NHS Digital supports visual data challenge

17 Oct 2019 10:42 AM

NHS Digital has partnered with the Nuffield Trust and British Medical Journal (BMJ) for a new data visualisation competition that aims to shine a light on data about health and care inequalities in England.

Entrants will be asked to tell a compelling visual story about the health of different groups of people in England, using data provided by NHS Digital. Suggested data sources include publications on lifestyles, mortality, social care and disease prevalence.

The competition is open to all data visualisation practitioners - professional, amateur or studying - with a top prize of £1000 for the overall winners in each category.

The competition is in two-rounds:

• Initial entries should be in the form of a hand-drawn sketch. Digital tools can be used to get an overall sense of the data prior to sketching, but the submission must be hand-drawn.
• A shortlist of 10 entries will be drawn up from the first round submissions. They will be submit fully rendered versions of their sketches, and a gold, silver and bronze award will be chosen for each category.

The two categories are static and dynamic. Graphics that do not involve movement or interaction will be considered in the static category. Screen based, interactive, and motion visualisations, including audio-based (sonifications) will be considered dynamic entries.

Visualisations should focus on exploring the patterns in at least one of the suggested data sets. Other data can be used in a supporting role.

It should be understood by a non-specialist audience as the aim of the piece is to raise greater awareness of existing health inequalities and trends.

The deadline for the first submissions is 31 Dec 2019 with the winners announced on 15 March 2020.

For a full list of the rules, datasets, closing dates and entry requirements visit the Nuffield Trust