We are economists and data specialists who work alongside governments and organisations to answer the questions that matter most about local and urban economies. Our work is built on methodological rigour, analytical independence, and a practical understanding of how policy decisions actually get made.
Our founding specialism, and the area where we have the deepest expertise of any independent consultancy in Australia.
We developed the Night Mix Index (NMI), the analytical framework that has underpinned night time economy measurement across the UK, Australia and New Zealand since 2009. Over 15 years, we have applied and refined this methodology across more than 50 projects – from the first ever cost-benefit analysis of a night time economy (City of Sydney, 2011) to the most recent national benchmarking programme covering 88 Australian LGAs.
As the policy conversation broadens from ‘night time economy’ to ’24-hour economy’, we are working at the forefront of that shift, contributing to the NSW Government’s Data After Dark platform, conducting international benchmarking studies for state government, and developing new frameworks for measuring the full 24-hour economic cycle.
Rigorous analysis of economic, social and demographic datasets to answer the questions that matter.
We work with ABS business register data, employment and payroll datasets, consumer spending data, productivity indicators, industry output data, and a growing range of novel sources, including transaction-level spending data, mobility data and platform-sourced business intelligence.
We know which combinations of data sources produce defensible, decision-ready analysis — and which combinations produce false confidence. Our clients come to us not just for the analysis itself, but for independent guidance on what their data is — and isn’t — telling them.
Mapping economic activity at street level, revealing what aggregate data entirely misses.
Traditional economic statistics are powerful, but they have a fundamental limitation: they can tell you what is happening at an LGA or postcode level, but not where exactly, and not at what time. We specialise in bridging that gap.
By combining official statistics with emerging geospatial datasets, including Google Maps business data, trading hours intelligence, mobility data and geocoded licensing information, we can map economic activity at street level, identify clusters of businesses operating at night, and reveal patterns that aggregate data entirely misses.
The interactive map below shows NTE business activity across Blacktown – filterable by trading window, business type and NTE sector. This is the kind of geospatial intelligence we build for our clients.
Evidence-based policy requires more than good data at the start of a process.
It requires a framework for evaluating whether the policy is working, and an honest assessment of the results, even when they are inconvenient. We help governments design evaluation frameworks before strategies are implemented, conduct rigorous mid-term and post-implementation reviews, and build the evidence base needed to make the case for reform.
We are equally comfortable producing analysis that confirms a strategy is working as we are producing analysis that challenges it. Our independence is not a marketing claim, it is the foundation of the trust our clients place in us.
The relationship between economic vitality and community safety is complex, contested, and frequently misrepresented.
For decades, the debate around night time economies has been distorted by partial data – crime statistics cited without economic context, licensing data presented without reference to employment or revenue, or ambulance data used to justify policy without understanding what it actually measures.
We bring the same analytical rigour to safety data that we bring to economic data. By integrating crime, ambulance, licensing and demographic information with economic analysis, we give policymakers a complete and honest picture of what is happening in their communities after dark.
Quantitative analysis tells you what is happening. Stakeholder research tells you why.
The most rigorous quantitative analysis can still miss things. Economic data tells you what is happening in aggregate, it doesn’t always explain why, and it doesn’t capture the experiences of the people and businesses that live and operate within the economy being studied.
We design and deliver stakeholder engagement programmes that complement our quantitative work with qualitative depth. Our engagement programmes are designed around specific analytical questions – not generic consultation checklists – which means the insights they generate are directly usable in the research and strategy process.
Every project begins with understanding what you are actually trying to decide – not what you think you need to commission. Sometimes those are the same thing. Often they’re not. We invest time upfront to make sure we’re solving the right problem.
No data source is perfect. We are transparent about the limitations of every dataset we use, and we will tell you when the available evidence isn’t strong enough to support a definitive conclusion. That honesty is worth more than false confidence.
Our reports are designed to be read and used, not filed. Clear language, logical structure, accessible visualisations, and findings that connect directly to the decisions our clients need to make.
Many of our most interesting projects don’t fit neatly into a single category. If you have a question about your local economy, or a dataset you’re not sure how to use, reach out for a conversation. We’ll tell you honestly whether we can help.
