Statistical Dissemination

Jeremy Barton

Corporate Performance DivisionPerformance and Places Directorate

25 November 2013

2

Statistical Dissemination

• Access• Developments in presentation• Maximising audience reach• Using new technology

3

GSS Presentation and Dissemination Strategy

The Vision

“Professionally presented, meaningful, easily understood statistics delivered in ways users find easy to access, use, understand and re-use.”

4

Excellently presented statistics….

Easily located Are well-written Mix of commentary, data and visualisations Link to other related information Maximise audience reach Use platforms which best fit users needs

5

Easily Located?

GOV.UK – the route to easy access?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?publication_filter_option=statistics

6

…or room for improvement?

“Our initial analysis … suggested that users tend to come for a specific statistical release or table, with relatively few people accessing statistics via a statistics landing page” Neil Williams, Inside Government

7

The alternatives – what do you use?

8

The alternatives – DATA.GOV.UK – access to DCLG data second only to ONS

0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000

Office for National Statistics

Department for Communitiesand Local Government

NHS Information Centre forHealth and Social Care

Department for Transport

Department for Business,Innovation and Skills

Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs

Land Registry

Home Office

Department of Health

Visits

Views

Visits and views to data.gov.uk since June 2012 to present

9

The world is changing and we need to change with it…

Source: Office for National Statistics

10

How we used to present DCLG’s lead indicators…

Limited time series presented in Excel spreadsheet, quarterly updates

A separated Excel spreadsheet contained the associated metadata – no linkages between the two

11

How we now present DCLG’s lead indicators

http://dclgapps.communities.gov.uk/indicators/

12

The indicator dashboard

Key figures with indication of change

What the latest figures show

Explanation of calculation of indicator

Link to data

Chart of time series

Table showing components of

indicator

Metadata and link to further information

Data updated soon after first release of

statistics

13

Maximising audience reach

Main cause of accidental home fires is misuse of equipment/appliances:

nearly 11,000 in 2012-13At last count private rent

amounted to 41% of gross income, social rent 30% and mortgage owner

payments 19%

Between 2011 & 2012 the number of long-term empty homes fell by

19,000 (7%)

@CommunitiesUK

14

Maximising audience reach

40 tweets 429 retweets

1039 clicks on the links

64,000 followers

15

..with added visualisations

16

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2010 2011 2012 2013

Per

cen

tag

e

16-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Increasing use of mobile

Internet use on a mobile phone, 2010 to 2013

Source: Office for National Statistics

17

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Mobile phone or smartphone

Portable computer (laptop, tablet)

Other handheld device (eg PDA, MP3, e-bookreader, games console)

Increasing use of mobile

Accessing the Internet 'on the go' , 2013

Source: Office for National Statistics

18

Gov.uk is mobile enabled, but stats content often is not…

19

…however our non-GDS platforms are mobile-enabled…

Indicators Dashboardhttp://dclgapps.communities.gov.uk/indicators/

ODC – Local Authority Dashboardhttp://opendatacommunities.org/dashboard

20

The future…

21

Any Questions?

Jeremy.Barton@communities.gsi.gov.uk

Statistics and Open Data at DCLGThe story so far…

Steve Peters

Strategic Statistics DivisionAnalysis and Innovation Directorate

25 November 2013

23

Statistics and open data

http://data.gov.uk/library/national-information-infrastructure-narrative

“The NII will contain the data held by government which is likely to have the broadest and most significant economic and social impact if made available and accessible outside of government, where possible”

Official Statistics are a key element, e.g..

Policy context

24

The prize: a web of data

Data and information that is:

• Open, re-usable, accessible and meaningful

• Integrated:

• Data that can be quickly and easily blended and combined from multiple related sources (national and local-level)

• Useful to (and used by) citizens and communities:

• The fuel to power engagement with local decision making and holding decision makers to account.

