We carried out an exercise in 2008 to analyse a wide range of indicators of social and economic inclusion for neighbourhoods across the West Midlands.
Our analysis looked at how the indicators relate to one another and how those patterns vary across the region. The detailed results are set out in our report on Patterns of Economic and Social Inclusion in the West Midlands (pdf, 5.8mb).
There is also a shorter summary report (pdf, 2.1mb), which presents the main findings in a less technical way.
As well as the reports, there is a dataset (xls, 1.3mb) containing the indicators used in the analysis and some of the results.
Social and economic inclusion
Inclusion of the West Midlands' population in social and economic affairs is crucial to the prosperity of the region. We will all be better off if every individual can make a full contribution to generating wealth and be an active member of society.
However, some of the people of the region are excluded from playing their full part by a range of inter-linked factors. These factors have an impact on individuals differently and it will often be a combination of them which leads to an individual being socially or economically excluded.
Nevertheless, in order to do anything to help such people to become more included, we need to understand how these issues relate to one another on a larger scale.
Our analysis
The analysis we undertook concentrated on those local areas which are the most deprived in the West Midlands, based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation. 951 areas were included.
The analysis used a total of 67 indicators covering issues such as employment, income, education and skills, health, housing, land use, crime, accessibility and social cohesion.
Understanding the distribution of 67 indicators across 951 areas is far too complex a task. Therefore, the analysis uses two techniques to simplify the equation:
- Factor analysis to reduce the number of indicators
- Cluster analysis to group together similar areas
The analysis confirms that the West Midlands is a diverse region and that its deprived areas are not homogeneous. To some extent these variations are sub-regional, with Birmingham, the Black Country and North Staffordshire, in particular, having different characteristics.
The different types of deprived area will require different types of action and the report should help to improve targetting of interventions.