Welcome to the Midlands Analyst Network

Thank you for being part of our growing community! If you are an analyst who works in health & care or the wider public sector, then join the Midlands Analyst Network!

Launched in April 2020, this thriving community now connects almost 1,400 members from a wide range of organisations - mainly in the Midlands, but increasingly from across the UK. The Network provides a supportive space for analysts to share ideas, resources, and good practice, as well as to seek advice, spark debate, and develop skills together.

I love how the huddles have grown into a space beyond simply sharing ideas and work, to a regular opportunity for analysts to come together as a community. They frequently lead to insightful and previously unconsidered questions and debates and also serve as a fantastic welcoming opportunity for those dipping their toes into the world of analytics and improved decision making. Andi Orlowski, Director of the Health Economics Unit

Meet your Network lead: Rachel Caswell

Rachel is a Senior Healthcare Analyst at the Strategy Unit and the Lead for Training & Development. She's passionate about developing the Network and supporting analysts across the system to connect, learn, and lead through collaboration.

Fortnightly Huddles

At the heart of the Network are our fortnightly online Huddles, hosted on MS Teams (see link below). The Huddles cover a large range of topics and you are very welcome to join one at any time – for quick access to a Huddle, just follow the link below.  You don’t have to be a member of the Midlands Analyst Network to come to a Huddle but if you’d like to be kept up to date with all future Huddles and training opportunities then contact Rachel (rachel.caswell@nhs.net) and we’ll take it from there.

We try to keep them as informal but as informative as possible and welcome contributions from Network members as well from academia, subject specialists, national and occasionally international presenters.

If you have any queries about the Huddles, how to access them, if you want to find out what’s gone before, or you want to present then please contact Rachel.

Next Huddle: 25th June (11-12): From Analyst to Professional: Inside AphA and its Specialist Networks

Find out more about the Association of Professional Healthcare Analysts (AphA) and its Specialist Networks

The direction of travel is clear. Across sectors, including but not limited to health and care, there is a growing emphasis on professionalism, standards, and recognised career pathways for people working in data, analytics, digital, and technology roles. Within the NHS, this is reflected in NHS England’s commitment to professional membership and registration for the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) workforce. With a phased approach under way, starting with senior roles and expanding to all by 2031, professional registration is becoming the norm rather than the exception.

Alongside this, national and regional strategies consistently reinforce a shared message: high-quality data and analytics are central to better decision-making, improved outcomes, and more effective services across public services, local government, health and care, and beyond.

If you work in, or have an interest in, health related data and analytics, the Association of Professional Healthcare Analysts (AphA) offers a welcoming and relevant professional community.

Same Teams link as usual and if you don't have this - it's here!

Click here to join the meeting Hop in at 11 am!