The winners of the LARIA Research Impact Awards were announced on Tuesday 26 November during the LARIA One Day Conference ‘We are not alone: artificial intelligence and data science – friend or foe?’ held at the Local Government Association, London.

The LARIA Research Impact Awards are the only awards specifically designed to showcase the work of those researching local areas and recognise the impact of research at a local level and showcase the very best work of our members. We welcome entries from across the public and private sector that show the value of this work in helping public sector bodies to make better evidence based decisions.

We are delighted to announce the 2024 shortlist and winners below:

A: Best use of local area research – sponsored by LGA

To win this award the successful entrant will show how their research has led to a greater understanding of a local area or community or an issue that is locally important, and has led to evidence-based decision-making.

Winner

• Qualitative Insight Team, Public Health, Wirral Council: Using qualitative research and partnership working to tackle fuel poverty

B: Best use of data – sponsored by CACI

To win this award the successful entrant will show how they have successfully used data to aid understanding of a local area, community or issue that has led to evidence-based decision-making within at least one public sector body. Data for the purposes of this award is defined as the use of big data, open data, business intelligence and statistical analysis.

Winner

• Improvement Service and West Lothian Council: Harnessing Council Data to Understand Unmet Need in West Lothian Council

Shortlisted

• Essex County Council Data and Analytics Team: Targeted foster carer recruitment
• Luton Borough Council: Understanding poverty in Luton through the Minimum Income Standard (MIS)
• Manchester City Council: Using Local Data to Create a Community Infrastructure Mapping Tool to Identify Factors Affecting Future GP Estate Planning in North Manchester

C: Best use of data or research in a district council

No Entries

D: Most engaging communication of local area research or analysis

To win this award the successful entrant will show how they have successfully communicated local area research or data analysis to aid understanding of a local area, community or issue. The audience for this communication could include senior decision-makers, staff, the media and the public.

Winner

• Essex County Council Data and Analytics Team: Tackling the Digital Divide: The Digital Exclusion Risk Mapping Tool

Shortlisted

• GeoPlace: Address data usage reports or “Unlocking the power of address data: A data-driven infographic report for benchmarking and transformation”
• Manchester City Council Performance, Research & Intelligence Team: Homecare Deep Dive Analysis
• Manchester City Council: The State of the City Report – Manchester City Council

E: New researcher/analyst of the year

This award is given to a researcher or analyst with under five years of experience in a research field who has made an impact. This could be a person of any age, and could be based on a particular project they have led, an innovation they have pioneered or a particularly strong skill set.

Winner

• Connie Becker, Essex County Council

Shortlisted

• Abigail Yeates, Qualitative Insight Team, Public Health, Wirral Council
• Nelly Jones, Shared Intelligence
• Zoe Read, Manchester City Council