Visualisation in the public sector

The organization Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI), a research consultancy focusing on the development of evidence to help the public sector deliver better services, have recently been commissioned by the UK Department of Communities and Local Government to carry out a review of the many approaches to visualizing data in the public realm.

"The project will seek to understand the potential for visualisations in the analysis and communication of data, and provide guidance for national and local analysts on making best use of visualisation.

Work on the project will explore questions including:

• What visualisations are being used by the public sector? What can we learn from elsewhere?
• Is there a useful typology (classification) of visualisation techniques for public sector users?
• How effective are particular types of visualisation in supporting public sector research and decision-making?
• What are the most appropriate visualisation techniques for particular purposes?

The primary output from the project will be a web application, to help users identify strengths and weaknesses of visualisations for particular purposes, also linking to examples and supporting material.

The project/website will be an excellent opportunity to show case your own examples of good visualisation, and help contribute to common standards of good practice in the research community.  Send your examples here  visualisation@ocsi.co.uk.

I am intrigued.