This initiative stems from the "collecting and utilising community data" work package of the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP).
The YEP is a key output of The Yorkshire & Humber Office for Data Analytics (YHODA), a newly established informatics hub based at the University of Sheffield, aiming to consolidate reliable regional and local data. YHODA’s mission is to foster data-driven decision-making and promote insights that drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth throughout the region.
Professor. Vania Sena, Guifré Ballesté Santacana, and Dr Stanislava Naneva from The University of Sheffield, who lead this work, hosted a successful launch event for over 60 stakeholders, both in-person and online. Attendees gained insights into the portal's development and offered valuable feedback for future enhancements.
The YEP's foundation is built upon the Vitality Index, an initial tool developed to understand complex life factors and their interconnectedness. The team’s vision was to create a scalable model that seamlessly connects local insights with regional and national policy initiatives.
Throughout the design process, the YEP team engaged extensively with stakeholders across Yorkshire and the Humber. This engagement highlighted critical regional challenges: community-generated data often lacks legitimacy, limiting its use in policymaking and diminishing community voice. Additionally, existing regional and local data can be outdated, incomplete, or difficult to access, leading to decisions made without a full understanding of the situation. The current limitations in data access and sharing also result in poor coordination across regional initiatives, leading to wasted resources and duplicated efforts.
The Yorkshire Engagement Portal directly addresses these issues by providing a single platform to access and analyse local authority and community insights, aiming to demystify and democratise data in a clear and accessible way.
Kersten England, YPIP Co-Director, delivered a compelling keynote speech, emphasising the transformative potential of YEP. "Going beyond admiring the problem and using data collection to take action," England stated, "data not only being used to fix problems but also to identify opportunities."
Professor Vania Sena from the Management School at the University of Sheffield said:
“YEP was developed with a deep understanding of its users and their specific needs. We believe a strong data platform can function as a region's digital nervous system, turning data into actionable intelligence—this belief underpins YEP's very design. Our ultimate objective is to propel regional growth by equipping policymakers to discover new market opportunities and strategic advantages, thereby cultivating data-driven innovation throughout the region.”
The free data analytics platform is now live, with several functional developments already in the pipeline. The YEP team is committed to a collaborative design process and will continue to engage with stakeholders and future users. They welcome ideas and input, encouraging interested parties to get in touch at yhoda@sheffield.ac.uk