Category: Media

New one-day NUJ data journalism training course on 18 May

The National Union of Journalists has scheduled two new dates for my one-day course of data journalism training: Monday 18 May and Monday 9 November, both at the NUJ’s office on Gray’s Inn Road in London.

This course is aimed mainly at those already in journalism, who want practical methods that can be used immediately – and who want to know about the pitfalls as well as the benefits.

Specifically, the course will cover how to assess and improve the quality of data; how to combine it, or mash it up, without making a mess; the reality of using the Freedom of Information Act to get material; and how to turn numbers into pictures, whether graphs or maps. I will also talk about when it makes sense not to rely on data. Advanced mathematical ability is not a requirement, although common sense is always useful.

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Last chance to get free copy of city devolution report

Public Service Intelligence has been offering new subscribers to Council News Monitor a free copy of Devo-City, our report on city devolution, which costs £10 separately. The report, which has history, analysis and a wide range of data on existing and future city regions, has been featured in the Independent on Sunday, local publications and several BBC local radio stations since it came out in December.

We’re closing the offer in the next few days, so now is particularly good time to subscribe to Council News Monitor. For £2 a month, you get an email first thing every morning with news and announcements from every UK nation and English region. There’s a taster of some of today’s stories on The Information Daily (which also today has my latest column for the site, on clearing the deficit).

If you would like to stay in touch with Public Service Intelligence but don’t want to give us any money (for the time being), you can also join what will soon be our regular mailing list below for free. Continue reading “Last chance to get free copy of city devolution report”

NHS Wales interview, Cardiff’s Senedd and Devo-City on Kindle

On Wednesday, Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network published my interview with Dr Andrew Goodall, chief executive of NHS Wales. He discussed having a bit more money, pay restraint (which will continue despite the bit more money) and how to get people to understand and agree to reconfigurations of services.

He also said it is easier to make things happen in Wales:

We’re able to bring people in a room, and understand their own views on how they want to develop good services… People can talk about what they want to change in Wales, and we’re able to do something about that.

Continue reading “NHS Wales interview, Cardiff’s Senedd and Devo-City on Kindle”

Report on city devolution, articles on Goonhilly & social media

Public Service Intelligence, the market intelligence firm where I’m a director, has just published a new report on city devolution. Devo-City: a short guide to Britain’s devolving city regions in words and data costs £10, and as well as providing the background has data on 17 UK regions that already have city devolution, look likely to ask for it, or could benefit from it.

Let us tell you what Devo-Manc is; which councils would be in an M4 City Region; and discover the 16 Lost Cities of Devolution. More information here. And, if you sign up for Council News Monitor, you can have a copy of Devo-City for free. Continue reading “Report on city devolution, articles on Goonhilly & social media”

To monitor news on councils, you need Council News Monitor

Any chunk of text that includes ‘delighted’ or ‘excited’ in the first sentence looks like a dull press release. So how about this: I am chuffed to announce the commercial launch of the first service from Public Service Intelligence Limited, a joint-venture between myself and Boilerhouse Media, a marketing communications consultancy.

The service in question, Council News Monitor, is an email sent first thing each workday with news on local authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and every region of England in every edition. For the last few weeks, we have been sending it on a free trial basis.

But now, we are opening Council News Monitor to subscriptions, at just £2 a month (£24 a year… I understand it’s compulsory for all prices to have the word ‘just’ in front of them). There’s more information here, on our stylish new website with its extraordinarily short domain name. You can also follow @CouncilNewsUK for a selection of stories every day. Continue reading “To monitor news on councils, you need Council News Monitor”