2433 6 archive 32963 disk0/00/00/24/33 2026-09-28 08:50:42 2026-09-28 10:47:32 2026-09-28 08:50:42 data_collection show Höhn Andreas 67086 0000-0002-7170-1205 Rice Hugh Colasanti Ricardo Heppenstall Alison 62329 0000-0002-0663-3437 Elsenbroich Corinna 63285 0000-0003-1153-4326 Meier Petra 55675 0000-0001-5354-1933 Lomax Nikolas glaresearchdata:2026-01-29-2433 pub 25603000 40514000 This is a metadata-only record. To access the data associated with this record, please follow the link provided to Zenodo. Additional Funding: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) [ES/Z504270/1]. Simulation models, such as agent-based or microsimulation models capturing urban contexts, increasingly draw on spatially explicit, attribute-rich synthetic population datasets as real-world data inputs. Despite their growing relevance, the creation of such datasets via simulated annealing still faces significant limitations. Addressing key limitations, we present the open-source software package Combinatorial Optimisation for Microdata Population Assembly and Spatial Synthesis (COMPASS). The algorithm implemented in COMPASS enables; aggregate-level representativeness at different levels of counts (e.g., households and individuals); the processing of nested input data (e.g., retaining survey household and kinship structures); and systematic monitoring of uncertainty arising at creation stage. We provide COMPASS as a compiled multi-platform software package, suitable for reproducible workflows via R and Python. This paper introduces COMPASS and illustrates one potential workflow using open access data created to reflect an artificial population – transferable to many national contexts. 2026-01-29 published Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.18418133 Software 320976 HealthModUK Petra Meier Medical Research Council (MRC) MR/Y030656/1 SHW - MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit 322241 Orienting Policy Towards Inequality Minimising Actions (OPTIMA): A systems science approach to 20-minute neighbourhood policy and evaluation Jonathan Stokes National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) NIHR160301 SHW - MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit 321766 International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health Petra Meier Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) 14243869 SHW - Public Health FALSE English FALSE FALSE