It is essential that local authorities understand our citizens and local communities. There are a number of methods public services can employ to gather local intelligence in the hope to develop more efficient services. Social Classification tool Output Area Classification (OAC) is a tool we use to assist in community insight.
Cambridgeshire County Council Research, Performance and Business Intelligence Team is leading the way in the use of OAC amongst Local Authorities across the country. This classification uses key results from the 2001 census to develop community insight at a local area level. There are three levels to the classification, which includes seven supergroups, 21 groups and 52 subgroups.
The Cambridgeshire OAC factsheet details the picture for the county. More information on OAC can be found on the Office for National Statistics and the OAC User Group website (please see the links on the right).
The Research, Performance and Business Intelligence Team has created four interactive maps offering community insight that make use of OAC:
1. Cambridgeshire Atlas: Ward Profiles is our most comprehensive atlas to date displaying a wide range of socio-economic and demographic data for all of the counties wards.
2. Cambridgeshire Atlas: Output Area Classification displays the supergroup and group profile across the county, this can be filtered to a district and ward level.
3. Cambridgeshire Atlas: Living Costs and Food Survey displays the expenditure habits of different OAC groups in the county.
4. Cambridgeshire Atlas: Place Survey 2008 shows the Place Survey results (a full report can be accessed below) at a ward level across the county. OAC can be overlaid onto the map for greater insight.
The Research Group have also refreshed the Consultation Database, which is a library of information about surveys and consultation projects undertaken by the County Council with our residents. It is another important tool assisting us with our community insight.
In September 2011 Communities and Local Government (CLG) released the national statistics from its Citizenship Survey. The release includes data covering a range of issues including influencing decisions, volunteering, community cohesion, fear of crime, racial and religious prejudice, discrimination and attitudes toward violent extremism. The document linked below assesses how well Cambridgeshire is doing in each of the areas.