Discovery diagnostic tool

Discovery is a ground-breaking diagnostic tool, developed by 3ni in partnership with the Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI).

Discovery enables local authorities and other key partners to map levels of social infrastructure and types and drivers of community need at the hyper-local neighbourhood level, in combination with deprivation levels and other health, wellbeing, employment and education metrics.

The tool leverages Community Needs Index data, which looks at social infrastructure across the three domains of: civic engagement; the prevalence of community spaces, places and networks; and the strength of digital and physical connectivity to key services. Discovery visualises and maps these factors at the neighbourhood level, defined in terms of Lower-Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) representing 1000-3000 people.

Discovery is enabling local authorities to target investment and design bespoke interventions according to individual neighbourhood strengths and needs and particularly, to develop social capital strategies to address neighbourhood deprivation and foster increased community resilience.

Discovery analysis is being used by local authorities across the country to guide data-led approaches to diagnosing community needs. The Community Needs Index data underpinning Discovery has additionally been used by national and local government to direct vital social infrastructure investment to the communities most in need, including through Know Your Neighbourhood Fund allocations, the development of the Community Wealth Fund concept, now adopted by government as a new beneficiary of dormant assets funding, and in investment planning by some local authorities in their local distribution of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

This strengths-based approach is enabling councils to generate greater efficacy and impact in spend whilst ensuring that the most disadvantaged places receive the vital support they need to preventatively build capacity and resilience over the long-term.

For further information, or to book a demo, contact [email protected]