Local Futures
John Fisher, Director
Local Futures Group
Vision &
strategy
Monitoring/
evaluationBaselining
current
conditions
Future
prospects
Local
Knowledge
Customer
Knowledge
Place
Profiles
SMART
Observatories
Strategic Insight
Local FuturesProducts and services
www.localfutures.com
Local Knowledge
Local Knowledge
Developed by the Local Futures Group,
Local Knowledge is a powerful geographical information
system for use in local research and analysis.
Incorporating some of the latest thinking on competitiveness
and sustainable development, it provides researchers and
policy makers with an unrivalled decision-support tool that
is interactive and easy-to-use
Local Knowledge helps you to
• Understand current conditions
Range of indicators – economic, social, environmental
Range of geographies – regional, sub-regional, LAD, ward,
lower level SOA
Interactive toolkit – map, rank, compare (bar charts), profile
(spider charts), tables, nearest neighbours, trend
Comprehensive metadata
• Anticipate future change
Future drivers of change
Scenarios for the future
Competitiveness
SustainabilityCohesion
ECONOMY
ENVIRONMENTSOCIETY
ECONOMY
ENVIRONMENTSOCIETY
Economic
scale
Industrial
structure
Productivity
Economic
growth
Skills &
qualifications
Business &
enterprise
Labour
marketOccupations
Demographics
Prosperity Housing
Crime
Deprivation
& inequality Health
Commercial
propertyTransport &
connectivity
Environmental
sustainability
Natural
environment
Local
amenities
Content
• National coverage of 1,800 indicators, from 130 different sources
• Proprietory data– Composite measures and scores, knowledge economy,
creative places, local amenities, quality of life, natural environment, sustainability
• Typologies of place– Output Area Classification
• Data Packs
• Private Space– Thematic
– Cosmetic
Hierarchy of indicators
Composite score
Headline indicators
All indicators
20
150
1,500
Geeks
Wonks
“He uses statistics as a drunk would
use a lampost
– for support, not for illumination.”
Spatial coverage
national
regional
sub-regional
Local Authority District
ward
Lower level SOA
Census Output Area
Subscriber Home Page
Easy-to-use
Press build
Metadata, downloa
d data, print
Output
Select application
Select spatial
level Region, sub-
region, district, wa
rd, LLSOA, COA
Select indicator
(category, sub
category)
Copy/Save
Reset option
Report CardsReport Cards
provide a
summary
analysis of local
conditions. They
provide a quick
and easy way of
analysing
strengths and
weaknesses
within areas.
Based on
composite Local
Futures
measures, areas
are given an A-E
score based on
their performance.
They also highlight
how areas perform
within a
local, regional and
national context.
Click on theme
to display a
spider chart
showing
performance on
related indicators
Spider charts
Spider charts
graphically display
performance on sets
of indicators. They
are designed to
allow the
characteristics of an
area to be analysed
from a variety of
different
perspectives.
Actual and percentile
scores are displayed
in the supporting
summary table.
Click on one of
the ‘Filter
indicators’ buttons
to select your own
indicators
Select indicators
for a range of
different themes
Display statistical
nearest neighbours
or overlay the
performance of other
areas by clicking on
‘add further area’.
Create a spider
chart by clicking
on the Profile
application in the
bar.
Add other areas
or identify nearest
neighbours
Ranked tables
This application
allows you to rank
the performance
of areas on a
specific indicator.
National averages
are displayed at
the foot of the
table.
Use the filter
option to present
the findings for
areas within a
specific region or
sub-region.
Regional/sub-
regional rankings
are displayed
alongside national
rankings
Rankings can be
used alongside
actual scores and
averages to assess
and monitor relative
performance.
Download full data
set into a CSV file
Create a ranked
table by clicking
on the Ranking
application in the
drop-down menu.
Compare Charts
Benchmark local
area performance
on a range of
economic, social
and environmental
indicators using the
compare
application. Areas
can be selected
from across Britain
and compared on
individual indicators
or on groups of
indicators.
Data is
displayed in a
supporting table
Create a bar chart
clicking on the
Compare
application in the
drop-down menu.
Tables
Create a table of
indicators by
clicking on the
Table application in
the drop-down
menu.
Performance can
be assessed on a
range of indicators
and for a number of
different areas. The
application allows
you to bring
together thematic
groups of
indictors, exploring
relationships
between variables
or quickly
summarising an
area’s
characteristics.
Re-rank the table by
clicking on the
different indicators
Scatter charts
Create a scatter
chart by clicking
on the Scatter
application in
the drop-down
menu.
