TotalAnalysis allows viewers to see statistics from all over the world

Alumni launch new site to analyse global COVID data

Exeter alumni Richard Londesborough (Economics and Statistics, 1981) and Mike Laflin (Economics and Geography, 1981) have launched a new site to understand how COVID-19 is impacting the world.

TotalAnalysis aims to measure, monitor and analyse different sectors of the world starting with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike said: “The site aims to look at the broader holistic impact the pandemic is having on global economies from an economic, social, health and environmental aspect. We are both highly interested in data and found that it was hard to find accurate and comparative information easily, so we built this site to fix that.

“We have started by gathering data from over 180 countries worldwide, with national, regional and eventually city data. The data itself comes from official government sources, all of which are listed on the site so users can refer back to original locations if they wish.”

The site allows users to view the overall number of cases in different regional areas, the daily totals and the weekly change in figures. Users can also drill down to see the pattern of cases over time and if there are hotspots in a particular area.

Richard said: “We have a weekly tracker which gives an indication if the number of cases is going up or down over time. This allows us to look for patterns in different areas that are not possible with daily figures and can be a really useful snapshot.

“We also have news alerts that look into some key findings such as how countries are coming out of lockdown or how measures have impacted different areas. We hope that ultimately the data and analysis available will help governments and businesses to understand the impact of actions taken during the pandemic and assist in future decision making.”

Mike and Richard studied at Exeter at the same time, however their paths never crossed until around six years ago when they became neighbours. In the intervening time they had both set up data information businesses and so they are now combining their respective data, editorial and analytical skills to launch TotalAnalysis.

The principles of the site can be applied to different topics so over time Mike and Richard plan to develop it to include other areas that businesses will find useful such as economics. The website will grow over time and is free to access here.

Date: 5 June 2020