one-day conference taking place at The University of Manchester on Tuesday 4th November 2014
Reshaping local places and services through local research
This one-day conference offers practical guidance on maximising the use of local research to help reshape local places and services. It covers:
• Getting the best out of customer insight
• Improving policy evaluation to improve outcome
• Using Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs)
• Forecasting and predicting future demand for services
• The role of public health
• The future of performance monitoring
• The skills and professional development needed for local researchers, including the launch of our planned new LARIA professional development framework
The seminar is fully accredited by the Market Research Society as part of their professional development framework.
Please click here for more information and to book your place.
Sponsorship packages are also available, please contact the admin for more details.

Photo credit: University of Manchester by Joshua Poh

Office for National Statistics: The Changing Shape of UK Manufacturing
2014-10-22 09:00 - 16:30 (Europe/London)
The Changing Shape of UK Manufacturing
9:30 – 16:30 Wednesday 22 October 2014
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Conference Centre
Central London
On Wednesday 22 October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) are jointly coordinating an event entitled ‘The Changing Shape of UK Manufacturing’.
The event will feature a range of talks from users, producers and suppliers of business statistics and will include engaging discussions about how manufacturing has changed in the UK, highlighting current trends, and how we are measuring these changes. In addition, future business statistic requirements and priorities will be captured via interactive sessions.
The event will be opened by John Pullinger, UK National Statistician, Head of the Government Statistical Service (GSS) and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority. Other prominent speakers include Lee Hopley from the EEF, Professor Sir Mike Gregory Head of the Manufacturing and Management Division and Institute for Manufacturing (Cambridge University) and Professor Richard Harris from Durham University.
The objectives of the event are to:

share what we know about manufacturing activity of UK businesses;
raise awareness of the importance and coverage of these statistics;
hear from users about the range of uses to which our statistics are put;
discuss future plans and priorities with a range of users.

For updates and announcements, join the conversation on Twitter #UKMfgStats
The event is free of charge, but please note that numbers will be limited and places are filling up fast. If you would like to attend the event please follow the link below and fill in the registration form:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/get-involved/events/events/the-changing-shape-of-uk-manufacturing/index.html
If you have any queries about the event, please do not hesitate to contact: BusinessStatisticsUserConference@bis.gov.uk

SRA Summer Event 2014: Living with austerity – What does research tell us?
2014-07-01 14:00 - 17:00
Since 2010, the UK Government has reduced spending on welfare and made even larger reductions in local government budgets. At the same time the cost of living continues to rise. This event showcases research that can help us make sense of the impacts of austerity.
Living with austerity – how is it affecting the better-off half of the 99%? Danny Dorling (Oxford University)
Families in austerity – a focus on food poverty Suzanne Hall (Ipsos MORI)
Holding on to a home – the impacts and implications of welfare reform Hilary Burkitt (Shelter)
Council Tax Support and Adult Social care: recent work by the National Audit Office Richard Douglas and Sarah Taylor (National Audit Office)
Event chair: Helen Barnard, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
(Please see the website for more details of these presentations)

The event will be followed by a complimentary drinks reception on the LGA rooftop patio overlooking Westminster.

Price: £65.00 (Discounted admission for SRA Members).

Positives and negatives in the Welsh government’s drive for bilingualism
2014-06-27 13:00 - 16:15
A balanced look at the potential for both positive and negative outcomes from these language policy interventions, based on recent research.
Potential positives and negatives in Welsh language policy documents
Dr. Dave Sayers, Sheffield Hallam University & Swansea University
Potential positives and negatives in bilingual education
Dr. Charlotte Selleck, University of Copenhagen
Potential positives and negatives in Welsh language broadcasting
Dr. Elen Robert, Cardiff University
Chair: Professor Gwynedd Parry, Professor of Law and Legal History, Director of the Hywel Dda Research Institute, Swansea University.
More details and booking: http://the-sra.org.uk/event-registration/?ee=171

Please note: Entrance is free to SRA members

Progress and challenges in social research
2014-06-24 11:00 - 13:00
This inaugural event of the SRA’s North and Central England group presents:
The Post Incident Research Programme: A case study of collaborative research in The North
Dr Andrew Clark, University of Salford and Jessica Smith, Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service
Arts Council England Research Programme 2014-17: Supporting development of and advocacy for the arts and cultural sector
Jonathon Blackburn, Arts Council England.
In Search of Common Ground: Evaluating a project on farmer-grazer conflicts in North West Cameroon
David Drew, Dawn Harris and Veronica Wigley, Village Aid Research Group, Derbyshire
More details and booking: http://the-sra.org.uk/event-registration/?ee=149

