ACORN BI Reporting solution
Overview
ACORN is a £5m programme accelerating the commercialisation of robotics and AI to make nuclear decommissioning safer, faster and more cost‑effective, while also supporting regional growth across Oxfordshire and Cumbria.
The programme funds projects between research organisations, industry partners, and supply chains to test, develop and deploy emerging technologies, while also supporting skills, training, and inclusive innovation across the regions.
As a newly established programme, ACORN required a structured and scalable approach to tracking performance, impact and funding outcomes, aligned to funder expectations.
📍 United Kingdom
💼 Nuclear
⚙️ Benefits Management
The Challenge
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A new programme with evolving reporting requirements
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Limited clarity on which KPIs should be tracked and how impact should be measured
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Need to align with EPSRC output categories and reporting expectations
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Multiple stakeholders with differing priorities
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Potential decentralised data collection across organisations
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Risk of inconsistent or incomplete reporting
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No clear distinction between:
- Pipeline (expected outcomes)
- Delivered impact (completed outcomes)
Our Approach
We led a structured and collaborative requirements definition sessions, working closely with stakeholders to translate programme objectives into a practical reporting framework:
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Defined a clear KPI framework
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Translated high-level requirements into measurable and actionable metrics
Ensured KPIs were:
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Relevant across diverse project types
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Consistent across research organisations
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Simple to capture through standardised templates
This was supported by the design of a scalable, future-ready reporting solution:
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Centralised data model linking all programme activity
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Standardised structured templates for contributors
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Automated data ingestion via SharePoint Folders
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Clear separation between: Expected (in-progress) & Completed (realised) outcomes
The Solution
We delivered a centralised Power BI reporting solution with a scalable and sustainable architecture:
Single, integrated view of all programme activity
Automated ingestion of data from multiple organisations
Template-driven approach ensuring consistency and ease of use
Refresh-ready model providing up-to-date insights with minimal manual effort
Designed to scale with:
New projects
Additional organisations
Evolving reporting requirements
Particular emphasis was placed on dashboard design and user experience, ensuring alignment with the programme’s wider development and external positioning.
Dashboard Architecture
The dashboard was designed to provide both strategic oversight and an intuitive user experience, supporting adoption across a wide range of stakeholders.
Programme Overview
Headline KPIs across:
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Funding (allocated vs leveraged)
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Projects (in-progress vs completed)
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People trained and engaged
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Organisations involved
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Regional activity (Oxfordshire and Cumbria)
Clear visual distinction between:
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Pipeline (future impact)
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Delivered outcomes (realised impact)
Project-Level Insight
Detailed view of individual projects including:
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Funding and key metadata
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Executive summaries
Outcome breakdowns across:
Dynamic behaviour:
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Knowledge exchange
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Policy impact
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People trained
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Partnerships
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Automatically displays expected or completed outcomes based on project status
Interactive features:
Drill-through navigation
Tooltip-driven breakdowns
Clear linkage between outputs and impact
User Experience & Design
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Aligned with the programme’s visual identity and launch materials
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Clean and intuitive layout enabling rapid understanding of key insights
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Strong visual hierarchy guiding users from high-level performance to detailed analysis
Interactive features:
Accessible to non-technical users
Easy to navigate and interpret
Suitable for both internal use and external communication
The Impact
Established a single source of truth for programme reporting
Enabled consistent tracking of outputs and impact
Provided clear visibility of:
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Funding leveraged
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Delivered outcomes
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Future pipeline activity
Reduced manual reporting effort through automation and standardisation
Improved data quality, consistency and governance
Delivered a solution that is: scalable, easy to adopt across stakeholders and aligned with programme branding and communication needs
Enabled stakeholders to monitor programme performance, make informed decisions and communicate value effectively
Sam Wainwright, Programme Lead
“It felt like a really healthy relationship, where we would get a good value product and you could do what you were skilled at. Thank you both for being fantastic to work with, particularly for helping us understand what’s possible, being responsive when we provided feedback, and creating something which met all of our requirements..”
