Feature Recap: Looking back at Local Insight in 2024

 

It’s been a huge year for the team at OCSI!

Things kicked off with the full launch of Local Insight 2.0 –  an entirely new version of our landmark place-based data platform, rebuilt using everything we learned from our years working on the original version.

The team has since grown to a record size, and together we’ve taken advantage of the new platform’s flexibility to steadily introduce features into Local Insight, which, as we head into 2025, we’ve revisited below.

2025 is set to be even more exciting, and there’s already lots to look forward to. Early next year, we hope to begin the rollout of the Local Insight API, which will enable seamless integration of Local Insight with other data platforms. 

 

Share your visualisations directly

We were asked if there was a way to share the visualisations and insights made within Local Insight amongst colleagues and key stakeholders. In response, we introduced a ‘Share button’ that allows you to link to a specific view of the platform.

1. Load an indicator and a selection of Services and Custom Areas. 
2. Click the Share button to generate a link that can be sent to colleagues, which will load the exact same view when clicked.

Subscribers with the Public Site add-on found this feature particularly useful for highlighting key issues within their areas. For example, Local Authorities can link to their public site to evidence issues from their Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), and highlight areas with particularly high need.

You can see this in action by visiting our example Public Site, where we’ve loaded some indicators and Services on.

Link to Help Centre article: Share the map

 

Reordering Report comparators and themes

For the first part of the year, when you generated a Report, you could not choose the order that comparators showed, or which order the themes would display. London-based subscribers told us that they wanted to provide a clear borough-wide context and then London-wide context, but the system displayed London first.

This was updated to allow users to choose which comparators show first, increasing flexibility and offering new ways to use Reports. For example, you might want to highlight two vulnerable areas, and choose a third national comparator that gives wider context to the challenges. This update means you can prioritise the data that’s most useful for your work and organisation.

Link to Help Centre article: Create a report

 

 

Customise your Service types

Within Local Insight you can plot your Services as points on the map. Following a direct request from the team at Wirral Met Borough Council, we increased the variety of different designs that can be used to distinguish the Service offerings within the region you work with.

Link to Help Centre article: Manage services

 

Export the postcodes within your Custom Areas, or bring your boundaries out as a GeoJSON file

Subscribers can now export Custom Areas from Local Insight for use in tools like PowerBI and ArcGIS. This feature came directly from user feedback.

By exporting your Custom Areas, you can also now keep a record of the areas you’re working with and import them back into Local Insight, should anything go wrong.

Link to Help Centre article: Export Custom Areas

 

Thank you for making 2024 a fantastic year. Here’s to even greater things in 2025!

As always, we’re keen to hear feedback – just email us at support@ocsi.co.uk or you can connect with us on LinkedIn to keep up with the latest OCSI and Local Insight news.

If you’re not yet subscribed to Local Insight and want to explore these features, you can book a free demo and receive a two-week free trial of the platform here: localinsight.org/book-a-demo

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