{ "_comment": "Vital Pulse Index \u2014 six-pillar configuration. Single source of truth for pillar definitions, weights, data sources, ingest schedules, traffic-light thresholds, and velocity computation rules. Read by both the public dashboard rendering layer and the admin publishing flow. Versioned in lockstep with the methodology paper; bumping a weight or velocity-window length requires a new methodology version.", "version": "0.1.0-draft", "lastUpdated": "2026-05-05", "status": "draft-pending-methodology-panel-review", "compositeScore": { "id": "vp", "name": "Vital Pulse Index", "shortName": "VPI", "scale": "0-100", "polarity": "higher-is-better", "framing": "velocity-aware", "_framingNote": "Vital Pulse is conceived as a velocity tracker: each reading carries both a level (where the food system sits) and a velocity (how fast and in what direction it is moving). The headline gauge displays the level; the velocity badge beneath the gauge displays the rate-of-change. A pulse is, by definition, a signal of rate \u2014 the index is named accordingly.", "weightingMethod": "panel-agreed weighted average; weights below sum to 100", "bands": [ { "min": 0, "max": 39, "status": "red", "label": "Investigate", "description": "System is significantly under-performing. Material public-health and food-system intervention indicated." }, { "min": 40, "max": 69, "status": "amber", "label": "Review", "description": "System is mixed. Some indicators improving, others deteriorating. Targeted action required." }, { "min": 70, "max": 100, "status": "green", "label": "On track", "description": "System indicators are broadly healthy and improving. Continued monitoring required." } ], "velocity": { "computation": "smoothed 12-month rolling change in points-per-month", "_computationNote": "Velocity_t = (score_t \u2212 score_{t\u221212}) / 12. Expressed as signed points-per-month. Positive = improving; negative = deteriorating.", "directionThresholds": { "improving": "velocity \u2265 +0.17 points/month (\u2248 +2 points/year)", "stable": "velocity strictly between \u22120.17 and +0.17 points/month", "deteriorating": "velocity \u2264 \u22120.17 points/month (\u2248 \u22122 points/year)" }, "acceleration": { "computation": "second-order \u2014 change in velocity month-on-month", "_optionalNote": "Acceleration is reserved for a future methodology version. In v1.0 the field is null in published readings." }, "displayBadgeFormats": { "improving": "+{velocity}/mo \u2197 improving", "improvingFast": "+{velocity}/mo \u2197 accelerating", "stable": "flat \u00B7 stable", "deteriorating": "{velocity}/mo \u2198 deteriorating", "deterioratingFast": "{velocity}/mo \u2198 decelerating" } } }, "pillars": [ { "id": "soil-health-trajectory", "ordinal": 1, "name": "Soil health trajectory", "shortName": "Soil", "description": "Aggregate UK soil health based on physical, chemical and biological indicators across the AHDB scorecard framework. Higher is better.", "weight": 20, "scale": "0-100", "polarity": "higher-is-better", "primarySources": [ { "name": "AHDB Soil Health Scorecard aggregate data", "url": "https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/the-soil-health-scorecard", "accessModel": "negotiated-data-share-or-public-aggregate", "status": "scoping", "ingestNotes": "AHDB scorecard data is currently held at farm level. National aggregation requires either a data-share agreement with AHDB or use of published summary statistics." }, { "name": "Soil Benchmark national readings", "url": "https://www.soilbenchmark.com/", "accessModel": "commercial-data-share", "status": "not-yet-approached", "ingestNotes": "Soil Benchmark covers ~13% of England's farmland on its platform. Aggregate readings would be a strong supplementary source." }, { "name": "UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Countryside Survey", "url": "https://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/projects/countryside-survey", "accessModel": "public", "status": "available", "ingestNotes": "Useful for baseline calibration." } ], "ingestFrequency": "annual", "publishFrequency": "quarterly with linear interpolation between annual readings", "trafficLightMapping": "see compositeScore.bands", "velocityRules": "Velocity computed only on actual annual readings; interpolated quarters report the prior velocity carried forward.", "methodologyNotes": "Pillar score is a weighted composite of six AHDB sub-indicators (VESS structure, pH, extractable nutrients, organic matter, earthworms, microbial activity). Weights and aggregation method to be agreed by methodology panel." }, { "id": "crop-nutrient-density", "ordinal": 2, "name": "Crop nutrient density", "shortName": "Crop Nutrient Density", "description": "Population-level rollup of Bionutrient Institute 1\u2013100 nutrient-density readings on UK staple crops. Where instrumental readings are unavailable, uses Pulse Brain literature meta-analysis as a proxy.", "weight": 25, "scale": "0-100", "polarity": "higher-is-better", "primarySources": [ { "name": "Bionutrient Meter UK pilot readings", "url": "https://www.bionutrientinstitute.org", "accessModel": "partnership-data-share", "status": "pending-pilot-launch" }, { "name": "Pulse Brain literature meta-analysis", "url": "https://vitagri.org/evidence/", "accessModel": "internal", "status": "available" } ], "ingestFrequency": "quarterly", "publishFrequency": "quarterly", "trafficLightMapping": "see compositeScore.bands", "velocityRules": "Standard 4-quarter rolling computation.", "methodologyNotes": "Per-crop scores aggregated to a UK-staple basket weighted by national consumption (ONS Living Costs and Food Survey weights). Explicitly cites BI's 1\u2013100 scale as the underlying per-food rating method.", "biAttribution": "Every reading on this pillar that draws on Bionutrient Meter data carries a visible \u2018Source: Bionutrient Institute\u2019 attribution in the dashboard, the API response, the gauge tile and any embed widget." }, { "id": "polyphenol-bioactive-trend", "ordinal": 3, "name": "Polyphenol