On Thursday 26 October, Manchester City Council hosted a LARIA North West event to allow local shortlisted and winning entries to the 2017 LARIA Research Impact Awards showcase their work, and a session from Public Health England.

Most engaging presentation of local area research (highly commended) – Owen Richardson, Kirklees Council
Online and redefined – refreshing our approach to the JSNA

Owen Richardson talks about the Kirklees JSA

Best use of local area research 1 – (shortlisted) – Elisa Bullen, Manchester City Council
Securing a ward boundary review using a local forecasting model

Elisa Bullen talking about ward boundary reviews using the MCCFM in Manchester

Matt Hennesesey, Public Health England
Intelligent design

Matt Hennessey talks about Intelligence Design at the LARIA NW event

Best use of community safety or policing research – (winner) – Rebecca Eckersley, Lancashire County Council
Understanding complex antisocial behaviour cases

Findings from complex anti-social behaviour cases research

Best use of local area research 2 – (winner) – Paul Holme, Manchester City Council
Troubled Families Evaluation 2017

Troubled Families evaluation in Manchester

Further information from: l.frost@manchester.gov.uk

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Delegates heard about the effect of light rail on the property market in Manchester; local intelligence using neighbourhood typologies in Manchester; the development of a public service reform outcomes framework; and the use of intelligence to understand health demands. There were also presentations on ethnographic research on the Wirral and how it revealed the barriers of binary thinking and tackled health-related worklessness;  the prevention of infant deaths by looking at modifiable factors associated with increased risks of infant death in Lancashire; and service planning based on needs in non-traditional boundaries in Lancashire. Presentations from the speakers are on LARIA North West events page.

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New researcher of the year (highly commended) – Haydn Brown, Manchester City Council – Light rail and the Manchester property market – part 1; Light rail and the Manchester property market – part 2; Light rail and the Manchester property market – part 3 

Most engaging presentation of local area research (shortlisted) – Steven Hibbert, Manchester City Council – PSR Outcomes Framework      

Best use of local area research 1 (highly commended) – Gemma Jones, Lancashire County Council – Breaking the boundaries_service planning based on need not construct 

Best use of local area research 2 – (shortlisted) – Tim Robinson, Manchester City Council – Neighbourhood intelligence (confidential)

Best use of social care or health research 1 – (highly commended) – Farhat Abbas, Lancashire County Council – Saving the children – making infant deaths everybody’s business 

Best use of social care or health research 2 – (highly commended) – Charlotte Harris, Revealing Reality/Wirral Council – Barriers of binary thinking_tackling health related worklessness on the Wirral

Best use of social care or health research 3 – (shortlisted) – Leo Wall, Manchester City Council and Manchester CCGs Business Intelligence – Understanding health demands in Manchester

Further information from: l.frost@manchester.gov.uk

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Manchester Town Hall

LARIA NW welcomed around 60 delegates to its event in Manchester, chaired by Linda Frost, to hear from a range of speakers.  The event began with discussions in groups, covering data harmonisation, the Index of Multiple Deprivation and working with the voluntary sector.

Research into skills needs of voluntary,community and social enterprise organisations in Greater Manchester – Susanne Martikke, Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation and Dr Noemi Sinkovics, Manchester Business School

This session shared findings from a collaborative research project into the skills needs of the voluntary sector and social enterprise organisations (VCSE) in Greater Manchester. After some the background to VCSE skills and the methodology used, the speakers explored some of the quantitative and qualitative findings to highlight the need to focus attention not only on skills, but also on capabilities.

Susanne Martikke is the research officer at the Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation (GMCVO). She has managed and conducted a wide range of qualitative research projects on various aspects of the VCS and volunteering in Greater Manchester Susanne is also the co-founder and the coordinator for the Greater Manchester Third Sector Research Network, which brings together academics with a research interest in the voluntary sector and voluntary sector staff with a research remit for peer support and learning. Susanne is one of three associates of the UK Community Partner Network initiative, which aims to raise awareness of the mutual benefits of equal and fair partnerships between voluntary sector organisations, their communities and university researchers. She is currently working on her PhD as part of an ESRC-funded collaborative CASE Studentship between GMCVO and the Morgan Centre at the University of Manchester.