25

Future potential: the bigger picture

Joining-up national and local sources on planning, housing, and the economy

Moving away from the web of documents, towards the web of data

26

Open data star rating

26

http://5stardata.info

make your stuff available on the Web (whatever format) under an open license

make it available as structured data (e.g., Excel instead of image scan of a table)

use non-proprietary formats (e.g., CSV instead of Excel)

use URIs to denote things, so that people can point at your stuff

link your data to other data to provide context

27

5 Stars of open data engagement

Government information and data are common resources, managed in trust by government.A commitment to open data involves making information and data resources accessible to all without discrimination; and actively engaging to ensure that information and data can be used in a wide range of ways.

http://www.opendataimpacts.net/engagement/

2828

DCLG’s journey to open, re-usable dataMoving progressively to 5-star outputs

http://opendatacommunities.org/data

2929

Open Data CommunitiesDataset example

So. How is this different to publishing spreadsheets?

30

Open Data CommunitiesHelping you get the data you need

31

New insights. New audiences

http://dclgapps.communities.gov.uk/indicators

DCLG Business Plan Indicators

32

The neighbourhood-level wellbeing map

http://opendatacommunities.org/wellbeing/map

Demonstrating future potential

33

Enhancing our standard outputsExploiting new (free) tools

34http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/Householdcompositionbytypeofletting/Dashboard#1

http://geocommons.com/maps/303187

Enhancing our standard outputsExploiting new (free) tools

35

Enhancing our standard outputsEnabling rapid development of low-cost apps

3636

http://dclgapps.communities.gov.uk/localities/hhprojdemo_v6.html

Enhancing our standard outputsEnabling rapid development of low-cost apps

37

Building the web of dataThe “lambeth-in-numbers” demonstrator

http://lambeth-in-numbers.co.uk

38

Land supply for Housing in Hampshire

http://linkeddata.hants.gov.uk/land-supply-mapper/map.html

Building the web of data

39

Enabling innovation

From this…. To this…Some examples

40

Enabling innovationSome examples

41

Enabling innovationSome examples

http://opencorporates.com

42

Enabling innovationSome examples

http://illustreets.co.uk

43

Enabling innovationSome examples

http://illustreets.co.uk

44

Your exam questions for today…

1. Which DCLG datasets do you use (top 5), and how do you use them?

2. How can we help you to find and re-use our data more quickly/easily/efficiently?

3. What opportunities can you see to improve linking of DCLG datasets with related 3rd party sources?

45

Thank you

Steve PetersStrategic Statistics DivisionAnalysis and Information Directorate

steve.peters@communities.gsi.gov.uk

0303 444 42333 / 07899 060 776

Towards open, re-usable data: http://opendatacommunities.org

Twitter: @Open_Data

Wordpress: http://wordpress.com/openviz

Demo apps: http://dclgexamples.mywebcommunity.org

STATISTICAL COMMENTARY

4747

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATING STATISTICS

“I keep saying the sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians…

The ability to take data - to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it, is going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades”

(Hal Varian, 2009)

4848

GSS STRATEGY / VISION

REBALANCING OUR ACTIVITIESFrom collection to more analysis, dissemination and user support

4949

“Official Statistics should contain full and frank commentary and analysis that aid interpretation”

WHY COMMENTARY MATTERS

• Having the ‘right numbers’ is not enough

• More informative, well-rounded products

• Aiding the user’s interpretation of the statistics

• Increasing the IMPACT

“If you choose not to communicate what you do, your work will become increasingly irrelevant. Even worse, you will condemn the rest of us to receive information from sources that may be ignorant or those who would seek to distort or misinform for their own gain.” (Carl Safina)

5050

COMMENTARY IS A BALANCING ACT

• Providing information without bias

• Explaining without over-attributing

• Highlighting relevant facts and context

TELL THE STORY

A statistical story doesn’t just recite data in words. It tells a story about the data

A story tells the reader what you found and why it is important

5151

UKSA GUIDANCE / GSS BEST PRACICE

• Focus on the key messages?

• Add interpretation – describe trends / key events or changes that have led to observable patterns in data.

• What is the context? (policy environment)

• Commentary framed in a language of uncertainty

• What are the limitations?

• What can the figures be used for?

