The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has contracted technology company Cognizant to work with its Spatial Data Unit.
They have reached an agreement to run for four years, having begun last month and valued at up to £20 million, on a call-off from the Crown Commercial Service’s Digital Specialists and Programmes procurement framework.
The award notice says the company will work on a range of business critical data projects to support decision making by ministers and policy teams.
“This will include high profile projects requiring quick access to technical expertise to research, design, build and iterate data services/tools to deliver outcomes rapidly in response to ministerial requests,” the notice says.
Building capability
A longer term requirement involves the establishment of a foundational data capability.
MHCLG’s Spatial Data Unit has been contributing to the ministry’s efforts to make wider use of geographic data in its policy and delivery work.
Its projects have included building a more detailed picture of how the spatial footprint of specific areas is related to how money is spent at a local level. Another is to obtain microlevel data businesses, footfall and mobile phone use to determine how to support nighttime economies in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.
