Insights from London Tech Week: Exhibiting with Homewards

Last week I joined Homewards at London Tech Week on behalf of Smart Data Foundry to launch their new Homelessness Data Lab. The Homelessness Data Lab was established by The Royal Foundation to address a persistent gap in how data and technology are used in homelessness prevention. The Data Lab brings together 25 organisations across business, government, local authorities, and the homelessness sector to explore how data and technology can help to identify and respond to early warning signs. 

During the Homewards panel where they launched the Data Lab, the panellists highlighted the role that businesses, alongside government and the homelessness sector, can play in building a more preventative system. As data and technology develop, homelessness prevention must keep pace and those developing this technology must also get involved. 

We are providing Homewards Partner Location access to our Economic Wellbeing Explorer and while at London Tech Week I demoed the functionality of the explorer to hundreds of visitors, including to Prince William himself. My focus with these demos was showcasing how insights from smart financial data can be used to identify risk sooner. The explorer is being used in five Homewards partner locations to help local authorities and NGOs understand the financial pressures facing residents in their areas.  

There were many conversations about how the Economic Wellbeing Explorer could potentially infused with more data, including with Prince William on the third day of the conference. I presented to Prince William data on the London Borough of Lambeth, one of the authorities involved in the project, and we spoke over how technology and smart data can be used for good. 

Across the three days of the conference there was significant cross-sector interest which really drives home the message that there is significant space for improvement, and many opportunities for different sectors to contribute to the end of homelessness. Beyond UK interest, this pioneering partnership also had interest from international organisations as to how this work can be implemented elsewhere—and homelessness is something that impacts people worldwide. 

Overall, this week showed me that the impacts of homelessness resonated with everyone and it was touching to hear such personal stories from people who have experienced or nearly experienced it; and considering where many of them are now, how open they were about it. It is crucial to involve people with experience of homelessness in any discussions and decisions around homelessness, data is only part of the equation and should always be used as a tool but not the decision maker within the process. 

It was great to see and join Homewards at London Tech Week this year, helping to broaden conversations around how technology and data can spot people struggling earlier and prevent homelessness. 

Images provided by The Royal Foundation