Students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, have created multiple Kochi city-specific dashboards that will facilitate spatial analysis in governance and policy formulation based on data collected from 21 wards in the Corporation.

The dashboards integrated data collected across five themes—migration, Kudumbashree, Haritha Karma Sena, health and education, and integrated transport systems. This marked the culmination of a nearly fortnight-long field study conducted by second-year students of the B.S. Analytics and Sustainability Studies programme as part of an academic project by the Centre for Labour Market and Research Facility under the School of Management and Labour Studies, TISS.

The field study that concluded here on Wednesday was facilitated by the Centre for Heritage, Environment, and Development of the Kochi Corporation.

“Our students created 10 dashboards, two for each of the five themes. Of these, four—focused on education, transport, health, and migration—were exemplary in terms of data structure and analytical output, and have been handed over to the Kochi Corporation. The Corporation can update these dashboards with data from the remaining wards to enable spatial analysis for public policy formulation. We will further enhance these dashboards upon our return and submit them to the Corporation by October 10,” said S. Rahul, Assistant Professor, TISS. The State Missions of Kudumbashree and Haritha Karma Sena have expressed interest in developing similar dashboards

The overarching goal was to establish a ward-level data architecture to build a City Observatory System for Kochi as a knowledge hub to systematically document, analyse, and disseminate data on urban dynamics. This initiative is expected to strengthen evidence-based policymaking, promote sustainable urban practices, and support community-driven interventions across the city.

A concluding session of the field study is expected to be held on the TISS campus in Mumbai by December. TISS may sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kochi Corporation for a three-year, non-financial collaboration focused on sharing expertise in urban policy research and analytics. The MoU formalising collaboration may be signed at the Mumbai event.

As part of the study, students also compiled case studies on sustainable urban practices, highlighting both challenges and successful interventions that could serve as models for other cities. These findings will be shared with the Kochi Corporation, community stakeholders, and academic audiences, contributing to the broader vision of building resilient, inclusive, and sustainable urban centres.