Xpand Insights is specially designed software that supports Economic Development teams to plan, address and evaluate real-time needs of local economies. The unique dashboard and analytics platform is already making waves as no other technology, which allows the impact of public policy interventions to be tracked so efficiently, currently exists.
A key benefit of Insights is that it enables economic planning to be significantly enhanced as millions of pounds of investment can be closely monitored through a process which is faster and simplified.
The immense value in the software and potential for global growth is what ultimately helped Xpand secure the involvement of major key partners, having received expert mentorship and access to funding application procedures through its involvement with the Ulster Bank Entrepreneur Accelerator Programme.
The idea behind the software first emerged when creators Matt Barnes and James Gumble discovered that government bodies often have great difficulty in measuring the direct impact of their economic development projects and programmes on the wider economy.
“There are so many complex factors at play when you are trying to measure something like public spending. We knew the problem was crying out for a digital solution but we couldn’t find nay software on the market that could track the impact of public investment quickly and effectively”, explained co-founder James Gumble. “This gave us the idea to develop our existing Xpand platform to look at the wider impact such spending has on local and national economies.”
“What’s great about Insights is that it can be easily customised to work within any economy in the EU and can help monitor millions of pounds of spending. We are currently working on further enhancing the programme and the support from EIT will help us deliver the next phase of the project, Insights+, across Europe and ultimately, across the globe. The potential for this product and the impact it can have for local and national economies will be considerable.”
Co-creator Matt Barnes said while the investment would help them continue with existing research and development plans and doubling their existing workforce, the support they received from the Ulster Bank Entrepreneur Accelerator programme and EIT, has been invaluable.
“We joined the Ulster Bank Entrepreneur Accelerator programme in 2018 and this opened many important doors for us. We were given crucial advice into how the funding process works, access to the right networks and even one to one mentorship form the most senior figure within Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland, Richard Donnan.”
“All of this helped prepare us for the very competitive pitching rounds we participated in as part of the validation process to secure the funding from EIT. Thankfully, we were successful and can now focus on scaling our business much quicker than we had previously thought possible. It’s an exciting time for our team and we already have plans to create four more jobs here in Belfast with potential for another two in Edinburgh later in the year.”
The software is being trialled in Belfast, Dublin and Edinburgh with each city testing its potential in different scenarios. The cities will be sharing their findings with each other and with the developers to help them continue to improve the platform.
“Over the next few years, Belfast will be involved in an ambitious number of digital innovation projects as part of our Smart Cities programme, aimed at enhancing life in the city and supporting our economy. As part of this, we are excited to be working with SMEs and industry to find new and innovative ways to deliver these goals,” said Peter Johnston, Chair of Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.
Meanwhile, Steve O’Gara from the Economic Development Office of Dublin City Council who is overseeing Insights+ implementation in Dublin, was impressed with the scope of date and metrics his team will be able to utilise, using Insights+.
“This software will allow Dublin City Council to capture and disseminate economic data on the city in real time, providing accurate and timely evidence to inform decision making for both policy makers and potential investors. It will complement the Council’s existing Dublin Economic Monitor in a dynamic way. Working with Belfast and Edinburgh offers additional benefits, facilitating shared learnings which will shape best practices in data dissemination for the future.”
The Insights+ project launched in Brussels earlier this year and will continue for the next 12 months. The result will be common measures and metrics that will work across the UK but with Dublin, Helsinki and Madrid. Other UK and European cities have already expressed interest in piloting this innovative approach and Xpand remain keen to work with different government bodies, councils and private sector partners to create best practice and support decision making using real insights.
For more information of Insights+ and other Xpand products, please visit www.xpandaccess.com
Richard Donnan Head of Ulster Bank Northern Ireland, James Gumble; Rob Graham and Matt Barnes from Xpand along with Gabi Burnside, Ulster Bank Accelerator Manager
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