This document summarizes the work of a team that uses qualitative and quantitative methods to produce actionable insights and analyses for humanitarian aid organizations. The team conducts research and data analysis to understand vulnerability, monitor emerging needs during crises like pandemics and disasters, and help target resources. Examples provided include mapping vulnerability to COVID-19 in the UK, analyzing changes in flooding vulnerability over time, and identifying areas that may need support for vaccine uptake. The goal is to harness data and evidence to help organizations provide effective aid and support to people in need.
3. Disasters & Emergencies
People are safe and able to survive
and recover whenever disaster strikes
- Emergency response
- Community education
- Resilience-building
4. Health inequalities
People in the UK receive the care and
support they need without falling
through gaps in the health system
- Assisted discharge
- High-intensity use of unplanned
care
- Signposting
- Digital inclusion
- Waiting well
5. Displacement & Migration
People experiencing displacement feel
safe, live with dignity and have choice
and opportunity on their journey
- Find missing loved ones
- Help leaving unsafe situations
- Help accessing support
- Cash assistance
- Psychosocial support
6. A team of researchers and analysts using qualitative and quantitative
methods to produce actionable insights about the systems and contexts in
which we work, as well as monitoring emerging needs and anticipating
future crises.
Who are we?
> Resilience Index
> Data science
> Horizon scanning
> Scenario planning
> SWOT and PESTLE analysis
> Early action briefings
> Thematic insight packs
> Designing research
> Reviews and summaries of evidence
What do we do?
8. Mapping vulnerability to Covid-19
A UK-wide, neighbourhood-level composite index:
- Clinical vulnerability
- Socioeconomic vulnerability
- Wider health and wellbeing
Also used by:
- Scottish Public Health Observatory
- Local Authorities
- Community Foundations
- Arts Council England
- and others
9. Targeting our Hardship Fund
Short-term financial support for certain at-risk groups:
> People with No Recourse to Public Funds
> People aged 70 or older
> People who have had disruption or delay to statutory support
> Household who have lost their primary earner to coronavirus
> Survivors of gender-based violence, including domestic abuse
> People facing homelessness or living in temporary accommodation
贈5m
to 13,000
people
Combining data analysis with local intelligence
East Anglia coastal and seasonal needs, loss of income
Midlands refugees at risk of destitution
~12%
of eligible
people
12. Shetland Islands
Mapping Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy
Targeting places with low vaccination coverage
Likely vaccine hesitancy (unwillingness) in Local
Authorities
Vaccine hesitancy was modelled using five indicators, found
consistently across studies:
Gender Ethnicity Income Education Flu vaccination
16. Changes to population age and health
were the biggest drivers behind change
in vulnerability to flooding
North East and North West had the
highest proportion of neighbourhoods
becoming more vulnerable.
21. Cohorts analyses for our three causes
Emergency planning tool
Capacity planning (with Pro Bono OR volunteer)
Resilience Index
> Disasters & emergencies
> Health inequalities
Scenario planning / horizon scanning
> Ukraine
> Strategy for 2023-25
Embed insight products in decision-support tools
22. Strategic Insight & Foresight team
> Elle Gordon
> Freya Neason
> Mike Page
None of this would have been possible without
Experts volunteering their time and brainpower
> Stefan Noble (Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion)
> Obi Thompson Sargoni (Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, UCL)
> Brian Johnston (Queens University Belfast)
> Elise Paul (University College London)
> Tom Russell (University of Oxford)
Say hello:
MattThomas@redcross.org.uk
@matthewgthomas
> Clare Darlow
> Aileen McDonald
> Gena Burgess
Editor's Notes
#4: Response include practical and emotional support; cash assistance
#7: Targeting resources high risk low resource
Where wed have most meaningful impact
#9: Similar approach to IMD
Arts Council England used VI to determine funding awards to priority places in the South West
Also cited by OR Society in your Covid-19 Resource Hub
#10: The work Central did with the VI and Hardship Fund has resulted in 51% of our Hardship Fund referrals being in the top three deciles for vulnerability. Making sure that the people who needed it the most have received it. Lee Revis
Reached around 1 in 8 or 1 in 9 people eligible for support
#13: Hesitancy:
Women
People from BAME backgrounds although not every study found this
People on lower incomes
And with lower educational attainment
People who didnt get a flu jab in 2019
Older people are more worried about unseen side effects
Some people believe natural immunity offers better protection
Nearly half of those who are currently unwilling to take the vaccine want to wait until it has been used more widely to determine its safety
Some studies found greater vaccine hesitancy among people from BAME backgrounds, though other studies have not
#14: Helped inform decision-making around VCS involvement in the Christmas vaccine drive
#16: Revealed gap between strategic intent (to target resources, to be anticipatory) and operational reality, particularly during emergencies
#17: Informing recruitment of people with lived experience of flooding to a large-scale research project