Dr. Noemi Sinkovics is Lecturer in International Business and Management at Alliance Manchester Business School. She holds a PhD in International Business and has a track record of peer-reviewed publications in a number of internationally recognised journals such as International Business Review, International Marketing Review, Journal of Business Research, etc. Her research and teaching is focused on responsible business, social value creation, as well as theoretical and practical aspects of entrepreneurship (commercial, social, and international).

 Presentation 1: Session 1 Susanne Martikke and Noemi Sinkovics

Using Open Data to map the city – Chris Pope, New Economy

The wealth of public sector open data – and open source products to analyse these – provide local authorities with a range of new and unique opportunities to better understand the local area, and improve people’s lives. To this end, Greater Manchester sought to utilise open data to better understand our social and physical infrastructure, to better support pre-planning decisions. This session explored some of the wider opportunities available for local authorities from using open data, some of our learning along the way, and the creation of our open data infrastructure map – mappinggm.org.uk.

Chris Pope has been a senior analyst for over 6 years at New Economy. He has worked in areas as wide as mental health support, skills and employment services, public service reform and planning and housing. For the past 8 months, Chris has project managed the Greater Manchester Open Data Infrastructure Map, working with colleagues in the LEP, AGMA and Salford City Council, who built the map.

Presentation 2: Session 2 Chris Pope

NVivo – Diane Armstrong, QSR International Ltd

Diane talked about a collaborative project between QSR International and Cheshire East Council in which data from a public consultation project was analysed in NVivo against the more traditional analytic methods and approaches (Man ‘V’ Machine). The aim of the project is to demonstrate the potential time and cost savings the software could bring to teams in similar local authorities.

Diane Armstrong is employed as a Business Development Manager at QSR International Ltd who are the developers of NVivo, an award winning qualitative research software. However, her background is in public sector, working for 23 years in NHS around the North West. In later years, Diane was employed as a Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Liverpool Primary Care Trust and was responsible for successfully project managing a number of large-scale public consultation projects resulting in the creation of 10 new neighbourhood health and wellbeing centres across the city and the development of the new Royal Liverpool and Alder Hey Hospitals.

Presentation 3: Session 3 Diane Armstrong

Efficient frontline service planning using RouteSmart and OS ITN data – the Newcastle-upon-Tyne perspective – Clive Melleney, Ordnance Survey and Mark Mohun, Newcastle City Council

This session heard about the possible savings to Local Authorities through the use of PSMA data in support, not only of savings in Waste Management, but many other areas of the business, as shown on the OS Case Study finder.

Clive Melleney is a GI Consultant with the Ordnance Survey.  He supports over 100 PSMA customers within the North West and West Midlands Regions.  He also works with energy and infrastructure companies across GB.

Mark Mohun is a Business Analyst with Newcastle City Council.

Presentations 4a and 4:
Session 4a Clive Melleney
Session 4 Mark Mohun

DemograFire – creating a national geo-demographic profile of fire and rescue incidents – Philip Usher, Cheshire Fire and Rescue

This session heard about the DemograFire project, which aims to produce a robust, geo-demographic profile of fire and rescue incident data to assist in the creation of social marketing campaigns.

Philip Usher has worked in analytical roles within the emergency services for 12 years and he is currently Business Intelligence Manager at Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service. In 2015 Philip took on the role of lead for Social marketing and Analysis in the Chief Fire Officer’s Association (CFOA) Integrated Data Group which led him to create DemograFire.  Philip is also in the final stages of an MSc in GIS at University of Leeds where he is modelling a regional approach to Fire & Rescue in the North-West.

Presentation 5: Session 5 Philip Usher

Projecting populations by ethnic group for local authorities, 2001 to 2051 – Dr Paul Norman, Leeds University

Data on future populations by ethnic group are needed for a variety of purposes. This presentation showed: how population projections are constructed, how choices made affect outputs and why differences in observed population change (what actually happened) and expected (what has been projected) might (will!) occur.

