Embarking on the creation of the Essex Residents' Survey Dashboard was not just a task; it was a collaborative journey for the Research and Citizen Insight and Data and Analytics teams, driven by a shared commitment to harnessing data for actionable insights and community impact.
As researchers within ECC, we thrive on challenges that push the boundaries of our expertise while trying to understand residents’ aspirations, views and values at a granular level to help decisions being made using the best evidence available.
The Essex residents’ survey is an annual survey that has been undertaken in some form since 2006 and is the biggest survey exercise undertaken by ECC. It captures resident’s views about all sorts including satisfaction with local area, community safety, views around climate change, health and wellbeing, employment, housing and more!
It is vital to not only understand the insights coming out of the questions asked (56 in total including demographic questions) but how can others use the data in an easy, digestible way and (an even better outcome) use the data when thinking about their specific areas of work.
That is why we developed a Power BI dashboard to showcase the results of the residents' survey. We recognised the opportunity to not only demonstrate our technical prowess across the insight teams in the Policy Unit but also to empower decision-makers with rich, interactive data visualisations that look pretty cool too.
Drawing upon our collective expertise in statistical analysis and visualisation techniques and noting how successful previous dashboards have been (not my words…many happy customers have spoken to me about this 😊), it was a simple decision to create a dashboard with 2023 findings using the nuances of Power BI's features and functionalities.
“Collaboration is the key to success”
This is a quote no doubt seen in every project management textbook that has ever been written, but genuinely without the two way communication between the team members, understanding strengths (and my weaknesses ☹) of design, develop and testing phase of the product, the final dashboard would not look, work or even be available for me to write 500 words about, let alone provide the link for you to access it with other themed reports…be patient.
The ultimate goal of creating a dashboard is to empower stakeholders across ECC and beyond to be confident using dynamic filters/toggles and allow users to explore survey results from multiple perspectives, gaining deeper insights into the needs and preferences of Essex residents, and visualise the data in the simplest way possible. Hopefully, this will also reduce the amount of emails asking for data that is open for everyone to use at their own will – I read somewhere that every email sent is 0.3g CO2e, not very good for our planet! ☹
In essence, the Essex Residents' Survey Dashboard is more than just a visualisation tool; it is a testament to the power of teamwork, innovation, and collaboration. Through the collective efforts of Caroline Murphy, Chris Final, Stephen Simpkin and myself, we have created a product that will allow users to understand the insight captured within the survey and empower decision-makers with the knowledge they need to drive positive change.
And finally, what you’ve all been waiting for…the dashboard and further reports can be found here: https://data.essex.gov.uk/dataset/emd8g/essex-resident-survey-2023-dashboard-and-reports
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