Open data and code used for ONS subnational data conference

code
ons
planning
Author

Dan Olner

Published

November 10, 2024

Off the back of presenting at the ONS subnational data conference, this post collects the open data / code I used in the slides, as well as a few extra bits mentioned in there.

The presentation talks about the huge value and power of ONS data for the UK: how it can help us understand where we’ve come from and where we are now – and so help us work out we want to go.

There’s a mix here of step by step data walkthroughs and raw code: I want to work on getting more of this into a form that’s useable by more people. Part of that is testing what actually is useful and iterating.

I’ll add in some to-do notes on things that need updating / changing / improving and change this page as those get done.

Data and code used

References from the presentation:

  • Rice / Venables: “The persistent consequences of adverse shocks: how the 1970s shaped UK regional inequality” here
  • Sarah Willams, Data Action: Using Data for Public Good.
  • Martin A. Schwartz, “The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research.” Journal of Cell Science 121.
  • Peter Tennant on Bluesky talking about how we grow and why we need an open mind and be willing to be wrong.

Bits I didn’t manage to cram in the slides

  • Analysis of ONS business demography data that links local authorities across the dataset, including business ‘efficiency’ (balance of births and deaths) showing something shifted in more recent years in the south. (I write about automating your way out of an Excel data hole for this project here
  • The incredible Dutch secure data service data used in our Rotterdam project - paper here, supplementary material with a map here. Individual-level data! 100m^2, track over time! Link to other survey data! Secure, trustworthy, easy to use!
  • Northern Irish Census data - summarised down to 100m^2. Allows you to e.g. see Belfast like this (interactive map).