London’s Rough Sleeping Strategic Insights Tool — a new city data service to make make rough sleeping rare, brief and non-recurrent
The first in a series of short case-studies about important data services made by London as part of #DataforLondon …
The Greater London Authority’s Strategic Insights Tool for Rough Sleeping (SITRS) is a data service showing rough sleeping trends insights from across London. It was developed between 2022–4 in several phases.
The service ingests and presents data in a way that enables strategic decision-makers working on tackling rough sleeping in London to have deeper insights into the pathways into rough sleeping, and the effectiveness of various interventions used to support people out of rough sleeping.
Challenge addressed
Before SITRS, this vital data was scattered across multiple systems — — homelessness charities/providers; London’s 32 boroughs and City Hall- making it impossible to build a complete picture of rough sleeping patterns and individual journeys through support services. This fragmentation severely limited the effectiveness of strategic planning and intervention efforts.
Key features
The tool draws data from several key sources, including the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), provider databases (In-Form), and borough-level Homelessness Case Level Collection (H-CLIC) returns.
Its development represents a true collaborative effort, with funding and support from London Housing Directors, the Greater London Authority (GLA), and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) with support from Bloomberg Associates. The design, development and delivery of the tool was led by applied AI and data science specialists Faculty, with support from Homelessness Social Enterprise Beam.
Impact
In its first year, SITRS has already made a significant impact. The tool has helped commissioners challenge assumptions about local rough sleeping patterns and revealed previously hidden connections between street homelessness and Housing Options services.
By providing access to comprehensive provider data, it enables more strategic commissioning decisions and improves collaboration with service providers. This evidence-based approach supports the ultimate goal of making rough sleeping rare, brief, and non-recurring in London.
Read more about the development of this service via the LOTI website.