Topic analysis commissioned from Faculty Science Ltd

The request was partially successful.

Dear Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government,

I would like to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act. For the purposes of the Act, please take the date of your receipt of this request as 17 August 2020.

With reference to the contract for 'Data scientists for MHCLG Covid-19 response', awarded to Faculty Science Ltd: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov....

and with regard to the amended contract, published on 30 July 2020: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.... that "identified three areas where immediate support is required:
1. Analysis of free text collected by MHCLG to gain insights on how local areas are coping with and responding to the COVID-19 crisis
2. Topic analysis of Social Media to understand public perception and emerging issues of concern to HMG arising from the COVID-19 crisis..."

and the original contract, awarded on 27 May 2020: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.... which listed the "data sources (e.g. social media, utility providers and telecom bills, credit rating agencies, etc.) as well as data provided by MHCLG for monitoring and forecasting".

Please provide the following:

1) The full list of published press articles and individual social media posts by Ministers, MPs and Government Departments and Agencies that were analysed;

2) The full list of the other data sources provided to Faculty Science Ltd by MHCLG, and/or processed by Faculty in the course of its analysis;

3) The full list of questions which Faculty Science Ltd was required to address in its analysis;

4) The full list of key words and/or search terms used to generate the structured queries underpinning the "Topic analysis"; and

5) A copy of the "Topic analysis", i.e. the results and/or report of Faculty Science Ltd's analysis.

Please do not delay your response on the basis that you cannot provide some or any of the information for any one of the items above; I am happy for you to provide partial information in a timely manner, on the understanding that you will provide more complete information as soon as it is available.

I would be grateful if you would send me the requested information promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth working day following the date of receipt of my request.

If my request is denied in whole or in part, or if specific items within the responses are withheld from disclosure, then you must justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the Act, as per Section 17 of the Act. Where you rely on a qualified exemption to withhold disclosure, you are obliged to consider the public interest in your decision and the refusal notice must explain not only which exemption applies and why, but also the public interest arguments addressed in reaching the decision.

Yours faithfully,

Phil Booth

Despatch Box,

Dear Mr Booth
 
Thank you for your Information Request of 17 August 2020 requesting:
 
1) The full list of published press articles and individual social media
posts by Ministers, MPs and Government Departments and Agencies that were
analysed;
2) The full list of the other data sources provided to Faculty Science Ltd
by MHCLG, and/or processed by Faculty in the course of its analysis;
3) The full list of questions which Faculty Science Ltd was required to
address in its analysis;
4) The full list of key words and/or search terms used to generate the
structured queries underpinning the "Topic analysis"; and
5) A copy of the "Topic analysis", i.e. the results and/or report of
Faculty Science Ltd's analysis.
 
We will aim to send you a response by 15 September 2020.
 
If you have any questions, please ask by return email. Please leave the
subject line unchanged when replying, to make sure your email gets
straight to us.
 
Kind regards,
 
MHCLG FOI Team
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

Despatch Box,

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Booth
 
Thank you for your request for information, which we received on 17 August
2020. Please find our response attached.
 
Kind regards
 
MHCLG FOI Team
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.