Have you considered using publicly available data for decision making?
The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is hosting an online event to showcase the use of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), the official measure of the most disadvantaged areas. It is issued by statisticians in every UK government and can be a powerful tool for those looking to identify where resources should be targeted. It is used by government and organisations to learn where to invest and the opportunities that could improve lives in local communities.
In this event, you will also hear about the use of the IMD in civil society and how
pro bono work carried out by volunteer statisticians have enabled charities to interpret and use this data for decision making.
This event will be of interest to voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations. Come along if you want to learn the benefits of the Index of Multiple Deprivation and how it can be a useful resource for your organisation. We also welcome VCSE organisations that want
pro bono support in using the IMD and other publicly available data.
The RSS runs
Statisticians for Society, a
pro bono service that connects VCSE organisations and professional statisticians who can provide expert help with collecting, analysing and presenting data.
This event will be hosted live on Microsoft Teams, but registration is required. Joining instructions will be sent to registered delegates nearer the time.
Discover the benefits of the Index of Multiple Deprivation and its use in civil society.
Programme:
13:00: Welcome from the chair - Rob Mastrodomenico
13:10: Introduction to the UK’s multiple deprivation measures
Bowie Penney, Elizabeth Fraser, Nia Jones
This session provides a brief overview of the official multiple deprivation indices used across the different nations within the UK, as well as the range of supporting resources which are available for users including data, guidance, analytical tools and maps. We will illustrate how these indices can be useful for the third sector to understand their beneficiaries, identify need and develop appropriate services. We will also give some reflections on what we have learned over the years.
13:35: Questions from the audience
13:45: Use of income deprivation affecting children index in study of attendance
Nick Wray
This presentation looks at the use of Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) data as a means of analysing patterns of attendance by young people (YPs) at Durham Area Youth Services Youth Centres. The typical data patterns are first presented in an anonymised form and then the relationship between IDACI data and frequency of attendance, distance from the nearest centre and geographical spread of the YPs’ home postcodes is looked at.
14:00: Finding evidence of deprivation in local areas
Marie Cruddas and Roma Chappell
This talk is about our experience of describing deprivation at local small area levels for Citizens Advice Portsmouth. The data is being used to support decision making that enables free, independent, high quality advice services to be provided for people in need locally. One challenge was to find evidence at a low enough geographic level to demonstrate need arising from pockets of deprivation in otherwise well-off areas. Our talk will show that the Index of Multiple Deprivation is a useful tool and will also cover gaps we found in information about deprivation for small areas.
14:15: Questions from the audience
14.30: Close
Rob Mastrodomenico
Rob Mastrodomenico is an active fellow of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS). He has been the chair of its Statisticians for Society initiative since its inception in 2017. He is also an RSS Statistical Ambassador, which involves regular work with the media in assisting with their reporting of statistical issues. While not busy volunteering with the RSS, Rob runs his own company which provides statistical services to a wide array of clients.
Bowie Penney
Bowie Penney is senior analyst in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. He is the lead analyst on the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation, and provides support for policy areas on integration, faith and equalities.
Elizabeth Fraser
Elizabeth Fraser is an analyst in the Scottish Government Communities Analysis Division dealing with poverty and deprivation statistics.
Nia Jones
Nia Jones is head of Social Justice Statistics in the Welsh Government Knowledge and Analytical Services. She has extensive experience of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) and has been involved in three iterations of WIMD between 2011 and 2019.
Marie Cruddas
Marie Cruddas worked as a government statistician until her retirement in 2018. Much of her career was spent at the ONS developing estimation methods for use in census and social surveys.
Roma Chappell
Roma Chappell is a statistician with many years’ experience in the Government service, latterly at the ONS. She has also worked in the pharmaceutical industries and in higher education. Nowadays she chooses to do mainly pro bono work, some of which enables her to keep using her statistical skills.
Nick Wray
Nick Wray is currently engaged on a PhD project into the statistical analysis of flood risks at Edinburgh Heriot-Watt University. After completing a master’s in statistics at Nottingham University, he set up a consulting company, Peak Statistics, which has worked for various clients in the rail industry, electrical engineering, retail and entertainment.
Organising group: The Royal Statistical Society
Contact: Amaka Nwagbara