Alzheimer’s Research UK Case Study
“We were absolutely delighted to see so many MPs referencing the Alzheimer’s Research UK data.”
The brief
With a wealth of dementia data at their fingertips, Alzheimer’s Research UK sought to unlock the potential of these insights to enhance its engagement with MPs and the general public.
By integrating a geographic layer into their datasets, the charity aimed to visualise this information at the constituency and health board levels across the UK.
“The ability to break down data by region and constituency has been especially valuable, helping us make the statistics directly relevant to each MP’s area, something we’ve received positive feedback on.”
The Solution
With the help of the Polimapper data team, Alzheimer’s Research UK successfully developed a range of dementia maps. Sitting within their Dementia Statistics hub, the Dementia Maps page is a key resource allowing all users, from members of the public to MPs and health board leaders, to explore the dementia landscape in their local area.
The dementia maps cover a wide range of subjects, from prevalence and waiting times, to a resource highlighting which MPs are dementia champions. A key issue faced for ARUK was localising the data they held. Working with the data team at Polimapper, both publicly available and in house data was successfully converted to Westminster constituency level, ensuring this data could be leveraged in MP engagements.
“The visualisation of data has been instrumental in our engagement with MPs whether in one-to-one meetings, as part of takeaway leaflets at our parliamentary events, or in our regular communications through our Dementia Research Champion Network”
The Impact
The Dementia maps powered by Polimapper have proved to be an invaluable resource, evolving from a media tool into a cornerstone of parliamentary briefing. The impact of this data-driven approach has been long-standing: as early as 2017, after being launched, the maps were making national headlines in The Sun and The Daily Express. Fast forward to June 2025, and Polimapper visualisations were informing high-level discussions in the House of Commons.
Ahead of the Dementia Care debate on 3rd June 2025 – timed to coincide with Carers Week – Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) executed a strategic lobbying campaign. By utilising Polimapper to equip their Dementia Research Champion Network with tailored briefing materials, they ensured that every MP had the specific “local weight” needed to speak on a national issue.
This targeted outreach resulted in the data moving directly from the Stats Hub into Hansard. Several MPs used the maps to ground their speeches in local reality:
- Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) highlighted the 1,800 residents living with dementia in her area to point out gaps in local care.
- Chris McDonald (Stockton North) used the data to reveal that his constituents wait six weeks longer than average for a diagnosis.
- Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) cited 1,877 local cases to illustrate how rural isolation compounds the crisis.
- Jo Platt (Leigh and Atherton) noted her constituency’s prevalence rank (281st out of 650) to advocate for better resource allocation.
“The visual data from the constituency-level maps was central to our briefing and used during the debate by several MPs who referenced the number of people living with dementia in their constituencies and citing our maps as a source. The Stats Hub has also proved to be a useful tool. We’ve noticed that some MPs we hadn’t actively engaged with had clearly accessed it themselves to look up their stats.”
“We were absolutely delighted to see so many MPs referencing the Alzheimer’s Research UK data. It’s hugely encouraging to see our work recognised in Parliament, not just for us, but for our supporters who are at the heart of everything we do.”
Discover how Polimapper achieves cut through with stakeholders by providing hyper-relevant messages, delivered through localised data visualisations.