Latest findings from the Great British Sex Survey
2014-06-11 17:00 - 18:30
In this free seminar, Soazig Clifton (NatCen Social Research) and Clare Tanton (UCL) will talk about the latest survey of National Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, including gender differences, change over the lifecourse and change over time in sexual behaviour in Britain; and the use of biological samples to enhance questionnaire data.
This event will be of interest to anyone who wants to hear about the survey, and especially to researchers working on sensitive topics or using biomarkers. Following the presentation there will be time for audience questions and discussion.
More details and booking: http://the-sra.org.uk/event-registration/?ee=154

Research into supporting an older rural population
2014-05-20 05:00 - 18:30 | Nobel House, 17,Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR, United Kingdom
Nearly a quarter of all older people in England and Wales live in rural areas. For service commissioners and deliverers, it is important to understand how ageing impacts upon service delivery so that services can be tailored to address those needs and ensure equitable services for an increasingly important sector of the population.
At this free evening seminar, researchers from TNS BMRB and the International Longevity Centre describe research which explores:
• The impact of an older population in rural areas on service demand and delivery
• Where and how the design and delivery of key services need to be tailored to meet present and future needs
• Underlying principles of good practice in designing and delivering key services to an older population.
The research methods used include a literature review, secondary data analysis, and qualitative research with a range of service users and designers/deliverers. This research was conducted to inform Defra’s development of policy and local strategies for the protection and improvement of services and to better understand the needs of older people.

Social Media in Social Research
2014-05-16 10:00 - 16:30 | British Library Conference Centre, 96 Euston Rd, London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
We’re pleased to announce that the SRA Social Media in Social Research conference on Friday 16 May is now open for registration. It will be at the British Library conference centre in central London
It’s our fourth conference on this topic. The presentations this year are:

Uninformed consent and social media research

Dan Nunan, Henley Business School

Using social network analysis for social media in social research

Dhiraj Murthy, Goldsmiths, University of London

The Collaborative Online Social Media ObServatory: a progress report

Rob Procter, University of Warwick

The ESRC’s social media agenda

Samantha McGregor, ESRC

A social media case study – Facebook and Scottish independence

Preriit Souda and Alastair Graham, TNS BMRB

The social media challenge within the Food Standards Agency

Dr Joanna Disson and James Baker, FSA

Analysing digital activism: The use of multi-layered digital ethnography in the social sciences

Suay Ozkula, University of Kent
With questions after each presentation, and a Panel discussion to follow, delegates will have plenty of opportunity to raise and debate the issues.
The delegate rate is £75 for SRA members, £105 for non-members. Lunch and refreshments are provided.
More information, a flyer and online booking can be found on the SRA website

LARIA Conference 13th-14th May 2014
2014-05-13 - 2014-05-14 | University of Warwick, Warwick, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
Book your place at the next LARIA Annual Conference. It will be held 13th-14th May 2014 at the University of Warwick.
This will be LARIA’s 40th anniversary and we are looking for the 2014 conference to be our biggest and most successful yet. We know that the public sector continues to face a challenging financial climate at the same time as a rising demand for services. This conference will be about how local research makes a difference. This follows the challenge set at our 2013 Conference by Martin Reeves, our honorary president. Our speakers will illustrate how we can meet this challenge by showing research that is:

Fit for purpose
Rapid and robust
Include communities and others
Able to have impact on local services and communities

You can also download a pdf of the conference 2014 programme

Public Health Intelligence Network Event, 7th March 2014
2014-03-07 09:00 - 15:15 | Park Crescent Conference Centre, Great Portland Street, London, United Kingdom
Dear Colleague,
Re: Public Health Intelligence Network Event, 7th March 2014
It gives me great pleasure to invite you to the Public Health England Intelligence Network event, 7th March 2014, at Park Crescent Conference Centre, Great Portland Street, London.
View the Knowledge and Intelligence event 07 March 14 – Agenda and directions
The Network is aimed specifically at public health information and intelligence professionals and other users of public health data and intelligence within the boundaries of the two PHE Centres (Anglia and Essex and South Mids. and Herts).
The day will be split in to three parts:
1. Information Governance and access to data.
2. Fingertips Midlands and East future consultation.
3. Workforce development and training.
Bookings are to be made through emailing James.Harrison@phe.gov.uk by the 3rd March 2014. The event is free, lunch and refreshments will be served.
Please note numbers are strictly limited to 100. Public Health England reserve the right to cancel a booking if an organisation is over-subscribed, this is to ensure equity across all organisations to guarantee that each organisations is fairly represented and their views are heard.
Please pass on this invite to any colleague who may benefit from attending the Network.
Yours sincerely
Julian Flowers
Director KIT (East)
