Spectrum Analysis Australia Schools Update 2024

Data, Geodemographics, Mapping, Schools Colleges and Universities, Site Selection / Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Data Demographics and Mapping, Mapping for Schools, Peter Buckingham, Spectrum Analysis Australia
St Joseph's College Geelong Victoria Australia

Spectrum Analysis Australia Schools Update 2024

By Peter Buckingham

Here at Spectrum Analysis Australia, we have been working with Independent and Catholic schools since 2003.

The first two schools to work with us were Brighton Grammar and Firbank Grammar School.

So now that we have been doing this work for more than 20 years, we thought we would share an update on how we help schools through geodemographic mapping and analysis (you can read more on our Education page).

Our main services include:

  • better information to make strategic business decisions and contribute to a school’s strategic plan
  • providing geodemographic online mapping services
  • providing prepared reports for discussion at board level
  • presenting to senior executives and school boards as required
  • additional consulting services for specific issues related to grant submissions, bus routing information, strategic marketing for above the line marketing locations (ie bus shelters, sign boards etc)
  • assisting with enrolment strategy identifying population growth areas and potential new campus locations

Innovation and Adaptability

We have continually updated our data sources and analysis services and adapted to the changing needs of schools. Our resources now include:

  • ACECQA child care centre data
  • ACARA schools enrolment data
  • data you can access in an online user-friendly mapping portal
  • a strategic alliance with Somerset Education’s Schools Financial Survey and the GeoMapping Plus product that schools can access when submitting their financial survey data
  • board ready reports
  • comprehensive analysis reports with explanations

Collaboration

We are very proud to have worked with a variety of individuals and organisations. We have collaborated with:

  • Dr David Hastie from Alphacrucis University College to obtain an academic review of our mapping products to ensure they meet the needs of independent schools
  • new school sectors to create student population forecasts
  • various groups with webinars, conferences and events
  • industry bodies that support schools including Educate Plus, Association of School Business Administrators (ASBA), Catholic Development Network (CDN), Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), Catholic Education Business Administrators (CEBA), Lutheran Schools and Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales (AISNSW)

Customer Service Excellence

Customer service excellence is a core value of ours and to ensure that we meet the needs of our clients, we continue to:

  • provide a range of free webinars and online video tutorials
  • prepare articles for various newsletters and magazines
  • provide an email newsletter to keep schools informed of new trends and information
  • be directly accessible by telephone, email or online chat
  • share referrals to other suppliers to schools

Sustainability Practices

When possible, we strive to remain as sustainable as possible (after all, we have been operating since 1996). We continue to:

  • provide both on site and remote access for staff members to reduce commute and travel times and provide workplace flexibility
  • host data stores in Australia to ensure local compliance and data security and reduce potential cyber security risk
  • provide digital reports rather than paper reports for easier distribution and reduce paper consumption
  • conduct most of our interstate meetings online
  • combine meetings in interstate locations to reduce the quantity of air travel

Cost-Efficiency

We understand that providing a quality service at an affordable price is important, so we do what we can to adjust to the needs of the market and maximise cost efficiencies including:

  • creating a revised model of a full school analysis every six years and a do-it-yourself online access service in between
  • providing an annual mapping update to ensure all reports that are produced are current and reliable
  • purchased subscription data within the online mapping service (including information from Australian Bureau of Statistics, ACARA and ACECQA)
  • identifying significant cost savings or revenue increases from analysed data that may not have been identified directly by each school

Impact and Effectiveness for Schools

We believe that all of these efforts help schools:

  • make better short term and long term decisions
  • gather data for successful grant applications
  • garner consistent understanding of the issues facing a school
  • educate managers and leaders with the information they can use to address specific concerns
  • receive regular updates and maintain their strategic focus
  • identify opportunities for enrolment growth
  • create better data for marketing decisions
  • prevent unnecessary capital expenditure in unsuitable locations
  • identify new campus locations that align with population growth forecasts

We are very proud of our efforts over the last 20+ years and we look forward to serving you and your school over the next 20 years!