We are proud to be working with Wiltshire Community Foundation to provide them with a Local Insight Public Site to support a better understanding of the needs and priorities of communities across Wiltshire and Swindon.
Local Insight provides easy access to up-to-date local data and mapping, enabling organisations to better understand their communities and target resources effectively. The partnership with Wiltshire Community Foundation enables the platform to be freely available to charities, community groups, voluntary organisations, funders and the wider community.
The platform gives users access to over 1,500 regularly updated indicators from official data sources, covering a wide range of themes including health, employment, population, education, inequality and the economy. Through interactive maps, dashboards and reports, users can explore small-area data relevant to their communities and use it to inform funding applications, demonstrate local need, plan services and build a data-led picture of their local area.
Previously, OCSI and the Wiltshire Community Foundation worked together on Wiltshire and Swindon Needs Analysis reports (published in 2021 and 2023), which have been widely used by local charities and funders to identify inequalities and inform decision-making. A new version of the Needs Analysis will be published following the release of the updated English Indices of Deprivation. The Foundation has also been using an internal version of the Local Insight platform to inform their work since 2019.
Rachel Hawley, Client Support Manager at OCSI, introduces Local Insight at the Wiltshire Community Foundation’s 50th anniversary event.
Commenting on the collaboration, Margaret Firth, Director of Partnerships at Wiltshire Community Foundation, said:
“We’re so pleased to be working with the brilliant team at OCSI to make Local Insight available to anyone who wants to understand more about our communities.
This platform empowers users to back up their existing knowledge and understanding of their communities with data – whether it’s a community group applying for funding or a local organisation planning services, this resource can provide invaluable insight into the challenges and opportunities within our county. It will make a real difference to charities and voluntary groups in Wiltshire and Swindon, and we can’t thank OCSI enough for their generous support.”
Stefan Noble, Director and Head of Research at OCSI, said:
“Wiltshire Community Foundation put evidence-based decision making at the heart of their grant-giving strategy. The socio-economic data presented in Local Insight and the local needs analysis is a crucial tool to help ensure that the unique needs, characteristics, contexts and challenges of Wiltshire and Swindon are reflected, prioritised and understood by the foundation and the wider community. It is great to partner with Wiltshire Community Foundation in this work.”
A dedicated page on the Wiltshire Community Foundation website provides access to the Local Insight Public Site, along with a short video tutorial, further information and more.
Alternatively, you can access the Wiltshire Community Foundation Public Site directly.
To learn more about Local Insight, and how it could benefit your organisation, book a demo today.
In Wales many areas face dual challenges, lacking accessible local assets like…
More
We’re happy to announce that data from Scotland’s Census 2022 is now…
More
The Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods (ICON) was created in September to examine…
More
