Report shows that authorities can derive 6:1 ROI on their own data

The report, commissioned by GeoPlace LLP and conducted by location strategy consultants ConsultingWhere, shows that savings are most likely through benefits that could be derived in adult social care, education, planning, and environmental health and data integration. All told, these offer an enhanced return on investment of around 6:1 – an essential uplift in efficiency, at a time when all local authorities are feeling economic pressure.

In simple terms, this means every £1 invested in using address and street data more effectively has the potential to deliver £6 in cost efficiencies and increased revenue.

What’s more, local authorities have the wherewithal to kickstart their progress towards this return, as every organisation already has access to the underlying data needed. This 6:1 ROI is achievable by making better use of the data held within each authority’s Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and Local Street Gazetteer (LSG).

GeoPlace commissioned ConsultingWhere to do a Cost Benefit Analysis that would quantify the value of using that data, with its associated Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) and Unique Street Reference Number (USRNs). This report also shows that uses of the data in England and Wales have already delivered increased revenue streams and cost savings of an estimated £250 million over the last 5 years.

Everything the local government does happens somewhere, be it housing a homeless person, collecting someone's bin or providing support to a family in difficulty. Precise location information is essential for councils to deliver services. By adopting and using UPRNs to join disparate systems, councils can derive the valuable insights needed to deliver area-based services effectively on the ground.

The study shows that many authorities have used this data effectively already to build innovative services – improving efficiency, aiding revenue collection, and offering better customer service. Six specific use cases showcase the discounted benefits for local government as a whole in the following areas:

• Highways Asset Management - £190.7 million
• Waste management - £180 million
• Customer Relationship Management - £177.9 million
• Non-Domestic Rates - £74.9 million
• Data Integration - £171 million
• Adult Social Care - £9.8 million

These net benefits were discounted using HM Treasury Discount Rate of 3.5% per annum. The estimated mean case is estimated over a 10 year period from 2017-26.

Every local authority could benefit from using their own data more effectively, but many don’t know how best to utilise it.

GeoPlace is a world class expert in address and street information management, and a source of on-call expertise for data professionals working in local authorities. The team is driven to enable better adoption and use of this data, organisation-wide, and is creating a whole suite of tools that help local authorities to accelerate this work.

Working closely with the Local Government Association, GeoPlace has devised a simple 3-step process that can help local authorities discover their potential ROI:

1. Talk to your local address/street Custodian. The LGA’s ‘Find my local address and street Custodian’ tool shows who your Custodian is
2. Discover which parts of your authority could start deriving these benefits:
   1. Get your free integration report from GeoPlace (updated version ready on 1st November 2022)
   2. On a technical level, use GeoPlace’s free UPRN integration assessment tool to see how well integrated your systems are with UPRNs
3. Ensure your procurement of new systems supports UPRN integration by using GeoPlace’s new tool for the commissioning and purchase of new local authority systems’ software.

GeoPlace welcomes direct enquiries from local authority teams or data professionals who’d like to learn more, free of charge, about realising the benefits of 6:1 investment.

Access a full copy of the ROI report and other resources at www.geoplace.co.uk/roi.

NOTES

About GeoPlace

GeoPlace LLP is a public sector limited liability partnership between the Local Government Association (LGA) and Ordnance Survey.

GeoPlace is a world class expert in address and street information management, working internationally as well as in the UK to help our partners and customers maximise the value of their spatial information for better decision making.

GeoPlace maintains a national infrastructure that supports the address and street information needs of the public and private sectors. Its work relies heavily on close working relationships with every local authority in England and Wales. This relationship has been developed over 15 years, to build the National Address Gazetteer infrastructure and National Street Gazetteer. Ordnance Survey develops the range of AddressBase products from the National Address Gazetteer and OS MasterMap Highways Network from the NSG. Both datasets underpin efficient and effective services, bringing direct service delivery benefits to users.

The Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) and the Unique Street Reference Number (USRN) are the unique identifiers for every addressable location and street in Great Britain. They are created by local authorities who have the statutory authority to name and number every street and property and Ordnance Survey who identify objects on the landscape which may otherwise not attract an address.

These unique reference numbers link datasets together and share information with other organisations who also use them. They provide a comprehensive, complete and consistent identifier throughout a property's life cycle â from planning permission or street naming through to demolition.

See https://www.geoplace.co.uk.