Open Data – What’s the potential?Using data to drive investment

HACT Seminar Birmingham 6th November 2012

Prof Robert Barr OBEManchester Geomatics, University of Liverpool

APPSI and ODUG

manchester.geomatics THEORY INTO PRACTICE

Where I’m going…..

Social policy goes spatialPutting tenants in contextTenants on the mapWhat do we have to gain?Making use of Open DataConclusions

Social policy goes spatial

Rediscovering poverty

• Social policy is marked by periodic realizations that:– Society is becoming more unequal– The ‘poor’ are being left behind

• Characterized by individual households in poverty

• Areas where poor households are concentrated

…… however

• Even when inequality peaks– Most deprived individuals do not live in deprived

areas– Most of those living in ‘deprived’ areas are not

deprived

Putting tenants in context

Tenant information

• Best at point of let – CORE

• Sometimes maintained

Asset information

• Plenty of information about property– Type– Size– Energy efficiency– Investment profile

Areas or Households

• Many housing policies are area based e.g.:– Housing Action Areas– Housing Market Renewal

• …alongside other area based policies– Educational Priority Areas– Inner Cities Programme

• When the pendulum swings:– Troubled Families initiative

Tenants on the map

Closed approach• Buy proprietary Geographical Information

System:– ESRI ArcMap– MapInfo

• Buy proprietary data– Ordnance Survey– Experian– Royal Mail

• Hire an ‘expert’– In-house or a service company /consultant

Open approach

• Use open source software– e.g. Quantum GIS or PostGIS– or an Open Platform (though many are Freemium)

• Use open data– ONS NESS data, ONSPD– Ordnance Survey Open Data– Open Street Map

• Hire an ‘expert’– In-house or a service company / consultant

Making Use of Open Data

What do we have to gain?

What do we have to gain?

• Gaining control of our own data and information

• Getting a better understanding of Social Return on Investment

• Being able to relate the impact of work with tenants on areas

• Being able to relate the impact of area based initiatives on tenants

What do we have to gain?

• Being able to make better investment decisions based on evidence

• Getting an early warning of area based problems e.g. reduction in demand

Conclusions

Conclusions

Social landlords have always needed to place their tenants in context:But•Too expensive•Too difficult•Didn’t know what they would do with the knowledge

Conclusions

The combination of Open data and a managed platform overcomes many of these obstacles.

Platform provides an opportunity to share best practice and benchmark performance against others in a safe and confidential environment.

Costs of development and analysis can be shared

That’s it!

Prof Robert Barr OBErobert_barr@manchestergeomatics.com