Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion

What Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion does

Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI) is a Brighton-based, employee-owned spin-out from the University of Oxford's Social Policy department, founded in 2003 to provide place-based data analytics and social research to the UK public and third sectors. The company's core platform, Local Insight, is a subscription web-based SaaS tool aggregating more than 1,500 neighbourhood-level indicators from over 50 official sources with mapping, dashboard, and custom-geography features, supplemented by the self-serve OCSI On Demand report builder (paying £245-595+VAT per report), Indices on Demand analysis, and Data Download Packs. A bespoke consultancy practice delivers Area Needs Analysis (from £8,000+VAT), Community Needs Index analysis, programme evaluation, and IoD advisory work, often on multi-year contracts. OCSI also co-developed the official English Indices of Deprivation for MHCLG (2015, 2019 and 2025) and the Community Needs Index with Local Trust, and supplies the data backbone for Arts Council England's Culture and Place Data Explorer.

Revenue mechanics blend recurring subscriptions, transactional pay-per-report sales and high-value bespoke commissions, distributed through a hybrid product-led/self-serve motion for reports and a sales-led motion for consultancy. Customers span UK local authorities, social housing providers, charities and community foundations (including the National Lottery Community Fund, Trussell Trust, Barnet Council, Sheffield City Council, Sussex Community Foundation, Karbon Homes and Everton in the Community), with selective international work earlier in its history. The firm operates without external venture funding and reports no parent company or subsidiaries.

Name

Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion

Legal name

Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion Ltd

Website

https://ocsi.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OCSI is a Brighton-based, 22-year-old University of Oxford spin-out that combines place-based data analytics (Local Insight platform, 1,500+ indicators) with bespoke social research and the official English Indices of Deprivation to serve UK local authorities, charities, housing providers and foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Place-based data analytics software

NAICS

Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

POI, Local Listings & Business Directory Platforms (BPAMANAD)

Keywords

• Place-based analytics
• Neighbourhood data platform
• Indices of deprivation
• Social research consultancy
• Community needs assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Local Insight Platform Subscription: Annual subscription to access the Local Insight web-based platform with over 1,500 neighbourhood-level indicators, mapping, dashboards, reports, and expert researcher support.
2. OCSI On Demand Reports: One-off purchase reports (Snapshot £245, Focused £495, Comprehensive £595) providing area profile reports with data from official sources including ONS, DWP, Census. Delivered instantly in PDF, Word, and CSV formats.
3. Indices on Demand Reports: Instant in-depth analysis of English Indices of Deprivation 2025 for local authorities and parliamentary constituencies at £495 per area. Multi-Area Intelligence Packs available for multiple geographies.
4. Data Download Packs: One-off, quarterly, or annual purchases of place-based open data in CSV format for user-selected indicators and geography types. Prices start at £550+VAT.
5. Bespoke Research Consultancy: Custom research projects including area needs analysis (from £8,000+VAT), Community Needs Index analysis, programme evaluation, and bespoke IoD 2025 analysis (from £1,995).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

OCSI sells the Local Insight web-based subscription platform that gives organisations instant access to over 1,500 neighbourhood-level indicators from 50+ official UK data sources, with custom geography definition, mapping, dashboards and reporting tools. Alongside the platform, OCSI offers pay-per-report area profiles (OCSI On Demand), Indices on Demand analysis of the English Indices of Deprivation, CSV Data Download Packs, and bespoke social research consultancy services for funders, charities, local authorities and social housing providers.

Product overview

OCSI offers a portfolio of data analytics products centred on Local Insight, a subscription-based web platform providing over 1,500 neighbourhood-level indicators with mapping and reporting capabilities. This core platform is complemented by OCSI On Demand (pay-per-report area profiles in three tiers), Indices on Demand Reports (specialised deprivation analysis), and Data Download Packs. The company also provides social research consultancy services including Area Needs Analysis, Community Needs Index Analysis, Left-Behind Neighbourhoods Research, and Indices of Deprivation consultancy. A free Double Disadvantage Explorer tool is available for identifying areas of dual deprivation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Local Insight: OCSI's web-based platform providing instant access to place-based neighbourhood level data with over 1,500 indicators from 50+ sources
• OCSI On Demand
• Indices on Demand
• Data Download Packs
• Community Needs Index

