Thanks to the Index, we can see the different outcomes experienced by communities in Surrey, from education, skills and employment, the wider determinates of health, to access to information and inclusiveness. The Index allows us to probe these differences further and understand the relationship between these social indicators and the unequal health outcomes we find in urban areas.
For all these examples a user needs to look in more detail to find the possible causes and potential solutions for the disparity, but the Surrey Index gives us a starting place to start asking important questions and think about the correlations these have with other outcomes, and to look for other patterns of relationship.
The index dashboard shows where some of the worst outcomes occur and understand the characteristics of these areas. By guiding us to where need is greatest, this can help us target our resources more effectively. This is especially important given the huge range of outcomes in a county as broad and varied as Surrey, where pockets of deprivation can sometime go unnoticed.
We can combine the insights from the Surrey Index with in-depth research into different population groups, such as the work carried out through the
Community Impact Assessment, which explores health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19 among communities across Surrey, communities’ priorities for recovery, and what support these communities might need during the second wave of the pandemic.
This combination of granular quantitative data, and qualitative and experiential data gathered from speaking with residents and patients is a powerful combination of insight that can be used to inform local decision making and place shaping.
During the height of the pandemic, we used the framework of the Surrey Index as a model to develop a related tool called the Local Recovery Index (LRI), which measured the broad impact that COVID-19 had on communities across the county at the borough and district level, and how these communities were returning to normal following the periods of lockdown during the various wave of the pandemic.
Building the LRI enabled senior leaders to identify the geographic and thematic areas where Surrey was recovering well, and communities felt confident and safe, and those where it was struggling. In turn, this will help guide borough-level decision making and identifying policy and investment priorities.