Development of Strategies for Census Data Dissemination

1. Development of Strategies for Census Data Dissemination United Nations Statistics Division

3. “A census is not complete until the information collected is made available to potential users in a form suited to their needs” (UN Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 2, para. 1.206)

4. Users identification Data uses/needs Technologies Dissemination media Products and services Dissemination policy Quality assurance Meta-data Confidentiality/privacy measures Budget and human resources Users consultation Developing Dissemination Strategy: Key Elements

5. Users identification Central government Local government authorities Research community Business and industry sector General public Communication media International and multinational organizations Public or private service providers Market researchers

6. Data Uses/Needs for policymaking, planning and administrative purposes as (an essential) part of the statistical infrastructure for research purposes for business, industry and labor for electoral boundary delimitation as a sampling frame for surveys for development of benchmark housing statistics for the formulation of housing policy and programs for the assessment of the quality of housing in relationship with other statistical activities

7. Technologies GIS Internet Dissemination Data bases

8. Dissemination Media Paper publications Digital media Online dissemination

9. Products and Services Provisional results Tabulations Thematic statistical or analytical reports Procedural, evaluation and other reports Census mapping Interactive digital outputs General interest products and special audience reports Services – customized products, "on request" services

10. Tabulations Basic/essential tabulations Recommended tabulations Additional tabulations (UN Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 2)

11. What is Unique about Census Products? Estimates for small areas and small population groups > effective decision making (identified target population) Infrastructure statistics > effective sampling for surveys (identified strata), without crossing lines vis a vis response burden and budget But usually infrequent (once a decade) Census Dissemination Strategy has to address first those needs answered only by census data

12. Dissemination Policy Marketing Pricing External distributors Confidentiality and privacy Accessibility

13. Quality Assurance Attributes Relevance Completeness Accuracy Comparability Coherence Timeliness Punctuality Clarity Accessibility Metadata

14. Quality Assurance Process Should Show Methodological soundness: adherence to professional methods and (internationally) agreed standards Efficiency: degree to which statistics are compiled in such a way that the cost and the respondent burden are minimized relative to output

15. Quality Assurance Challenges Census dissemination can easily be overlooked in the chain of providing a quality outcome for the census as management attention is diverted to the costly and risky enumeration and processing operations Dissemination systems and processes need to be available, documented and tested prior to the release of data from the processing phase

16. Metadata Sources of the data Definitions Methods Para-data (collection-process description) International comparability

17. Confidentiality/Privacy Measures Direct identification Indirect identification

18. Budget and Human Resources Proper budget allocation since the start of the project Human resources recruitment and maintenance until the end of the census project

19. How to Determine Users’ Needs Mandatory products Uses in previous census Uses in relevant surveys and expressed needs International recommendations Surveys, discussion groups, and other operations to elicit needs of known users and of potential users before (and after) the census NSO insights and leading role Future needs… This is to create a reservoir of needs

20. Consultation with Users Three issues to be addressed: Data to be collected according to accepted needs, while keeping the respondents’ rights in mind Data to be released to ensure confidentiality and yet, relevance Dissemination tools to ensure accessibility, independence in use, clarity and processing ability

21. Consultation with Users Data to be collected Limitations Legal Obligations International Recommendations Consistency with Official Statistics Scope and Costs of Direct Data Collection Privacy & Response Burden Consultation Span Alternatives for Direct Data Collection (administrative sources) Public vs. Private Users Infrastructure vs. Other Statistics Multiple vs. Single Potential Users Many vs. Few Uses Influenced by the reservoir of needs

22. Consultation with UsersData to be Released Limitations Legal Obligations International Recommendations Confidentiality & Individual Privacy Data Quality Generic vs. Tailor-made Products Consultation Span Aggregates vs. Micro-data Single census vs. Several censuses data (Comparisons over-time, linked records)

23. Consultation with UsersTools Dissemination Tools come to serve four main purposes: Accessibility to all Independence in use Clarityof the data Processingability for further research -Therefore- Under the limitations of Budget,Human Resources and Technology, users are to be consulted and demonstrated needs, with regard to dissemination tools, are to be answered

24. Users’ needs determine the Target Data (and metadata), budget and human resources – are the Input Technology and methodology – are enabling factors Products and services – are the Output Developing Dissemination Strategy

25. “Tips” Based on Previous Experience Dissemination strategy needs to be developed during the planning stage of the census Budget and human resources need to be determined (and protected) since the beginning of the census project The supply of census products and services goes far beyond the first couple of years after the census

26. “A census is not complete until the information collected is made available to potential users in a form suited to their needs”