GOLD SPONSOR

More than 83% of Australians live in an LGA where they can access .id (informed decisions) information tools to uncover and communicate stories of people and places. 

For 25 years, we’ve worked to build an enterprise that contributes to a good society. Our specialists have deep expertise in the demographics, economics, housing and forecasting of local areas. They work collaboratively with 300+ councils around Australia, helping local government decisions-makers make informed decisions by providing the best possible local data and analysis. 

Our services include publicly available subscription-based information tools and bespoke consulting.  

Gold Sponsor Spotlight

Informed Decisions is delighted to be a gold sponsor of the 2023 Planning Institute of Australia National Congress. 

PIA recently sat down with .id (informed decisions) CEO, Lailani Burra, to talk about .id.

Q. Tell us a little about .id?

A. .id stands for “informed decisions”. We are a company of demographers, economists, spatial analysts, urban planners, social researchers, forecasters, census data and IT experts. We provide online tools and consulting services to local government and industry to inform place-based decision-making, uncover and communicate stories of people and place and support informed decisions around when and where to provide services, invest and advocate. 

If that sounds like a heady mix of specialisations – it is. 

We do a lot of work in each of those disciplines, but it’s when these perspectives align – whether it’s over lunch in the office or around a project kick-off – that the magic really happens. 

Currently, our online products and consulting services meet the challenge of delivering evidence-based information to over 300 local governments, covering more than 80% of Australia’s population.

Q. What drives the work you do at .id?

A.  For 20 years, we’ve worked to build an enterprise that contributes to a good society. 

Everyone at .id shares a curiosity and knowledge about the way in which people organise themselves into communities and cities. We are driven by a strong desire to contribute to the development of a good society where everyone has access to housing, education, employment, social & political inclusion, culture, health, recreation and information. 

Because of our passion for society, we are excited by the projects we engage in, and genuinely interested in the outcomes. This means we work very closely with our clients on scoping projects. We design projects that are pointy, practical and achievable. We draw meaning from data to provide insights that inject confidence into the decision-making process.

Q. Tell us a bit about the current challenges you see in local government?

A. COVID has impacted population growth in Australia like no other event since World War 1. These shocks will be felt for years to come. 

We are concurrently experiencing a number of structural shifts including climate, natural disasters, political uncertainty and change, alongside economic, health and wellbeing disruption and demographic shifts and changes. 

This is occurring while the pressures on councils to deliver services are ever increasing. More demand from communities, extra reporting requirements and constraints applied by other levels of government, coupled with difficulties in balancing the budget, can be a real challenge. 

In this environment decisions have to be made about how best to allocate finite resources across numerous services and facilities to meet the changing community’s needs. And as a result, local government, their residents and businesses, other levels of government and the private sector are placing higher-expectations on councils to ensure that their community's views and needs are more comprehensively incorporated, monitored and ultimately evaluated in local government strategic planning and advocacy.

Q. How can .id help in this environment?

A. Today, more than ever, it's critical that organisations can rely on credible data sources and evidence-based advice to make informed decisions. 

We provide local government with a suite of online information tools and consulting services that provide the quality evidence-base councils need to understand their community’s views, prioritise budgetary expenditure for community services that meets residents' needs, make capital investments, win much needed grant funding and harness the collective efforts of local business and community groups. 

Our Industry services, including Small Area Forecast information (SAFi), help organisations locate their services in the right place at the right time. These clients include education providers, housing developers, retailers, health care providers, utilities companies, banks & insurers, sporting organisations and planning consultants. 

Our team of demographers, economic specialists, population forecasters, and location analysis experts provide place-based insights that inject confidence into business and local government decision making.

Q. When a planner engages .id, who are they working with?

A. You will be working with the largest team of local area demographic specialists in Australia. The .id team s a unique combination of demographic and spatial analysts, social researchers, urban economists, industry sector experts, IT and data management specialists, and the largest population forecasting team in the country Many of the team have a background in urban planning in state and local government, so they have a great deal of empathy for the work our clients do. All of us have an interest in understanding and communicating how macro trends play out locally, so our clients can respond appropriately.

Q. What should planners expect when working with .id?

A. We believe in collaboration and long, productive partnerships with our clients. 

Generally, working with us usually involves a mix of consulting and online tools. By taking a consulting-led approach to projects, our experts get to the heart of your challenge, giving you insights and a framework to make confident, strategic and informed decisions. 

Our online tools then give you ready access to the critical information needed to inform future planning policy work. The teams are always available to answer questions you may have about the tools. 

When it comes to forecasting, town planners are integral to the creation and adjustment of the forecasts. They provide valuable expertise and local knowledge of place on planning policy, zoning changes and strategic development sites, informing key inputs in the model. 

Our Community Views team, via the Living in Place community survey and the views.id online reporting platform assist council planners in credibly, professionally and efficiently represent the community's views in strategic planning and advocacy.

Q. Tell us about what .id been doing lately?

A. Our local government teams have been prioritising the 2021 Census data update into our community profiles, mapping tools, economic profiles and our population forecasts. Through our online tools and consulting services, our client’s now have access to all the latest census information. 

In 2021 we launched, Community Views, a social research practice to modernise community survey research for the local government sector. Our new Living in Place survey asks the community to rank 16 liveability indicators, such as “affordable decent housing” and “access to the natural environment”, by how much they value them, and then score how they experience them in their community. Delivered in the views.id reporting and exploratory platform, Living in Place supports resident-centric strategic planning and advocacy by informing planners about what the community would like them to prioritise to advance their quality of life. 

We look forward to sharing this exciting new product as well as our forecast.id offering with the 2023 Planning Institute of Australia National Congress attendees.