Understanding the research and policy needs of English coastal communities: a new coastal classification
Lead Research Organisation:
Plymouth University
Department Name: Peninsula Medical School
Abstract
This project aims to co-design, implement and make publicly available a geodemographic classification of English coastal communities.
Growing awareness of the many challenges facing coastal communities parallels the 're-discovery' of inner-city deprivation in the 1970s. Evidence presented in the 2021 Chief Medical Officer's annual report shows that coastal areas have some of the worst health outcomes in England, with low life expectancy and high rates of many major diseases. The 2022 Levelling up White Paper similarly notes that seaside towns have among the highest levels of community need and poor opportunities for the people who grow up there.
While policy attention is starting to be directed towards the needs of coastal communities, there are a number of barriers to developing effective (and cost-effective) policy solutions. We have insufficient knowledge about the nature and diversity of coastal communities; some face serious challenges and are 'lagging', while others are doing very well ('leading'). The potentially causal, dynamic (but modifiable) relationships between key economic, social, cultural, political and historical factors are poorly understood. The funding and implementation of targeted policies are made difficult by the fact that few administrative geographies serve predominately coastal populations. As most routine data on public services are published for LAs, CCGs and, more recently, Integrated Care Systems, the specific needs of coastal communities often go unreported. Coastal communities lack an evidence base detailing their needs, a political 'voice' to articulate their needs, and an organisational context through which to develop policy responses.
Against this background, this project aims to co-produce an evidence-based and policy-orientated classification of coastal communities linked to suitably granular data.
First, stakeholder engagement will be employed to help identify key variables that may differentiate coastal from non-coastal places; advise on technical and methodological issues; and provide recommendations on how to make the classification relevant, useable and updatable.
Second, the project will collate, aggregate and attribute a wide range of economic, social, demographic and administrative data at small area level and, using a coastal 'flag', carry out statistical analyses to explore (a) the distinctive attributes of coastal communities and the extent to which the challenges faced are spacifically related to their coastal location and identity, and (b) the ways in which contextual factors affect outcomes relating to health, education, social mobility and other socio-economic domains in different coastal localities.
Third, reflecting stakeholder views on e.g., which clustering methodology using which data, whether to construct a single classification or multiple classifications addressing different domains etc., we will develop a classification of coastal communities, supported by an archive of all collated, aggregated and attributed data, along with all code used in the creation of the classification.
Fourth, we will hold a series of stakeholder workshops comprising 'how to' guidance and demonstrations for academics and policy stakeholders who are interested in using the classification in practice.
The classification will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the varied characteristics and needs of coastal communities, and of the causal factors underpinning their diversity. This is a necessary precursor to developing an effective response to coastal communities' needs, including as part of the 'levelling up' agenda. The work will help avoid duplication of effort by local studies/interventions which presently need to establish their own criteria, units of analysis and evidence base. A classification of coastal communities will also facilitate shared learning from applied research and the evaluation of local policies, strategies and interventions.
Growing awareness of the many challenges facing coastal communities parallels the 're-discovery' of inner-city deprivation in the 1970s. Evidence presented in the 2021 Chief Medical Officer's annual report shows that coastal areas have some of the worst health outcomes in England, with low life expectancy and high rates of many major diseases. The 2022 Levelling up White Paper similarly notes that seaside towns have among the highest levels of community need and poor opportunities for the people who grow up there.
While policy attention is starting to be directed towards the needs of coastal communities, there are a number of barriers to developing effective (and cost-effective) policy solutions. We have insufficient knowledge about the nature and diversity of coastal communities; some face serious challenges and are 'lagging', while others are doing very well ('leading'). The potentially causal, dynamic (but modifiable) relationships between key economic, social, cultural, political and historical factors are poorly understood. The funding and implementation of targeted policies are made difficult by the fact that few administrative geographies serve predominately coastal populations. As most routine data on public services are published for LAs, CCGs and, more recently, Integrated Care Systems, the specific needs of coastal communities often go unreported. Coastal communities lack an evidence base detailing their needs, a political 'voice' to articulate their needs, and an organisational context through which to develop policy responses.
Against this background, this project aims to co-produce an evidence-based and policy-orientated classification of coastal communities linked to suitably granular data.
First, stakeholder engagement will be employed to help identify key variables that may differentiate coastal from non-coastal places; advise on technical and methodological issues; and provide recommendations on how to make the classification relevant, useable and updatable.
Second, the project will collate, aggregate and attribute a wide range of economic, social, demographic and administrative data at small area level and, using a coastal 'flag', carry out statistical analyses to explore (a) the distinctive attributes of coastal communities and the extent to which the challenges faced are spacifically related to their coastal location and identity, and (b) the ways in which contextual factors affect outcomes relating to health, education, social mobility and other socio-economic domains in different coastal localities.
Third, reflecting stakeholder views on e.g., which clustering methodology using which data, whether to construct a single classification or multiple classifications addressing different domains etc., we will develop a classification of coastal communities, supported by an archive of all collated, aggregated and attributed data, along with all code used in the creation of the classification.
Fourth, we will hold a series of stakeholder workshops comprising 'how to' guidance and demonstrations for academics and policy stakeholders who are interested in using the classification in practice.
The classification will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the varied characteristics and needs of coastal communities, and of the causal factors underpinning their diversity. This is a necessary precursor to developing an effective response to coastal communities' needs, including as part of the 'levelling up' agenda. The work will help avoid duplication of effort by local studies/interventions which presently need to establish their own criteria, units of analysis and evidence base. A classification of coastal communities will also facilitate shared learning from applied research and the evaluation of local policies, strategies and interventions.
