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Bringing local data to life: the journey behind Explore Local Statistics

Back in December 2021, the Government Statistical Service Subnational Data Strategy launched a bold vision: to make local data more accessible, more useful, and more meaningful for everyone. The idea was simple but powerful — create a single, user-friendly service where people could explore statistics about their local areas, compare them with others, and even […]

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Local childcare realities: uncovering childcare deserts and oases in England

Working parents need childcare! Parents are more likely to enter the labour market if they have access to childcare. Competition for places, proximity to providers, quality of care and affordability all play a role in a parent’s decision to use childcare. Following the expansion of government-funded childcare available to working parents, ensuring there is sufficient […]

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Me, myself and D&I

Hello! My name is Edisa Livingstone, and I am a Grade 7 Statistician at the Department for Transport and co-chair of the GSS Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Working Group. It might sound odd to some, but I’ve been passionate about statistics for a while now! Statistics really came to life for me when I studied […]

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How to RAP: bringing good practice to life

This is part two of a series. Part one: ‘RAP: it’s all about the code’ covered Reproducible Analytical Pipeline (RAP) definitions and coding standards. The technology we use and how we communicate affect how well we can implement Reproducible Analytical Pipelines (RAP). We’ve established RAP ways of working to promote industry best practices for working […]

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Getting the ingredients right for quality analysis

I’m a big advocate for quality management, but it’s not always obvious what this means in the context of analysis. But quality management can really help ensure that quality is baked on from the start to the end of the analytical life cycle, improving transparency and understanding at each step. The term quality management reflects […]

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A new approach to focus groups

Most social researchers have run focus groups, and maybe come across some of the challenges of these, like: scheduling participants how long transcription can take not being able to feed new findings into past focus groups the interviewer effect of being visible to the group For an evaluation of new e-learning courses, Acas used a […]

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RAP: it’s all about the code

What is RAP? RAP stands for Reproduceable Analytical Pipeline. A pipeline is a coding project with data as an input, and a process to transform or clean it and output it again. While that might be a description for every coding project, the ‘reproducible’ part is what separates a RAP from general analysis or processing. […]

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The power of purpose and positivity in prioritisation

Earlier this month in my Analysis in Government talk I told you how we’ve been making statistics better in Scottish Government, and the elements to our approach can be adapted by all analysts. Better statistics in Scotland We developed strategic priorities for our statisticians with four key areas of how they can improve their statistics: […]

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The hidden heroes of data innovation: why data engineers deserve more love

Let’s be honest, in the fast-paced world of data, analysts and data scientists get most of the limelight. They bring innovative data approaches to policy decisions, present dynamic and interactive data tools, and unveil the insights that make headlines. But in the slightly paraphrased words of the Eurythmics; behind every great analyst, there has to […]

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Horizon scanning and futures thinking: tools for government analysts

Analysts across government are used to drawing on data to explain what has happened to inform decisions about what should happen next. But in an era marked by rapid change and uncertainty, traditional approaches may not be enough. Horizon scanning and other Futures methods can help analysts explore possible long-term changes, examine how trends merge, […]

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