Guide

How local government uses The Data City platform

Do you work in local government and need to map and understand your region’s economy?

Discover how The Data City platform empowers local authorities to overcome data limitations and generate more effective, data-driven insights.

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Our platform enables local authorities to quickly explore the business landscape of any UK region.

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Local authorities across the UK face increasing pressure to produce effective economic strategies and growth plans, yet often struggle with outdated tools and limited data.

Traditional economic analysis relies on static classifications and incomplete datasets, making it challenging to gain a true view of a local economy.

The Data City platform changes that. See how local authorities are using it to gain real-time insights and support their regions like never before.

Overcoming data limitations

One of the biggest challenges local authorities face is working with outdated or incomplete data.

Traditional sector classifications, like SIC codes, are often too rigid and outdated to reflect modern economic activities, making it difficult to generate accurate insights.

The Data City platform solves these problems by providing up-to-date, real-time data that reflects the current state of your local economy.

Whether it’s understanding the number of businesses, their investment levels, or growth rates, our platform offers a comprehensive view that supports more accurate and impactful economic insights.

Understanding emerging sector strengths

Local authorities need to focus on future growth, but traditional tools often fail to identify emerging sectors.

For instance, industries like Artificial Intelligence or advanced tech sectors might not fit into existing classifications, making it hard to plan effectively. Our Real-Time Industrial Classifications (RTICs) address this gap.

They highlight emerging sectors within your region, allowing you to identify and support industries that are crucial for future economic growth.

For example, in regions like Aberdeen, the platform reveals the strength of the Net Zero sector—insights that traditional tools would overlook.

Tracking businesses

Local economic conditions are constantly shifting, yet many local authorities lack the tools to track these changes in real-time.

This makes it difficult to respond to trends or make timely decisions about where to allocate resources.

The Data City platform offers detailed metrics on business dynamics, including:

  • Growth rates of companies
  • Business births and deaths
  • Employee distribution across sectors

These insights allow local authorities to monitor economic trends and respond swiftly, ensuring that their growth plans are based on the most current and accurate information.

Enhancing strategic planning

With traditional tools, the strategic planning process can be cumbersome and imprecise. Local authorities often struggle with limited data, making it hard to justify investment decisions or support local businesses effectively.

The Data City platform provides the depth and breadth of data needed to overcome these limitations.

By offering detailed insights into the local business environment, investment levels, jobs and skills, company growth, inclusive growth and sector-specific trends, our platform enables more informed and targeted strategic planning.

As well as top level regional insights, The Data City platform also allows users to see detailed insights for individual companies – displaying details financial performance, growth data, director information and more.

This means local authorities can create strategies and produce reports that are not only effective but also responsive to the unique needs of their communities.

Liberate your local economic insights

Traditional tools limit your ability to make the best decisions for your region. The Data City platform offers real-time, comprehensive data that captures the true dynamics of local economies, helping you create growth plans that drive sustainable development.

Ready to transform your approach? Contact us today or sign up for a free trial to explore The Data City platform.

See how the Midlands Engine are making use of our innovative data to fuel growth in the Midlands in our case study.

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