• International comparison where applicable

5252

STATISTICIANS NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE USER…

5353

COMPONENTS OF COMMENTARY

1. Title

2. Headline Messages

3. Context

4. Interpretation

5. Language

5454

1. TITLE

• Should immediately allow the reader to identify what’s in the release

• It should stand alone as a description of the publication and identify:- Statistics being published- Time period - Geographical coverage- Frequency of the release

e.g.

• Affordable Housing Supply, England, 2012-13

• Fire Statistics, Great Britain 2012 to 2013

5555

2. HEADLINE MESSAGES

• Ensuring that the main messages of the publication reach the user

• Should be interesting

• Be easy to understand

• Place the findings in context

• No need to summarise all the results in the publication

5656

2. HEADLINE MESSAGES MATTER:

CRUCIAL Information

HELPFUL Information

NICE to

know

Introduction

Details

Conclusion

Academia Journalist

The inverted pyramid…

5757

2. HEADLINE MESSAGES

e.g.

• Actual numbers of cases of cancer have risen over the last decade, likely to be largely due to an ageing population.

• Based on current trends, more than one in three people in Scotland will develop cancer in their lifetime.

And from DCLG

• In 2011-12 fire and rescue authorities attended 585,000 fires or false alarms in Britain, 7% fewer than in 2010-11

5858

3. CONTEXT

• Why are the statistics collected and what are they used for?

• Why is the user interested?

• Relevant policies and targets

• Long-term trends

• Geographical comparisons

• Limitations and strengths of use/interpretation

5959

3. CONTEXT

• The number of children involved in public law applications made by local authorities jumped in 2009 from around 5,000 per quarter to 6,500 per quarter following the publicity surrounding the Baby P case.

• Since then, this number has increased even further to nearly 7,500 per quarter.

e.g. Court Statistics Quarterly - MoJ

6060

4. INTERPRETATION

• Explores the relationships, causes and effects, to the extent that they can be supported by evidence

• Where is the line between interpretation and speculation?

6161

4. INTERPRETATION

e.g.

• Cereal areas were at their lowest in 2006 and 2007, but increased by 52,888 hectares (13.1%) in 2008 in response to tight EU and world supply, and high market prices following the 2007 harvest and a reduction in compulsory set-aside rates to 0%.

• There was a small decrease in cereal areas in 2009 (1.8%) followed by a further decrease of 5.0% in 2010, as market prices dropped and the supply situation eased

6262

5. LANGUAGE

Write simply and concisely:

• Use simple sentence structure• Use everyday language• Avoid jargon. If it’s necessary, define it in the text• Leave white space• Short sentences• Short paragraphs

• Over half of the UK working population have a reading age of 11 years old or younger

6363

5. LANGUAGE

e.g.

• Gross weekly pay in the bottom income decile was below £276

• One in ten people earn £276 or less per week before tax and national insurance are taken out

6464

6565

DCLG STATISTICAL COMMENTARY WORKING GROUP

• Designed a DCLG Statistical Release Template – now being used for all quarterly releases and shorter annual releases

• Currently carrying out a Review of DCLG National and Official Statistics Commentary

• To date 18 reviews completed with 20+ further reviews due in 2014…

6666

NEW DCLG STATISTICAL RELEASE TEMPLATE

• National Statistics badge top right corner

• Topic, Release and Date Underneath

• Separate Bullet Points for Key Commentary Messages

• Introduction: Details regarding special events that may have affected the data in the release

• Technical Notes: Symbols, Data Collection, Data Quality, Revisions Policy, Uses of Data, User Engagement, Notes

6767

DCLG STATISTICAL COMMENTARY REVIEW FINDINGS

• Add more context to aid interpretation

• Provide information on key events that have led to trends / observable patterns e.g. economic downturn

• Use less technical language where we can

• Add more information on potential uses of the data

6868

USER FEEDBACK / CONTACT US

We value your feedback…

• Users are encouraged to provide feedback on how these statistics are used and how well they meet user needs

• Comments on any issues relating to statistical releases are welcomed and encouraged

• Responses should be addressed to the "Public enquiries" contact given in the "Enquiries" section of the publication

6969

PRACTICAL SESSION

In small groups, please briefly review the statistical commentary in this homelessness publication…

Questions:

1. What do you like about the statistical commentary?

2. What don’t you like? How can we improve?