Witan Bulletin 8 – the SRP edition

Hello, this is Sunny Townsend and Chris Adams at Mastodon C, with a few updates on the Witan project.

The SRP is now ready for you to use

Recently, the GLA completed work on the new version of the School Role Projection model, and if you have generated a population projection using Witan, you can now submit it to the GLA, and they will generate a projection of school places for you.

We’ve put together a short video providing a step by step guide on how to use Witan to generate this projection file for the SRP:

 

If you need to create a zero-development scenario, or want more detail on using Witan we have some more detail and helpful links on the Witan Bulletin blog, as well as some new in-app help.

If you’d like some more guidance on the best model to use or on referencing your projections, we have a short guide on choosing the model for your projection here too.

Office hours

We’re also still offering limited office hours support for those using Witan for the first time and would like an introduction. You can book a 30 minute slot for a run through over the phone, or using screen sharing software, at the link below:

Book a an intro session to Witan

Extending models in Witan without writing code

At Mastodon C, we’re conducting some research into building a visual, no-code environment to allow users of Witan to adjust existing models, or author their own models entirely. We’re looking for participants from the London boroughs to help with the research.

This will involve a call or screen sharing session, where we will share link to prototype we’ve been working on, and ask for your feedback on using some of the features.

If you’d like to take part, please follow the link below and book a 30 minute session:

Book a session

That’s all for now!

Hope that helped – the next bulletin will be in May, so until then have a good bank holiday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using Witan to generate projections to use with the SRP

One of the most common initial use cases for Witan is generating projections that are suitable for use with the GLA’s School Role Projection service. This post gives a short outline on how to do so.

If you prefer to watch a 5 minute video:

We’ve put together a short video showing from signing into Witan to downloading a suitable file. Enjoy!

 

Okay, I have my population projection file, now what?

Once you have your population projection file broken down by gender, you’re ready to send this to your contact at the GLA.

Some information about your projection is encoded in the filename like so: camden-housing-linked-ward-population-figures-single-year-dclg-standard-fertility-bpo.csv.

You can send the file unchanged, or rename it when sending it along – it’s up to you, but when referring back, it’s useful to make a note of this this information when sending it, to refer back later.

Creating a zero dev scenario

There may be cases where you want to make a projection with no future development of housing is assumed.

The easiest way to do this is download either of the template files for your borough, and reset all the cells to 0.

If you don’t explicitly mark a cell with zero, the model Witan runs will add data from the SHLAA by default.

If you need more details

We also have a user guide for Witan online, and as ever you can always get in touch with queries at witan@mastodonc.com.