University of the Philippines Population Institute Use of Census data for evidence-based policy formulation and evaluation Needs Assessment Conference on Census Analysis in Asia Bali, Indonesia, 23-25, 2011 Grace T. Cruz Population Institute University of the Philippines

University of the Philippines Population Institute Outline of presentation I.Contextualizing the census in policy formulation and evaluation. II.Employing census for evidence-based policy development in the Philippines III.Key challenges, opportunities and recommendations

University of the Philippines Population Institute Contextualizing population census in policy formulation and evaluation Do census data exist? Are users aware of census data? Census is used for evidence-based policy formulation and evaluation. Are census data used for decision making? Does capacity to use census data exist? Are census data available? Adopted from Chaurasia (n.d.)

University of the Philippines Population Institute 13 uninterrupted population censuses and 6 housing censuses in the country since the turn of the 19th century Census data provide age and sex-disaggregated data at all levels i.e. down to the lowest administrative unit (barangay) making it responsive to the data needs for local planning as prescribed in the local development code Improving accuracy over time Information collected have evolved over time reflecting the different public concerns of the country Eg. Collection of overseas employment data starting in the 1990 census in response to the significance of the issue in the country. Do census data exist?

University of the Philippines Population Institute YES Are users aware of census data? Are census data available? In its normal publication cycle, it takes approximately one to two years after the data collection has been finished for the interested people to get hold of a copy of the census data. Web-based data dissemination

University of the Philippines Population Institute Relative capacity advantage among census data users and producers particularly those involved in research and planning such as academic and research institutes/units, government and private sectors involved in planning Need for capacity development at the local level continuing training and capacity development –Short-term training for local government units and other users on the use of data (including census data) for local planning –Long-term training for demographers and population specialists Does capacity to use census data exist?

University of the Philippines Population Institute Policy and program Development –Census is used to monitor population growth and population structure as well as provide socio-demographic profile of the population which are needed for national, subnational and sectoral planning. –Census is a major data source used by academicians and researchers to analyze population dynamics needed to backstop population and related policy formulation. Are census data used for policy formulation and evaluation?

University of the Philippines Population Institute Census is used to design research as a basis for the formulation of programs for a more targeted response –Adolescents research for ARH program Census is used to provide information on the extent of the demand for services as well as to monitor extent of coverage necessary to meet development program goals –Education planning (census and population projections are used for projecting future demand in the education sector in the context of the K+12 program) Are census data used for policy formulation and evaluation?

University of the Philippines Population Institute Policy Evaluation Used in the development of indicators to measure program success: –Housing and Urbanization Housing backlog and Informal settlers Access to safe drinking water Electrification –Poverty mapping and estimation Census is used as input in preparing poverty estimates per locality. Are census data used for policy formulation and evaluation?

University of the Philippines Population Institute Creation of new Local Government Units –1991 Local Government code provides that for new political subdivision to be created the National Statistics Office must certify that the locality in consideration should have met a particular size: 2,000 for rural Barangays (villages) 5,000 for Barangays in Highly Urbanized Cities 25,000 for Municipalities 150,000 for Cities 250,000 for Provinces –The Internal Revenue Allotment which is a proportionate share of taxes shared between the national government and the local government uses population as a factor to determine LGU share Are census data used for policy formulation and evaluation?

University of the Philippines Population Institute Political Use –The census is used by Election Registrars to plan for the conduct of local and national election (voter registration) –The census is used in the reapportionment of political districts Congress shall make a reapportionment of legislative districts, 3 years after each Census collection (Section 5, paragraphs (4), Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution) Are census data used for policy formulation and evaluation?

University of the Philippines Population Institute Key challenges, opportunities and recommendations Making the census more responsive to program and policy development. 1.Improve reliability, timeliness and access of census data –Re-engineer the data collection to employ multi-modal approach, particularly expand the adoption of modern technology to improve quality and timeliness of census results. –Consider promotion of eCensus which can be targeted to particular groups such as those with higher education and younger age groups –telephone interviews for some sectors

University of the Philippines Population Institute Key challenges, opportunities and recommendations Address coverage challenges –Increase use of social media to raise awareness and to change behavior regarding the census –Make the instruments respondent-friendly –Adopt specialized procedures to increase enumeration of indigenous communities e.g. improved planning and better local recruitment

University of the Philippines Population Institute Key challenges, opportunities and recommendations Expand the collaboration with other government agencies, the private sector, NGOs and academe to improve process of census taking. Particularly, there is a need to promote fuller use of the census data to researchers as a way to help assess the data quality and maximize its use for planning at various levels. Promote appreciation and use of census results in schools, media and other relevant sectors. Promote training of demographers and population professionals to help in the conduct, assessment and analysis of population census.

University of the Philippines Population Institute Key challenges, opportunities and recommendations Broaden the coverage to help monitor major government programs E.g. collect information on MMR to monitor the country’s MDG performance Provide timely data (including projection data) and more detailed data and indicators for monitoring of major government programs. E.g. census data can be used to validate the targeting of recipients at the barangay level for the Conditional Cash Transfer program

University of the Philippines Population Institute Thank you!