Back to School
“I can’t wait to be a student for a week!” Sophie and I said to each other as we signed up for the Institute for Analytics and Data Science (IADS) Summer School at the University of Essex in July. You …
How we work
Thinking outside the [Primary Support Reason] box
Data loves a binary but as any social worker would I’m sure tell you - people don’t fit neatly into boxes! For much of our analysis there is a need to segment individuals into various groups, whether its budget code, …
Keeping Cool Throughout the Project Lifecycle
As we approach another week of high temperatures how do you go about starting well to ensure you remain as cool and prepared as possible and what does it have to do with a data and analytics project lifecycle…. What …
Forecasting adult social care demand to prepare for the future
It’s often the case when we are busy, that we don’t take the time to reflect on or celebrate our successes. I am therefore enthusiastic to be taking the opportunity to do just that in this blog, sharing our methods …
Capturing golden nuggets through immersive research
Did you know that the average household throws away £60 worth of food every month? Or that recycling one banana peel can generate enough energy to charge two mobile phones? Food waste is a big problem for the planet, for Essex, and for our residents. To help inform a county-wide campaign, we set out to explore behaviours around food waste using an online research community approach.
It started with (the absence of) a SEND forecast….
We’ve never had the ability to place plan in SEND, now we can build new schools based on growth and needs forecasts, Ralph Holloway, Head of SEND Strategy and Innovation, ECC What started as a conversation two years ago about …
Harnessing collective insight to tackle complexity
As the idiom purports the certainty of 'death and taxes', two others, it could be argued, follow on closely behind these days: digitalisation and complexity. It could also be said that our health, individually and collectively, impacts and is impacted …
University Challenge comes to Essex County Council
Every year, our Analytics and Data Science team joins up with the University of Essex for our annual University Challenge Project. Despite what the name infers, this isn’t a remake of the popular TV quiz show hosted by Jeremy Paxman, …
A SHoKE to the system – How students are bringing different thinking to ECC
Collaborating with partners offers us fresh thinking and a new lens to reconsider and reframe the challenges we face, and the services we provide to support the citizens of Essex. Our recent partnership with Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has enabled …
Facing up to fuel poverty
Volatile energy markets. Fuel poverty crisis. The headlines are grim: Global shortage of gas has forced an increase on the price cap on energy bills Households will see costs increase by an estimated 52% UK and European sanctions will ban …