Building a common language and shared understanding Unless you are one of the world’s growing group of news avoiders, it cannot have escaped your notice that people are talking about
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Jul
Jul
We hear about the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) all the time. It appears in government announcements, funding bids, policy papers and local authority strategies. It helps shape decisions about
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Jun
Jun
In 2010, we published an article asking “why open data”. Back then, open data was still a relatively new idea. A small number of cities had started publishing transport feeds,
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Jun
Jun
Open Data Manchester has submitted four responses to the UK’s National Action Plan (NAP7) consultation, exploring how openness, accountability and participation can keep pace with changes in public service delivery,
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Apr
Apr
We are not short of data. There is more information than ever about climate, health, and our communities. But making sense of it, and actually using it, is still surprisingly
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Mar
Mar
Data has traditionally been used as a tool of management and control. Nowhere is this more visible than in the measurement of deprivation. The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) is
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Mar
Mar
What happens when we start to see how money really moves through our communities? Local economies are under pressure. Budgets are tight, inequality is rising, and yet huge amounts of
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Feb
Feb
Data has traditionally been used as a tool of management and control. In cities especially, data determines how things work, where intervention should happen and how impact should be measured.
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Dec
Dec
You may have noticed that the Indices of Deprivation for England were updated and released in November 2025, and this has given us an opportunity to revisit a project that
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Oct
Oct
The last two years have been challenging for civil society organisations across the UK. Like many not-for-profits, we’ve watched respected organisations close their doors as funding landscapes shifted dramatically—grant funding