Information gathered by the devices and apps in tens millions of people’s hands could provide a valuable additional source of information in designing and delivering public services, government report suggests
The use of location-tracking, app and transaction data from citizens’ mobile phones could offer “strategic and practical benefits for public sector organisations”, according to the Government Digital Service.
In a newly published report, GDS reveals that – working alongside 18 public sector bodies and consultancy KPMG – throughout the 2024/25 year the organisation ran an exploratory “sandbox” programme to “test how PMD (population movement data) could improve services for citizens, and how to tackle barriers to its wider use”.
The report explains that “PMD shows how people move [and] is collected from sources such as mobile phones, apps and card transactions, and is usually anonymised and aggregated for use”. Data is captured using the likes of satellites, mobile masts, WiFi and Bluetooth signals, and organisations in the sector include mobile network operators, credit card companies, health and fitness apps, social networks, data aggregators, and data resellers.
The research was undertaken as “PMD offers a powerful alternative to traditional data collection methods, [and] unlike static surveys or manual counts, it provides dynamic, near real-time insights into how people move through and interact with places”, according to the report.
Potential use cases include gathering information on “how different communities use green spaces across seasons, or how visitor flows shift during major events”.
This data can then be used to improve planning regarding service delivery and investments in local infrastructure. Transport and emergency response were earmarked by the research as two areas where the location-based data has particular potential.
The GDS report added: “PMD offers both strategic and practical benefits for public sector organisations, particularly in areas such as transport planning, emergency response, and infrastructure development. When integrated thoughtfully into planning and operations, PMD can support more informed, data-driven decisions.”
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The practical benefits identified in the report include various “advantages over traditional data sources, [such as] custom surveys and manual data collection can be costly, inflexible, and quickly outdated”.
In comparison, PMD is described as being more efficient, flexible and timely.
The strategic benefits, meanwhile, include the ability to “complement traditional data sources, offering a second layer of insight that can strengthen decision-making”.
This finding was reinforced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government which took part in the sandbox and concluded that “by combining PMD with existing data, they were able to identify areas where additional support was most needed, helping to inform strategic decisions about resource allocation”.
Alongside these benefits, GDS found that numerous “challenges remain”. Chief among which is “limited transparency about how data products are developed and sourced, and ongoing concerns about bias”. There are also “difficulties validating data… complexity in processing large datasets… unclear and inconsistent pricing… [and] misalignment between existing procurement frameworks and the types of services offered by some PMD providers”, the research says.
Recommendations
GDS makes various recommendations – covering both the public sector and the commercial market – regarding the realisation of PMD’s potential.
Public bodies are advised to: allow time for innovation; assess, match and grow capabilities; design procurement around collaboration; promote transparency in data use; encourage cross-sector learning; and ensure appropriate use.
In the latter case, the report noted that: “While PMD is typically anonymised and aggregated, our work in the innovation sandbox showed that appropriate use depends on more than just technical safeguards. Participants noted that PMD can reflect inconsistent patterns depending on how it is collected, modelled, or combined with other data sets. This raised concerns about representativeness and potential bias. These findings highlight the importance of critically assessing how representative the data is and considering how any limitations or biases might influence decisions or outcomes.”
For the commercial sector participants in the PMD sector, GDS recommends that firms should: design for diverse public sector needs; enable user feedback; support capacity-building; be transparent about methods; and collaborate on standards.
The report concludes that “PMD is not a silver bullet, but when used well it can be a powerful tool for public value”. Ensuring this value is realised, and making “PMD a routine part of how government understands and serves the public”, requires all stakeholders to act – and quickly, GDS said.
“PMD can offer real value to the public sector, enabling faster, more flexible, and more informed decision-making across a range of policy areas,” the report’s conclusion said. “From transport planning to local economic development, PMD provides a richer, more dynamic understanding of how people move and interact with places. It complements traditional data sources and, in many cases, offers insights that would otherwise be difficult or costly to obtain.”
It added: “However, unlocking this value is not automatic. It requires deliberate action by both the public sector and the wider market to address barriers around capability, procurement, transparency, and appropriate use. The considerations set out in this report are designed to help organisations move from experimentation to operational use, embedding PMD more effectively into everyday decision-making.”
