Home - Advanced and Predictive Analytics Network in Local Government

The next event in the APAN series will take place on MS Teams on Monday 5^th December 2022 - 2.00-3.15pm.  Open to APAN members, reserve your free place here: https://research.local.gov.uk/jfe/form/SV_3y2uI7Jii6QzHj8

The webinar is looking at support initiatives being developed to build skills and awareness for data teams working in local government analytics.  It is free and open to all members of the Advanced and Predictive Analytics Network for local government practitioners.

Join the LGA Research and Information Team and speakers from both the Office of National Statistics Data Science Campus (ONS DSC) and from the Equality and Human Right Commission (EHRC) to hear about support initiatives being developed to build skills and awareness for data teams working in local government analytics.

Senior compliance officers from the EHRC will guide us through new guidance material published recently by the Commission on how to consider the Public Sector Equality Duty when commissioning and using artificial intelligence and algorithmic supported analytics in data projects, as well as further monitoring work the Commission is doing in this area.

The second part of the session will hear from members of the ONS DSC, who will describe the various support initiatives available to public sector data teams (including local government) to build capacity and skills in the rapidly changing use of data. 

Alison Adams, Head of Data Science Capability will be presenting the wide offering of capability building programmes that the Data Science Campus offers. These are awareness level to expert level learning opportunities. Our programmes provide analysts across the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK public sector and international partners with a developmental framework to build capacity and enhance analytical capability.

Tom White, Data Science Lecturer, will present the learning offering available on the Learning Hub, their current catalogue makes use of e-learning and self-learning formats. Learning journeys (or suggested pathways) of comprehensive training programmes provide a clear route for you to develop skills from beginner through to advanced practitioner level. Each journey presents a clear approach for you to become competent within the chosen data science specialism.

Consider building your skills in a wide range of subjects including the use of Python, R, Power BI, data cleansing, matching, linking and validation.  There are courses on ethical use, reporting, data interpretation and evidencing.

The LGA and ONS DSC have been working together to open up the Learning Hub to local government.  We will be launching this after Christmas with the offer of up to 400 licence keys to APAN members to begin their self-paced training.  Come and start preparing!

The event will be a combination of presentations, demonstrations, and practical examples of their benefits.  There will be time for discussion and further questions and answers at the end.

The LGA is currently recruiting for a new research and data analyst. We are looking for someone with both research and data analysis skills, who can write and communicate well. You can find out more here: https://www.jobtrain.co.uk/lga/displayjob.aspx?jobid=1721

Time and date: Monday 7^th November 2022 - 2.00-3.15pm

Joining instructions: MS Teams - link and joining details will be emailed to you once you have registered your place.

Speakers:     Alistair Herbert (Data to Insight), Tambe Tabitha (Social Finance),

Alastair Lee (East Sussex County Council and the Children’s Services’ National Performance and Information Management Group)

Book your free place here  https://research.local.gov.uk/jfe/form/SV_71W8nVSEjmZJD0O 

Join the LGA Research and Information Team and speakers from Data to Insight to listen to examples of data-related projects currently underway in their organisation using advanced and predictive analytics.   See https://www.datatoinsight.org/ 

At this event we will hear about some of the data activities and data projects underway via Data to Insight, a service led by local authorities working nationally to improve data work and collaboration in children’s safeguarding.

Alistair Herbert (Data to Insight) will discuss the necessary conditions and barriers to be overcome for collaborative data work – how to unlock economies of scale for local children’s services teams

Tambe Tabitha (Social Finance) will consider the organisation’s use of Python for data analysis.  How the different teams within the community work together to learn and share new approaches to data work.

Alastair Lee (East Sussex County Council and the Children’s Services’ National Performance and Information Management Group) will look at their demand modelling and forecasting. What they have learned from developing a new approach to placement demand modelling for looked after children.

The event will be a combination of presentations, demonstrations of their work, practical examples of their benefits, use, lessons learned and a wider discussion with the audience on their views and examples of similar projects. 

We hope that the strategies being deployed in this forward-looking data analytics community will enthuse and encourage you to consider how you might develop similar techniques and use of data within your organisations

APAN members may be interested in several sessions at DataConnect22. This takes place from 26 - 30 September, with the aim of celebrating and connecting teams working with UK Government, local government and other public sector data. The programme includes virtual show and tells, skill share sessions, case studies and more.

We have launched a very quick poll to help us get a sense of the extent to which APAN members are working on predictive analytics or artificial intelligence projects. This is to help us tailor our activities and support to best suit your needs. If you are currently working on or have recently worked on a predictive analytics or artificial intelligence project, please let us know. Thanks!