Products and services

• Local Insight Web-based subscription platform giving organisations instant access to over 1,500 neighbourhood-level indicators from 50+ official UK data sources, with custom geography definition, mapping, dashboards and reporting tools for local authorities, charities, social housing providers and grantmakers.
• OCSI On Demand

Quantifiable outcome

• Saved 9+ days of manual research per Indices of Deprivation analysis compared to typical in-house effort
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Hounslow CouncilminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025Ongoing data-led collaboration with Hounslow Council enabling real change through measured, evidence-based approach to area planning and service delivery.
• Five10TwelvecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Partnered with Five10Twelve to build the Culture and Place Data Explorer for Arts Council England, using Local Insight as the foundation. Five10Twelve provided development expertise and design thinking in collaborative test-and-learn approach.
• Arts Council EnglandcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Arts Council England partnered with OCSI to build the Culture and Place Data Explorer using Local Insight as foundation. OCSI provides data platform, analytics, and custom geography capabilities for cultural investment analysis.
• Local TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Long-standing partnership with Local Trust to develop the Community Needs Index and quantitative measures of left-behind neighbourhoods. Ongoing collaboration on research and analysis for the APPG on Left Behind Neighbourhoods. Local Trust commissioned OCSI to create the Community Needs Index providing unique perspective on local need focusing on social and cultural factors.
• deprivation.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Co-leaders on development of English Indices of Deprivation with deprivation.org. OCSI was commissioned by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to update the IoD in 2015, 2019, and 2025.
• HACTcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Partnership with HACT to deliver Community Insight platform supporting the social housing sector to target community investment funds, improve services and evaluate impact. Platform was delivered from 2013 to 2024.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PolicyMap: US-based SaaS platform aggregating thousands of neighbourhood-level indicators from public sources with mapping, custom geography, and reporting for non-profits, foundations, and public agencies. Direct functional analogue to OCSI's Local Insight, including paywalled data access and bespoke research services.
• Social Explorer: US subscription platform providing demographic, economic, and health indicators at neighbourhood level with mapping and report-building tools. Closely comparable in product mechanics and customer profile (researchers, nonprofits, public sector).
• Urban Observatory: UK-focused open data platform visualising city-level indicators for public service planning and policy research. Comparable in mission (making place-based data accessible for civic decision-making) though operating in a free/open licensing model.
• CACI Acorn: UK geodemographic segmentation system mapping consumer and neighbourhood classifications used extensively by public sector, housing, and charity clients. Overlaps with OCSI on place-based segmentation and indicator aggregation, though CACI is more commercial in orientation.

Broad incumbents

• Experian Mosaic UK: Industry-leading UK consumer and household segmentation with neighbourhood-level data products serving financial services, public sector, and housing. Comparable on data product but much broader portfolio and global scale.
• Esri UK: UK arm of Esri providing ArcGIS platform with demographic overlays via Business Analyst/Community Analyst. Overlaps with OCSI on geographic information systems and place-based analytics for public sector clients, though much broader in capability and customer base.

Others

• Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE): UK charity supporting rural community organisations with evidence and data; OCSI ran ACRE's Evidencing Rural Need programme for 4,000 areas between 2010–2016. Mission-aligned peer in the social-good data space rather than a direct competitor.
• Nomis (Official Labour Market Statistics): Official ONS portal providing free UK neighbourhood-level labour market and demographic data. Acts as a free upstream data source that OCSI aggregates and contextualises within Local Insight rather than competing head-on.
• Open Data Institute (ODI): UK non-profit promoting open data infrastructure and data trust frameworks. Ecosystem peer in the data-for-good space rather than a competing product, with overlapping public sector and charity audiences.
• HACT: UK housing association charity that partnered with OCSI to deliver the Community Insight platform to the social housing sector for 11 years (2013–2024). Sectoral ecosystem partner with overlapping audiences in housing and community investment data.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ocsi_uk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ocsi-oxford-consultants-for-social-inclusion-?originalSubdomain=uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion