The government’s Pride in Place Strategy sets out an ambitious long-term plan for neighbourhood renewal. The strategy puts communities at the heart, providing not only funding to the neighbourhoods but also the power to shape decisions about their area.
The Pride in Place Programme is a core strand of this strategy. The scale of investment is significant, with up to £5 billion in funding committed to 250 neighbourhoods that have been identified as ‘doubly-disadvantaged’. We are hugely proud that the Community Needs Index and the Index of Multiple Deprivation were used to identify these doubly disadvantaged areas included within the programme. (Full guidance on the methodology is available here.)
Social impact underpins everything we do at OCSI. Seeing our research applied nationally to shape major government investment is a significant milestone and a testament to the value of robust, transparent data in tackling inequality.
Map credit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pride-in-place-strategy/pride-in-place-strategy
We have updated the English Indices of Deprivation (IoD) on behalf of MHCLG for three consecutive iterations in 2015, 2019 and 2025 (the 2025 update is due for release on 30th October 2025). The Index of Multiple Deprivation is one of the most widely used datasets for targeting investment to areas in the most need across England.
The Community Needs Index (CNI) addresses factors that are not accounted for within the IoD. The first index of its kind, it quantifies the social capital, social infrastructure and social connectedness factors that can impact on people’s outcomes. The CNI was developed alongside Local Trust to highlight how these challenges can really compound the effects of economic deprivation in neighbourhoods.
Since its initial launch in 2018, the CNI has helped to shape the policy landscape. It played a pivotal role in establishing the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for left behind neighbourhoods, was used to allocate funding for the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund as well as a key data source for Sport England’s Place Need Classification.
Work on the CNI is ongoing. We updated the Community Needs Index in 2023, reviewing the geography, underlying indicators and weightings used to better address user needs. We have also developed complementary measures for Scotland and Wales. A consistent UK wide version is also in the pipeline to support the work of the C4 Centre for Community Connectedness.
The Pride in Place Programme is a huge opportunity to address deprivation and inequality faced by doubly disadvantaged areas. We are proud to have contributed to it through data that helps to ensure resources reach the places that need it most.
Our products and services are exceptionally well placed to support any organisation working on the Pride in Place Programme.
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