Mobilizing Resources for Censuses: Strategies for Reducing Census Costs

1. Mobilizing Resources for Censuses: Strategies for Reducing Census Costs/ Perspectives of Donor Countries Based on Japanese Experience Takehiro Fukui Statistics Bureau Japan

2. Mobilizing Resources for Censuses: Strategies for Reducing Census Costs • Japanese international cooperation in the field of the population census • Major considerations on developing census capacity • Strategies for reducing census costs

3. Japanese international cooperation in the field of the population census Multilateral cooperation The Statistics Bureau has been hosting the Meeting of the Heads of National Statistical Offices in East Asian Countries at the interval of two/three years since 1980. The aim of this meeting is to exchange views and experiences on the population census and other statistical surveys.

4. Japanese international cooperation in the field of the population census Bilateral cooperation • Bilateral cooperation includes regular exchange of statistical missions: with the national statistical offices of China and Korea since 1980. • The Bureau provided technical assistance to Mexico, Argentina, Sri Lanka and Indonesia under the cooperation scheme of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

5. Major cooperation activities in the ESCAP region • Multilateral cooperation • ESCAP, SIAP, ADB, etc. • The EAST-WEST Center’s population census conferences • ANCSDAAP, the Association of National Census and Statistics Directors of America, Asia and the Pacific • The Meetings of the Heads of National Statistical Offices in East Asian Countries • The Asian Statistical Forum • Bilateral cooperation

6. International cooperation • A broad range of donors (bilateral, regional and global multilateral) • The necessity of donor coordination to avoid the duplication of technical assistance • Paris21 is a useful platform for networking among donors.

7. Major considerations of developing census capacity • Organization • Total quality management • Cost-effective mobilization of resources • Human resource development • Continuous training of statistical staff • Technological platform • Appropriate use of new technologies in every possible stage of the census process

8. The cost-effectiveness is important in each census process. Pre-enumeration stage • Census planning : Cost-effective planning • Census organization: Total quality management • Questionnaire design: • Conducting pilot censuses: Cost-effective survey • Cartography: GIS, GPS • Publicity: Outsourcing • Data processing system design: Appropriate use of new technology

9. Enumeration stage • Recruitment and training of field workers: Establishing effective recruitment/training system • Field enumeration • Post enumeration survey: Cost-effective survey

10. Post-enumeration stage • Data processing • Data capturing: PC-entry,OCR/ICR, CATI, CAPI, Internet • Coding: Automatic coding • Data editing : Computer imputation • Final tabulation: Software packages • Dissemination of the results: New media • Evaluation of the census process:Evaluation of cost-performance

11. New Technology for the Japanese 2000 Census • Use of optical character readers (OCR) for data capturing • Background of using OCR • Limit to improvement of OMR capability • Advance in the OCRs technology • Flexible design of questionnaires • Easily readable questionnaires printed using ordinary printing ink • (OMRs demanded drop-out color ink) • High recognition rate

12. New Technology for the Japanese 2000 Census • Major Features of New OCR • Allow for blue or black ballpoint pen (Pencils are acceptable, of courses) • Capture images in any designated areas on both sides of the questionnaire sheet simultaneously • Correct recognition: at least 98.4%(A) • Error recognition : less than 0.3%(B) • Non-recognition : less than 1.3% • Correct rate among Recognized: 99.7%+ (A)/((A)+(B))

13. New Technology for the Japanese 2000 Census • Selection of data capture technology is a crucial success factor in census taking. • Assess all costs and select the best cost-effective option: (1) selection, (2)procurement, (3)operation, (4)maintenance and (5)management

14. New Technology for the Japanese 2000 Census • Use of GIS (CMS:Census Mapping System) • Automated demarcation of densely inhabited districts (Statistically defined urban areas) • Compilation of small area statistics such as mesh (grid square) statistics and block statistics • Providing the sampling frame for household surveys

15. New Technology for the Japanese 2000 Census Tabulation and dissemination • Introducing quality control measures • Computer editing and imputation • Industrial classification coding operation decentralized to local governments • Data dissemination on computer readable media and Internet • balance between paper reports and outputs using electronic media (Internet,CD-R,etc.)

16. Strategies for reducing the census costs • Cost-effective planning and management • To raise awareness of the necessity of the Census • To build partnership at every stage of the process • Cost-effective mobilization of available resources • Cost-effective outsourcing of some census activities to the private sector: OCR operation, coding, etc.

17. Strategies for reducing census costs • To collect current good practices for reducing census costs in each NSO. • Appropriate practices would cover not only the technical and procedural aspects but also the management ones. • To assemble recommended current good practices for reducing census costs and to distribute to each NSO.

18. Concludingremark • The best strategy to reduce census costs vary from country to country. • The best strategy depends on the magnitude of each census, the availability of local skills, existing know-how from prior experience, census organization, budgetary conditions and many other factors specific to each country.