The nkm team has a background both in the public sector and academia. The nkm methodology was developed and applied over a 10-year period initially in an academic environment. nkm continues to collaborate with academic institutions on a range of projects and welcomes enquiries of a research nature. To develop its skills and reputation for high quality work, nkm publishes in scientific and other specialist peer reviewed academic journals. Members of the nkm team are nationally and internationally well known for their research. The following are some examples of recent academic collaborations: nkm has participated in the following major academic projects:

UPTAP - Using Administrative Data to Estimate the Population and Measure Deprivation (Cass Business School, City University)

Gill Harper has now completed her UPTAP (Understanding Population Trends and Processes) Research Fellowship, evaluating and extending the local administrative data population estimation methodology. The project systemised the procedure and assessed its suitability and advantages as an alternative to Census counts and for local service planning, looking in particular at using it to develop small scale indices of deprivation. News on publication and follow-on funding coming soon.

Asthma and School Attainment Project ( Centre for Health Sciences, Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry and MRC Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma)

This project used neighbourhood knowledge techniques to assess whether asthma severity and ethnicity affects educational attainment from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4, in a large observational study using cross-sectional data on approximately half the children of school age living in the east London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Neighbourhood knowledge facilitated the linking of routine datasets from healthcare, education, housing and local authorities to provide estimates of the effects of chronic illness on important educational and social/non-clinical outcomes.

UPTAP - Population, Language, Ethnicity and Socio-economic Aspects of Education (Institute of Education)

Michelle von Ahn is using London-wide School Census data to establish the levels of different languages spoken by school-children and the implications this has on policy. Using neighbourhood knowledge techniques is critical to this and ultimately will give an estimate of the population in London who are speakers of other languages than English.