Paul Norman is a population and health geographer with wide experience of estimating and projecting populations.

Presentation 6:  Session 6 Paul Norman

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Humanities Bridgeford Street Building, University of Manchester

Now that nearly all census outputs are out and being used the UK Data Service are hosting a two-day conference to celebrate the UK censuses.

The conference will include three plenary sessions:

• The value of the Census
• Making use of the Census
• Challenges for the future

Speakers include:

• Danny Dorling and Bethan Thomas
• Ian Cope
• Keith Dugmore
• Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland Census Offices

General conference places will cost £100 per person to include drinks, lunch and conference dinner. Student places are available at £50 per person.

Residential accommodation should be booked separately. A Google map of hotels within walking distance of the conference venue is available.

To view the programme and book a place please see here.

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Welcome from Gerallt Evans-Hughes

‘What’s new in LG Inform?’ – Juliet Whitworth, Local Government Association
Delegates heard about LG Inform, with an update on the LGA’s data benchmarking service for local authorities and the public. The session covered the developments that are currently underway to the tool, which will help users, both in councils and more widely, to access performance and other information about their areas.  We heard about an update of indicators to the free benchmarking tool underway using LG Inform and saw a short demonstration of the product.  Delegates were asked to indicate if training in LG Inform (perhaps locally in the North West) would be of interest.

LARIA NW Taster presentation Juliet Whitworth

Juliet Whitworth talks about LG Inform

‘Working together to support resilience in disadvantaged neighbourhoods’ – Helen Bromley, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Sarah Mosedale, University of Lancaster
The aim of the presentation was to introduce colleagues to the National Institute of Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care, North West Coast (NIHR CLAHRC NWC). The collaboration brings universities, local authorities, NHS organisations and the public together – working to accelerate the translation of research findings into health service improvements and changes that will reduce health inequalities and improve population health. The presentation outlined the Public Health work stream within the CLAHRC, and commented on the experience of one local authority (Cheshire West and Chester) taking part in this research programme.

LARIA NW Taster presentation Helen Bromley and Sarah Mosedale

Sarah Mosedale

Helen Bromley

‘New ways of modelling’ – Alasdair Robertson, i-three
This session looked at the use of simulation technology to support evidence based approaches to decision making and stakeholder engagement. The focus was on application of local data to support complex decisions in vital questions of public policy. This approach allows for deeper understanding of the complex and sometimes counter intuitive nature of how issues play out in real world systems, but tested in the safety of the lab before risking implementations. It also discussed how well conceived simulation models can bring together stakeholders in the decision making process.

LARIA NW Taster presentation Alasdair Robertson

Alasdair Robertson

‘Using MOOCs’ – Anne Cunningham, Blackburn with Darwen Council
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have come from nowhere in the past four years to have millions of students worldwide, transforming the opportunity to participate in free or almost-free learning. The session introduced some of the leading platforms for MOOC study, and the ever-expanding list of providers and courses on offer. It described the speaker’s own experience of this form of education, and reflected on some of the typical processes, challenges and rewards of Massive Open Online Courses. Finally, it presented a selection of just some of the forthcoming MOOCs which may be of interest to LARIA members.

