DATA Play 8 challenges

Sustainable inclusive economy

Social Enterprises are businesses which trade for a social or environmental purpose. They make a profit and re-invest it for social benefit.

There are lots of ways to measure the social impact of an individual social enterprise, but the economy as a whole is usually measured using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Gross Value Added (GVA).

This tells us how much economic activity is going on, but doesn’t tell us whether it is doing any good. Such indicators would help the city to procure services and make investment decisions which create social value, and enable social enterprises to demonstrate the good they are doing.

• How can we measure whether economic activity is improving people’s lives?
• How can we tell when economic activity is contributing to environmental sustainability?
• What are indicators of more inclusive economic activity?

Understanding and monitoring housing

Measuring housing outcomes

Housing comes in various designs and quality. Everything from use of materials to specific guttering details, from how much light can get into a room to how much storage space there is.

• How can we find out what ‘good’ housing looks like and how can we measure the social value of it?

Demand for types of housing

Devon Home Choice allows people to bid for the homes they want. Some homes attract lots of bids and some have none.

• How could data from Devon Home Choice be used to inform what size affordable homes should be built in which locations?

Delivering housing

Community builds

Community builds offer people the chance to have input into the design of their home and provide many social benefits.

• How can we let people know about this and encourage them to form groups to provide their own homes?

Self-build delivery

The Right to Build Register contains data on individuals wanting a plot on which to build a home.

• How can we visualise this data to inform land agents and landowners what the demand is?

Homelessness

• How can data or technology be used to help solve the housing crisis and/or prevent homelessness?

Making housing work

Home adaptations

Different types of housing in the city might not be suitable for some types of housing adaptations. If a person is in need of an adaptation that their home cannot accommodate it is necessary to search the city or area for somewhere that would be able to meet their needs.

• How could we make it easier to search the city for appropriate homes and ensure that any intelligence collected during these searches is discoverable and re-usable next time?

Finding those in need

Many people are in unsuitable accommodation, for example potential downsizers, overcrowded families, people with disabilities and so on.

• How can we use data to find out who they are, what sort of accommodation they need and where they would like it to be situated?