and bioactive trend", "shortName": "Bioactives", "description": "Direction of change in published UK-relevant nutrient-density studies over a rolling five-year window. Pure literature meta-analysis from Pulse Brain.", "weight": 10, "scale": "0-100", "polarity": "higher-is-better", "primarySources": [ { "name": "Pulse Brain rolling literature window", "url": "https://vitagri.org/evidence/", "accessModel": "internal", "status": "available", "ingestNotes": "Filter Pulse Brain catalogue to UK-applicable studies on polyphenols, antioxidants, omega-3 and other bioactives published in last five years. Compute weighted-direction score using study tier (T1\u2013T4) and effect size." } ], "ingestFrequency": "monthly recompute on rolling 60-month window", "publishFrequency": "quarterly", "trafficLightMapping": "see compositeScore.bands", "velocityRules": "Standard 4-quarter rolling computation.", "methodologyNotes": "Most innovative pillar from a Vitagri-uniqueness standpoint. Directly leverages Pulse Brain catalogue. Scoring formula to be specified in methodology paper." }, { "id": "public-procurement-quality", "ordinal": 4, "name": "Public procurement quality", "shortName": "Procurement", "description": "Percentage of UK public-sector meals (NHS hospitals, schools, defence, prisons, government catering) meeting nutrient-density thresholds.", "weight": 15, "scale": "0-100 (percentage of compliant meals)", "polarity": "higher-is-better", "primarySources": [ { "name": "Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-buying-standard-for-food-and-catering-services", "accessModel": "public", "status": "available" }, { "name": "NHS England Hospital Food Standards data", "url": "https://www.england.nhs.uk/nhs-food-review/", "accessModel": "public-and-FOI", "status": "partially-available" }, { "name": "School Food Standards compliance data", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools", "accessModel": "public", "status": "available" } ], "ingestFrequency": "annual with quarterly NHS interim", "publishFrequency": "quarterly", "trafficLightMapping": "see compositeScore.bands", "velocityRules": "Standard 4-quarter rolling computation. NHS interim readings count for velocity even when annual school data has not refreshed.", "methodologyNotes": "Weighting between procurement channels (NHS / schools / other) to be set by methodology panel. James Thompson at FWAG to confirm data quality and aggregation feasibility." }, { "id": "diet-related-disease-burden", "ordinal": 5, "name": "Diet-related disease burden", "shortName": "Disease cost", "description": "Annual cost of diet-related chronic disease to the UK economy, expressed as a share of NHS spend. Lower is better. Uses the \u00A3268bn cost-of-inaction figure as baseline reference.", "weight": 15, "scale": "0-100 (inverted; lower disease burden = higher score)", "polarity": "lower-cost-is-better", "primarySources": [ { "name": "NHS England diet-related condition cost data", "url": "https://www.england.nhs.uk/", "accessModel": "public-and-derived", "status": "partially-available" }, { "name": "Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) chronic disease prevalence", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-for-health-improvement-and-disparities", "accessModel": "public", "status": "available" }, { "name": "ONS health expenditure series", "url": "https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare", "accessModel": "public", "status": "available" } ], "ingestFrequency": "annual", "publishFrequency": "annual with explicit \u2018no change\u2019 placeholder for interim quarters", "trafficLightMapping": "Inverted: cost \u2265 \u00A3300bn = red; \u00A3220\u2013300bn = amber; cost \u2264 \u00A3220bn = green. Thresholds to be agreed by methodology panel.", "velocityRules": "Velocity computed only on actual annual readings; interpolated quarters report the prior velocity carried forward.", "methodologyNotes": "Most lagging indicator. Use rolling three-year average to smooth annual reporting noise. Dr Hannah Fraser and Dr Tom Pearson to validate clinical attribution methodology." }, { "id": "policy-market-momentum", "ordinal": 6, "name": "Policy and market momentum", "shortName": "Momentum", "description": "Forward-looking indicator. Count and weighted score of active UK policies, retailer commitments, procurement standards and regulatory consultations relevant to nutrient density. Higher is better.", "weight": 15, "scale": "0-100 (composite momentum score)", "polarity": "higher-is-better", "primarySources": [ { "name": "Defra policy register (active and consultative)", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs", "accessModel": "public", "status": "available" }, { "name": "DHSC nutrition and food policy register", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care", "accessModel": "public", "status": "available" }, { "name": "Major UK retailer ESG and food-quality commitments", "url": "various", "accessModel": "public-corporate-disclosure", "status": "available" } ], "ingestFrequency": "monthly", "publishFrequency": "quarterly", "trafficLightMapping": "see compositeScore.bands", "velocityRules": "Standard 4-quarter rolling computation. Most volatile pillar; velocity surface is intentionally featured prominently because policy momentum changes quickly and readers care about direction.", "methodologyNotes": "Most subjective pillar. Scoring rubric to be developed and pre-registered. Counts weighted by policy scope, mandatory vs voluntary, and implementation timeline." } ], "weightCheck": { "_comment": "All pillar weights must sum to 100. CI build should fail if this changes without a corresponding methodology version bump.", "expected": 100, "computed": 100 }, "publishCadence": { "annualFlagship": "Mid-January each year. Full report covering the prior year's twelve monthly readings.", "monthlyTracker": "First Tuesday of every month. Dashboard refresh + short editorial note.", "liveTicker": "Continuous on dashboard. Drawn from Pulse Brain ingest pipeline." } }