The Royal Statistical Society has announced the recipients of the 2024 Campion Award for Excellence in Official Statistics, awarded in partnership with the UK Statistics Authority and Civil Service World.
The award celebrates good practice in UK official statistics, recognising outstanding innovations and developments and challenges faced by government statisticians in providing both “business as usual” outputs and the data needed in a post-pandemic landscape.
Dev Virdee, Chair of the Campion Award committee, said:
“This year’s winners have taken real life issues and problems and provided the answers we need so that better policy decisions can be made. Congratulations to the teams for their excellent work”
Sir Robert Chote, Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, said:
“The ‘Explore local statistics’ tool puts people’s local area data at their fingertips, embodying the spirit of statistics for the public good. In recent years, one of the most common requests from users has been greater granularity of data for research and policymaking, and this year’s winner recognises the statistical system’s response to that call. Congratulations to all of this year’s worthy winners.”
Winner:
Explore Subnational Statistics
ONS Explore Subnational Statistics team
This project has considerably improved the availability and access to local data in the UK. The team developed this service to find, analyse, visualise and compare subnational data, and make it accessible to all types of users. It hosts 57 local indicators across topics including health, education and the economy.
The judging panel was very impressed with the efforts made to engage with a range of users, including both policymakers and the wider public. The project has the real potential to empower local areas, providing them with the data they need to make the right decisions.
Highly commended:
RIO – Adding to the evidence base on Refugee Integration Outcomes
Refugee Integration Outcomes Cohort Study team, ONS, Home Office and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Refugee Integration Outcomes (RIO) cohort study links Home Office refugee data with data from the latest Census and administrative data to create an anonymised analytical dataset to give a holistic view on refugee integration. Covering a number of different areas, it has helped answer questions such as how many refugees are able to find employment, where they choose to live and what services they are using.
The judges were impressed with how the project went about looking to solve an important data gap, as well as the value for money that it delivered. Innovative methods were used to meet a clear user need, with evidence of impact and informing policy. It is an excellent example of linking data from different departments and cross-team working to answer multiple-department policy questions.
Highly commended:
A new methodology for estimating excess mortality in the UK
ONS Data and Analysis for Social Care and Health and Methodology and Quality divisions
This work, in collaboration with the devolved administrations and other producers tackled the issue of estimating excessive deaths for ongoing post-pandemic surveillance. The new approach developed by the team has been implemented across the UK, to ensure comparable and consistent estimates.
The judges were impressed with the world-leading methodology used to tackle a controversial topic. High class multivariate analysis has been applied to address a challenging problem, made more important by the pandemic. The team did well to agree a UK-wide approach, not achieved previously, and it has the potential to set the international standard for this topic.
Also announced last night were the 5th winners of the Statistical Excellence Award in Trustworthiness, Quality and Value 2024, awarded in partnership with the Office for Statistics Regulation and Civil Service World, where the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) was recognised for its exemplary voluntary application of the Code of Practice for Statistics.
Related links
Campion Award for Excellence in Official Statistics 2024 open for entries