Whilst Δnkm is only four years old, its roots lie in a Whitehall efficiency scrutiny led and conceived by Dr Mayhew in 1991 call 'Benefiting the Community'. The results and recommendations of that work led directly to DSS's 'one stop shop' strategy, the creation of the job centre network, an overhaul in the design of IT systems and changes in the way benefits are paid. These changes, some of which are still being implemented like those to methods of benefit payments, will result in over £1 billion public expenditure savings per annum.
After taking up an academic career in 1999 following a spell as a director in the CSO and ONS, Dr Mayhew noted the potential of extending his earlier work by linking data to Local Property Gazetteers being created in each local authority. An early success was a joint project with the health and local authorities in south Kilburn that led to a £60m grant from central government and lottery funding for a healthy living centre. Various projects followed for the local domestic violence forum, the healthy schools initiative and others, working closely under the aegis of the Brent Health Action Zone and with local groups in some of Brent's most troubled estates like Stonebridge and St Raphael's.
In a 'proof of concept' project for Tower Hamlets in 2003, Dr Mayhew teamed up with John Eversley of ppre Ltd and Gillian Harper at Birkbeck College, completed four case studies on children, and matched over 22 data sets in just 4 months. For this they used a highly efficient algorithm for matching addresses across different data sets and evolved methods for cross-checking and validating information. One legacy of that project is the database itself, which will be used for a range of future studies by LBTH and the PCT. Other studies include contributions to the Wembley Stadium project and ongoing input to a 'health impact assessment' of the redevelopment of Kings Cross for Camden PCT. In Hackney ppre Ltd is using the approach in regeneration projects to profile communities 'invisible' in the census because administrative boundaries do not reflect where they live and they are not in recognised ethnic groups.
Other projects in progress or completed include initiatives aimed at improving health and social services for older people. A project in Harrow on 'Single Assessment for Older People' identified £1m potential savings per year through the elimination of duplicate information collection. Another identified savings through the replacement of specialist older people service providers by 'generic' older people's workers, and building a case for a new primary care centre in Brent under the LIFT initiative. A project for Islington PCT has studied the incidence of chronic disease based on household characteristics which will be used for profiling GP practices and developing chronic disease management strategies.
A current project for Islington PCT is measuring the neighbourhood burden of chronic diseases to inform the resource needs and delivery of primary care and community health services. A project for Camden PCT identified the whereabouts of unscreened women to inform the most appropriate locations for a mobile breast-screening unit. In a partnership with Camden Police and Camden PCT, Δnkm is being used for profiling youth crime. Westminster City is using the techniques for the Church St regeneration project in a Neighbourhood Management partnership. One finding identified by Δnkm was that the population in one ward was nearly twice that originally recorded in the 2001 Census. The Government's Statistics Commission had already agreed the Census was an undercount.
One final key contribution of Δnkm on which it is difficult to place a value has been the creation of a viable data sharing environment in which agencies like the police, local authority services and health services have felt able to contribute and share information. The data protocols that have emerged are generic and can be used in almost any setting with minor adaptations.
