Public services are under immense pressure. Rising living costs, stagnant wages, and economic uncertainty have left many households struggling to make ends meet. The challenge for local authorities and policymakers is not in recognising that financial hardship exists but in understanding its scale, how to identify it and, most importantly, how to respond effectively.

At Futurescot’s Transforming Public Services conference on May 8, Smart Data Foundry will explore how unlocking access to de-identified financial data could revolutionise our ability to tackle economic hardship. By providing near real-time insights into financial resilience, these innovative data-informed approaches could support better decision-making and more targeted interventions.

Bridging the Data Gap in Public Services

One of the biggest challenges in data-informed policymaking is the availability of timely data. Public sector organisations have traditionally relied on official statistics, often collected via surveys. There is an inevitable lag between collection and publication, meaning the data can be outdated by the time it comes into use. But what if councils and policymakers could see economic trends as they unfold?

Smart Data Foundry’s recent collaboration with East Renfrewshire Council is a powerful example of what’s possible. Together, we developed a pioneering Cost-of-Living Dashboard, integrating near real-time, de-identified financial data with public sector datasets to provide a clearer picture of financial vulnerability in the community.

By analysing anonymised bank transaction data from 1.2 million current accounts (via our partnership with NatWest), the dashboard provided granular insights into income levels, financial commitments, and essential spending across different demographics and locations. This has the potential to help local authorities identify hidden pockets of deprivation and direct support where it is needed most.

Unlocking the Potential of Financial Data

The success of the Cost-of-Living Dashboard in East Renfrewshire highlights a wider opportunity. With better access to financial data, public services could become more agile, responding to communities’ needs as they emerge. Our upcoming session in Glasgow will explore how this approach could be scaled nationally.

Key questions we’ll tackle include:

  • How can financial data help councils design more effective interventions for those struggling with the cost of living?
  • What are the ethical considerations when using financial insights in public policy?
  • How can we ensure data is shared responsibly and used for public good?

Looking to the Future: The Art of the Possible

The Cost-of-Living Dashboard is just the beginning. Smart Data Foundry has just launched a new Economic Wellbeing Explorer, designed to provide deeper, more dynamic insights into financial wellbeing, poverty and inequality across Scotland. Public sector organisations can request access to the Economic Wellbeing Explorer via the Smart Data Foundry website.

Imagine a future where financial data helps identify at-risk households before they reach crisis point, where councils can track economic trends in real-time to refine policy decisions. Where local interventions can be measured for impact, ensuring resources are allocated where they make the most difference.

That’s the future we want to build.

Rui Cardoso will deliver the From Data to Action: Unlocking New Insights into Economic Wellbeing masterclass at Transforming Public Services on Thursday, May 8, in Glasgow. Register to attend HERE.