In collaboration with colleagues Prof. Ian Shuttleworth and Dr. Sara Ferguson from the School of Natural and Built Environment, in December 2024, QCAP’s Director and Deputy Director, Kathryn Higgins and Andrew Grounds; hosted an engagement event to inform the development of a new ESRC-funded project called “Maximising the value of the 2021 Northern Ireland Census: Adding Time to Place”.

This ESRC-funded project aims to transform how we understand neighbourhood-level changes over time using Grid Square Data shared by the NISRA through the development of a bespoke and public-facing Grid Square Data Product.

The event brought together public officials from NISRA, local councils, representatives from across the local community and voluntary sector organisations to introduce the research project and to understand how they currently engaged with existing datasets or data tools. It also explored practically how the Grid Square Data Product could be co-designed in a way to support real-world applications and ongoing or emerging policy initiatives.

Finally, the session also explored the application of "Equipop," a sophisticated tool presented by Prof. John Östh, Professor of Urban Analytics from Oslo Metropolitan University. This tool is one method to help overcome traditional challenges in analysing small-area data by using a k-nearest neighbour approach. For instance, it can track changes in health patterns or population characteristics across Belfast while maintaining statistical reliability.

This engagement event highlighted clear pathways for developing this innovative data resource. As the project progresses, continued engagement with stakeholders will be essential to refine the tool and ensure it meets real-world needs. The team welcomes ongoing input from potential users as they work to maximise the value of the 2021 Census data for Northern Ireland's communities in 2025 and beyond.