How the University of Veracruz used data visualisation to help develop the state’s Observatory on Food Security and Nutrition

Background

The University of Veracruz was established in 1944 and is considered the state’s premier institution of higher education. The university now has a presence in five university regions and 28 municipalities. The university works with many national and state-level organisations that are seeking to improve the lives of people living in Veracruz.

The Faculty of Nutrition, Xalapa, which belongs to the Universidad Veracruzana, works in partnership with other agencies and hosts the Centre for Food Security and Nutrition State of Veracruz (OBSAN). The Observatory’s mission is to provide a platform that provides information on food security and nutrition in the State of Veracruz and to contributes to decision-making and policy development.

Read the full article

How the World Health Organization is using data visualisation to present information on inequalities in health system performance across the European Union

Background

The World Health Organization (WHO) embarked on a project to improve the availability of and access to evidence on inequalities in health system performance, including quality of care and the structural determinants of these inequalities. The project’s initial focus was on countries in the European Union.

The aim was to take into account the geographical nature of the regional data and not just to reflect national averages. The WHO team was led by Dr Claudia Stein and also included Drs Enrique Loyola, Ivo Rakovac and Anatoliy Nosikov who are based in Denmark. Dr Loyola explains that the intention was to use data  at the regional (NUTS2) level that was already available and avoid requests for further information. “Part of what we were hoping to achieve was to show that there is already a lot of data out there and that it is often not fully analysed.”

Read the full article >>

IPPR – How a UK think tank is using data presentation turn a project on the needs of older people in London into a useful resource

Background

IPPR, the Institute for Public Policy Research, is the UK’s leading progressive think tank, producing rigorous research and innovative policy ideas. IPPR publishes more than 50 reports each year and it uses its website as a hub for progressive thinking.

Getting started

One of its recent projects was supported by the City Bridge Trust – a charity that supports charitable activity benefitting Greater London. The project culminated in a report Older Londoners that highlighted the urgent need to tackle social isolation among the oldest members in society. It found that the number of people in London aged over-65 is expected to rise by a third in the next 20 years and those aged over 90, by 95 per cent.

Senior research fellow Kayte Lawton says: “It was a project looking at ageing and growing problems faced by the over-80s. This is a group of people who are often classed with the over-65s but we wanted to differentiate the needs of this older group. They often have greater social care and health needs.”

Read the full article

All-Island Regional Research Observatory (AIRO)

Background

Ireland’s All-Island Regional Research Observatory (AIRO) was initially established as a pilot project with the guidance and lead of the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA) and the National Centre for Geo-Computation (NCG) based in the National University of Ireland Maynooth.

The initial aim of the project was to provide reliable information through the collection, analysis and mapping of data relevant to the cross-border region. It was aimed to act as a spatial, social and economic databank resource for community, public and private bodies. Since then the AIRO project has broadened its horizon and developed a series of interactive mapping tools for all local and regional authorities in Ireland.

Read the full article