1. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Visualising data

2. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Interactive toolkit
• Local Knowledge incorporates an interactive toolkit, designed to bring data to life. The tools are
quick and easy to use and provide graphical outputs for use in reports and presentations.
• Individual indicators can be displayed using mapping, ranking and comparison tools. These allow
the characteristics of an area to be compared with neighbouring areas or regional and national
averages. All indicators in Local Knowledge have national coverage.
• Local Knowledge also has a range of tools for analysing groups of indicators, identifying
interrelationships. These include cross-tabulations, scatter charts and profiling applications. Local
Knowledge highlights headline indicators, with profiles for different areas quickly compared or
statistical nearest neighbours identified.
• Composite measures, unique to Local Knowledge, can be used to provide an overall summary of
an area’s performance. The findings are presented as Report Cards, with A-E summary scores
telling a ‘story of place’ on a range of themes.
• Local Knowledge also provides information on underlying trends and forecasts. Using consistent
time series data, the change application allows underlying trends to be quickly identified and
compared with regional and national averages.

3. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Easy-to-use
Press build
Select application
Select spatial
level Region, sub-
region, district,
ward, LLSOA,
COA
Select indicator
(category, sub
category)
Email, print, save
Output

4. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Report Cards
Report Cards
provide a
summary
analysis of local
conditions. They
provide a quick
and easy way of
analysing
strengths and
weaknesses
within areas.
Click on theme
to display a
spider chart
showing
performance on
related indicators
Based on
composite Local
Futures measures,
areas are given an
A-E score based
on their
performance.
They also highlight
how areas perform
within a local,
regional and
national context.

5. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Spider charts
Spider charts
graphically display
performance on sets
of indicators. They
are designed to
allow the
characteristics of an
area to be analysed
from a variety of
different
perspectives.
Actual and percentile
scores are displayed
in the supporting
summary table.
Click on one of
the ‘Filter
indicators’ buttons
to select your own
indicators
Select indicators
for a range of
different themes
Display statistical
nearest neighbours
or overlay the
performance of other
areas by clicking on
‘add further area’.
Create a spider
chart by clicking
on the Profile
application in the
drop-down menu.
Add other areas
or identify nearest
neighbours

6. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Ranked tables
This application
allows you to rank
the performance
of areas on a
specific indicator.
National averages
are displayed at
the foot of the
table.
Use the filter
option to present
the findings for
areas within a
specific region or
sub-region.
Regional/sub-
regional rankings
are displayed
alongside national
rankings
Download full data
set into a CSV file
Create a ranked
table by clicking
on the Ranking
application in the
drop-down menu.
Rankings can be
used alongside
actual scores and
averages to assess
and monitor relative
performance.

7. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Thematic maps
The thematic
mapping
application sets the
performance of an
area within a
broader
geographical
context. It provides
a quick and user
friendly way of
creating high
impact, customised
maps.
Zoom into an
area, display
place names or
provide a key
Create a map by
clicking on the
Mapping
application in the
drop-down menu.
Display thematic
layers
Display OAC
classification
Display cosmetic
layers

8. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Charts
Benchmark local
area performance
on a range of
economic, social
and environmental
indicators using the
compare
application. Areas
can be selected
from across Britain
and compared on
individual indicators
or on groups of
indicators.
Data is displayed in a
supporting table
Create a bar chart
clicking on the
Compare
application in the
drop-down menu.

9. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Tables
Create a table of
indicators by
clicking on the
Table application in
the drop-down
menu.
Performance can
be assessed on a
range of indicators
and for a number of
different areas. The
application allows
you to bring
together thematic
groups of indictors,
exploring
relationships
between variables
or quickly
summarising an
area’s
characteristics.
Re-rank the table by
clicking on the
different indicators

10. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Scatter charts
Create a scatter
chart by clicking on
the Scatter
application in the
drop-down menu.
Charts plotting the
national
performance of
individual areas on
pairs of indicators.
The performance of
neighbouring areas
within a sub-region
or region can also
be displayed.
The R2 indicates the
strength of the
relationship.

11. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Graphs
Change can be
compared over a
number of years for
up to 15 different
areas.
Create a graph
displaying
underlying trends
by clicking the
Change application
in the drop-down
menu.
Local area
forecasts are
available for some
indicators.
Underlying data is
displayed in the
supporting table

12. © 2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
www.localfutures.com