1. Create a custom dashboard in seconds

The dashboard is a great way to be able to compare multiple indicators at once, however with only one dashboard view per organisation, it used to be tricky to build a dashboard that suited everybody’s needs.

Not anymore.

The new functionality in Local Insight allows users to create custom dashboards on the fly. This means the indicators appearing on the dashboard can be tailored to each individual for any project. Everybody (not just Group Admins!) now has the ability to build their own dashboards quickly and easily – meaning you can create dashboards set up specifically for your needs – whether that is adolescent health, loneliness or access to services.

2. Get to grips with the data from within the dashboard itself

With some improvements to the metadata on the dashboard, it is now possible to gain a lot more information about what the data shows from within the dashboard itself. For example, the metadata can be found by clicking on the indicator header, and hovering over an individual data value will show you everything you need to know about what that number means. 

We have a real focus on keeping things accessible and simple to use with Local Insight, and hope that this will help all users – not just analysts – make better use of the dashboard.

3. Generate a tailored data export for particular areas and indicators

There are already a number of ways to export data from Local Insight. The recent addition of the All Data Download means you can dig into all of the raw data held in Local Insight at LSOA level and the download from the Data for my Areas pop up puts a spotlight on one indicator.

The dashboard export covers the needs in between and is super useful for providing data for a selection of areas and selection of indicators – as decided by you.

So, if you want to create some of your own charts or send the data to a colleague, why not see if using the dashboard export can save you a bit of time.

(Of course – you can still copy and paste the dashboard directly from Local Insight into Excel to do your own further analysis. This has the additional benefit of retaining the colour scales.)

4. Use comparators to show how your areas fare locally, regionally and nationally

The dashboard now includes the England value as standard so that you can quickly and easily see how your areas fare compared to the national comparator. 

But you needn’t stop there, you can set up any area you like as a custom area in Local Insight. It will then be visible on the dashboard for you to use as a comparator area.

You could set up a new Custom Area Category for all your comparator areas – and then set up local authorities, counties, regions, CIPFA nearest neighbours – whatever is useful for you. 

5. Use dashboards in your presentations and reports

All of the data in Local Insight is open data – so you are free to use and reuse the data in any way you like. So, if your PowerPoint presentation is lacking in visuals, or you need a neat way to explain the local context for your service patch, why not try adding a screenshot from your dashboard in? It is quick and easy to do as well as clear and concise way to tell your story.

More information:

For more information on all of the updates to the dashboard, take a look at our blog. For step-by-step guidance on using all the new functionality, head to the Knowledge Base.