Integrating local authority datasets into the Economic Wellbeing Explorer

Did you know that alongside our research-ready datasets within the Economic Wellbeing Explorer you are able to integrate your own data sources? This unification of data enables a much deeper level of insight into the economic wellbeing of your council or local authority area.

Whether you're combining homelessness presentations with rent arrears, overlaying crisis fund allocations with service uptake, or integrating multiple council team datasets that have never been viewed together, the Explorer turns fragmented information into actionable spatial intelligence.  

What is the Economic Wellbeing Explorer? 

The Economic Wellbeing Explorer is Smart Data Foundry’s map-based insights tool, allowing governments, NGOs, policy teams, and service providers to explore trends and themes in economic wellbeing at a national, regional and local level. This helps users make informed decisions that drive impactful change—reducing poverty, tackling inequality, and improving overall economic wellbeing. 

Use the Explorer to map your own local data alongside open datasets and our smart financial data at granular geographic levels (LAD/MSOA), without expensive GIS tools or dedicated data engineering and science teams.  

Built on proven technology already trusted by local authorities and NGOs across Britain, the Explorer breaks down data silos and makes sophisticated place-based analysis accessible to policy teams, service planners, and analysts; not just technical specialists.  

Why integrate your data with your  Economic Wellbeing Explorer subscription? 

Smart Data Foundry’s near real-time financial indicators allow your council to lift the lid at a neighbourhood level on the different financial stresses’ residents are experiencing. Combined with council-provided datasets, these indicators can create powerful roadmaps for change.  

The specific priorities in your area will determine the use cases that matter most, such as homelessness, child poverty, fuel poverty, public transport usage or household costs. A data-driven approach enables targeted support and proactive prevention.  

The Economic Wellbeing Explorer contains sources of contextual data that demonstrate characteristics of a neighbourhood—such as the typical house size or distances to schools and GP practices—but your council will also hold a wealth of data that will help build the picture for where neighbourhood intervention would be most helpful.  

Councils have successfully integrated datasets including; free school meal provision, money advice locations, council tax indebtedness, rent arrears, homelessness, and benefits uptake. Such integration has allowed councils to take actions including reallocating money advice centres and help identifying the predeterminants of homelessness to aid prevention.  

Incorporating your data into the Explorer does not expose your data to other councils.

How Councils and Local Authorities are unifying their data 

The Economic Wellbeing Explorer has provided East Renfrewshire Council with a comprehensive, near real-time view of local economic wellbeing. The tool combines key financial wellbeing indicators – such as income level and source, disposable income, and overdraft use – with contextual local data including school attainment, and council provided data such as requests for financial advice, and receipt of free school meals. It has already delivered valuable insights, including:  

• Confirming poverty in known areas, as well as revealing signs of financial vulnerability in ‘traditionally affluent’ areas.
• Providing insight into patterns of overdraft use and living beyond means in communities where uptake of financial advice and receipt of free school meals was low.
• Allowing the Council to target emerging areas of need earlier, before financial struggles escalated.

These insights are influencing decision-making and enabling resources to be directed more effectively, ensuring that support reaches the people who need it most.

See the full impact here. 

Another council is using the Economic Wellbeing Explorer to provide a tangible platform to enable more collaborative, data-informed work across teams responsible for housing, homelessness and poverty reduction. Council specific data will be used within the Economic Wellbeing Explorer, alongside the financial metrics, to identify changes in areas of known need and identify emerging support requirements. Alongside our standard Explorer contextual datasets, these datasets include:  

• Homelessness data