Charts plotting
the national
performance of
individual areas
on pairs of
indicators.
The
performance of
neighbouring
areas within a
sub-region or
region can also
be displayed.
The R2
indicates the
strength of
the
relationship.
Change
Change can be
compared over a
number of years for
up to 15 different
areas.
Create a graph
displaying
underlying trends
by clicking the
Change application
in the drop-down
menu.
Local area
forecasts are
available for some
indicators.Underlying data is
displayed in the
supporting table
Mapping
The mapping
application sets the
performance of an
area within a
broader
geographical
context. It provides
a quick and user
friendly way of
creating high
impact, customised
maps.
Zoom into an
area, display
place names or
provide a key
Create a map by
clicking on the
Mapping
application in the
drop-down menu.
Display thematic
layers
Display OAC
classification
Display cosmetic
layers
Other
applications
Select spatial
level
Zoom to
region, sub-
region or
district
Display
information
associated
with buildings
or sites by
clicking on
point
Display one or
more
indicators and
adjust
transparency
using sliding
scale
Display OAC
classification
Display
boundary files
Display
building or site
data
Copy and
save map
map
Download
data
Control transparency of base map
using sliding scale
Click on icons to display
associated information
Map comprises base
layer, thematic layer and cosmetic
layer
Select
indicator(s)
Metadata
Local Knowledge Home Page
Local Knowledge Home Page
Tutorials
Browsers & settings
Customer Knowledge
Customer Knowledge Home Page
Output Area Classification System (OAC)
• Geodemographic system
• Developed by ONS
• Free, open and transparent
• Limited support from OAC User Group
(affiliated to RSS)
7 Supergroups
21 Groups
52 Sub-groups
OAC Groups
Thematic maps
Thematic maps
Thematic maps
Charts
Charts
Charts
Spider charts
Ranked tables
Tables
Resources and support
• OAC online
• Supergroup, Group, Subgroup descriptions
• Access to technical papers
• User guides
• OAC coder
• Local Data estimates
• Advice and support
Local data estimates - examples
• Expenditure and Food Survey– Total household income
– Household income from different sources
– Household income from benefits
– Household expenditure on pensions, life insurance, savings, investment
– Household expenditure on food, transport and communications, cultural activities, fuel
• British Population Survey– Household income
– Internet access
– Demographics
– Qualifications
– Economic activity
– Home tenure
Place Profiles
Place Profiles
http://www.localfutures.com/PPTest
Place Profiles
• Computer generated reports
• Analysing local conditions on 20 different
topics – economic, social, environmental
• Benchmarked nationally, regionally, sub-
regionally
• Covering sub-regional, district, ward and
LLSOA level
140,000 different reports!
Sub-region District Ward LLSOA
Economy
Economic performance √ √
Industrial Structure √ √ √
Business and Enterprise √ √ √
Skills and qualifications √ √ √
Labour Market √ √ √
Society
Age √ √ √ √
Ethnicity √ √ √ √
Households √ √ √ √
Migration and Change √ √
Occupations √ √ √
Prosperity √ √
Deprivation √ √ √ √
Health √ √ √
Crime √ √
Environment
Housing √ √
Commercial Floospace √ √ √
Transport and Communications √ √ √
Amenities √ √
Natural Environment √ √
Future developments
• Bespoke PPs
• Including locally sourced data
• Report templates for locally designed reports
SMART Observatories
SMART Observatories
• Adapted national versions of Local Knowledge
OR
• Local Information Systems
– Public facing
– Ward, LLSOA and COA level
– Local Futures + locally sourced data
– Customised to meet local needs
Place
Profiles
Reports
Report
Templates
Online
Service
Economy
Economic Performance
Industrial Structure
Bus & enterprise
Skills & quals
Labour Market
Society
Age
Ethnicity
Households
Migration & change
Occupations
Prosperity
Deprivation
Health
Crime
Environment
Housing
Commercial Property
Connectivity
Amenities
Natural environment
OAC Classification
Data
Regional
Subregional
Nuts 3
District
Ward
LLSOA
COA
Spatial
Levels
Map
Rank
Compare
Profile
Table
Graph
Scatter
Tools
Subscription
service
SMART
Observatories
Private
Space
Products
Local
Knowledge
Customer
Knowledge
Services
Online Services
Local
Knowledge
Customer
Knowledge
Place
Profiles
SMART
Observatories
Strategic Insight
Products and services
Benefits
Efficiency
SavingsCommon
Evidence base
Joined-up
Thinking
Online access
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Single
Source
Easy-to-use
Data
visualisationTraining
and
support
www.localfutures.com
www.localfutures.com