Hi Kristen,

I use an Excel function called VLOOKUP tables which enables us to very quickly cross reference, compare and merge data between different excel spreadsheets.  I use it regularly for our monthly mailouts which has now turned this into a very quick and 'automatic' process. However it can of course be used for comparing and 'drawing in' any sort of info from any other spreadsheet you might want to cross reference -  in an instant !

However.........it does rely on two things 1/ the info you want to compare/merge must be on excel spreadsheets and 2/ there must be an exact common reference to both spreadsheets regarding whatever you're comparing e.g. the property reference number or address spelling/format must be exactly the same on both . I have found that any 'differences' in property records/reference numbers/spelling (which may occur between council department systems) are likely to mean that excel, being a mere computer application, - bless it, will fail to recognise matching properties.

Having said that, in general I have found it to be a very good and powerful tool. Not only that, it's an 'industry standard' so it's already there on most peple's systems meaning it's free. I'm not saying it's failsafe but it has really sped up the areas of our work that rely on the 'routine' functions of merging and comparison etc which in turn has allowed us much more more time to concentrate on the difficult, complex and more time consuming cases.

Hopefully your organisation will have someone who knows how VLOOKUP tables work but if not you can always give me a call.  If you already know about these and are looking for something more sophisticated - my apologies - it was just a thought. 

Patrick Gordon

Empty Property Officer

Brighton & Hove City Council

01273 293035

Hi Kristen

Other options include MS Access which can be more powerful if you want to do lots of different reports out of your integrated dataset.  As Patrick says, whatever software you use, the critical precondition is always that you have a key that is common to the two datasets.

Access overall has a steeper learning curve but the process of linking datasets can actually be easier as you can do it in a special window used to manage relationships between different tables.  Once you have defined the relationships then you can relatively easily treat the data as one large table in lots of different analyses without having to do much further.

I have a background in IT so it isn't too difficult for me but as Patrick says you'd hope there would be someone in a local  authority that could do the necessary if the EPO can't .  It isn't that demanding really.

Is it a one-off task or is it something where the datasets continue to be updated separately and need to be re-mreged at regular intervals?

Hi,

Thanks for both suggestions Patrick and David.  I think the council officer will want to be updating the merged data, so something they can do that with would be best.  As you say there should be an IT person at the coucnil for them to ask, but I think it is a case of having good information about what you are asking for, so your comments will be quite helpful.  I am going to pass them on to her if you don't mind and will include your contact details Patrick, given your generous offer to answer questions!  The officer is from Glasgow Council and her name is Sheila Brown, so if she gets in touch this is what she's asking you about. 

Thanks again for the replies,

Kristen