LARIA NW Taster presentation Anne Cunningham

Anne Cunningham

‘Social Network Analysis in Little Harwood’ – Ken Barnsley, Blackburn with Darwen Council (BwD)
The study looked at the social networks in Little Harwood in Blackburn that create and sustain health and wellbeing. It used a Social Network Analysis approach, training local researchers and co-designing a questionnaire recording tool. This enabled researchers to understand aspects of social neworks in Little Harwood and to begin to map them along with being able to identify nodes in terms of people and places.
Austerity and its public spending cuts do not easily support demands for improved outcomes from services. This is true if we continue to think of public services solely as the social and economic support provided by the state through one to one, transactional relationships with the citizen in order to ‘deliver’ solutions to problems. But if we start to think about ‘services’ not just as things provided by the state, but also as wider social attitudes and support; and if we blur the boundaries between state and civil society so that well-designed public services encourage and support rather than crowd out the efforts of families, friends and communities to support (vulnerable) people, then we move to a more co-productive model in which the latent assets in communities to provide social and economic support are better used.
Social networks, however, do not restrict themselves to purely social or economic domains. More broadly, this work explored the question of how can we better understand, configure and mobilise the total set of assets in networks to achieve outcomes. This led towards trying to understand networks as production systems for social (and economic) value. For BwD, networks are comprised of individuals, groups, places and institutions connected through a variety of dimensions, be they geography, interest, practice, activity, or chance. BwD are interested in what makes networks more socially and economically productive for both the individuals and institutions within them, and for society as a whole. This kind of approach tries to work with how the world is, in all its complexity, rather than how we might idealise or simplify it for the sake of designing policy and practice.

LARIA NW Taster presentation Ken Barnsley

Ken Barnsley

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Winner – Manchester City Council – Integrated Data and Network Analysis

Summary

In 2011, Manchester City Council like all other local authorities was tasked by the National Troubled Families Unit with identifying families that met the criteria for the Troubled Families Programme.

The national criteria consisted of three headline measures around youth crime / anti-social behaviour; poor school attendance; and worklessness. This is also supported by a fourth local discretion criterion which allows local authorities to include a basket of indicators that represent local priorities.

Manchester City Council realised that the troubled families programme would only be successful and sustainable if the local implementation responded to changing demand and a broader range of measures that the core national measures. Therefore, Manchester City Council worked with a range of partners who deliver local services to develop data sharing processes and agreements to access data.

This rich data pool presented a major ‘big data’ opportunity, as well as an analysis and technology challenge. Manchester City Council worked in partnership with the IBM to implement a bespoke version of their iBase software.

The iBase solution is a SQL database containing some 2.5 million records, connected by 3.5 million links, and allows for complex network analysis between people, locations, incidents and programmes/interventions.

Results

This forward-thinking approach to what could have been a simple data matching exercise across a small number of core national criteria, gave Manchester maximum flexibility.

As the national programme moves from troubled to complex dependency, Manchester are able to lead a discussion around how evidence should inform programmes

Photo credit: Global One

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Lancs CC and Lancs Constabulary: Winners of Best use of local area research

Lancashire County Council: Winner of Best use of health research

Manchester City Council: Winner of Best use of public data

Heather Walmsley, Lancs CC: Winner of New researcher of the year

Linda Frost, Manchester City Council (LARIA NW Region): Winner of Volunteer of the year

 Photos: Gerallt Evans Hughes and Linda Frost

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See more details on the project website 

LARIA NW IER – M Henn

 
Prof Matt Henn (Nottingham Trent University) talks about why young people don’t vote

John Bradley spoke about mis-matches in the ‘dry-run’ of matching Electoral Registration and DWP data and how this related to issues of ethnicity, household tenure and student areas.

LARIA NW IER – J Bradley

John Bradley (Manchester CC) explains the issues of targeting hard to reach communities in Manchester

Charlotte Snelling explained the issues found in the UK Electoral Commission’s research on under-registration and the proposed areas of activity to encourage engagement and maximise registration.

 • Confirmation dry run (looks at match rates and areas where more green/more red matches etc., and also survey results from the electoral services staff going through the process.

• Data matching pilots

• Analysis of under-registered groups and drivers of LA registration rates

 • Under-registered groups

N.B.  Cabinet Office also commissioned some research looking at barriers to registrations amongst URGs and also the transition to IER

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Charlotte Snelling (Cabinet Office) speaks about maximising registration for IER

The challenges facing Manchester City Council were described by Lesley Spencer while Peter Richards detailed how the Council is using communications to promote proposed activities in the IER process.

LARIA NW IER – L Spencer

Lesley Spencer (Manchester CC) describes the IER experience in Manchester

Peter Richards (Manchester CC) reports on how Manchester is using communications in the IER process

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