Development of Strategies for Census Data Dissemination United Nations Statistics Division

“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) Preaching to the choir? 3

Developing Dissemination Strategy: Key Elements 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 4

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

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

Technologies GIS Internet Dissemination Data bases

Dissemination Media Paper publications Digital media Online dissemination

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

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

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

Dissemination Policy Marketing Pricing External distributors Confidentiality and privacy Accessibility

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

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

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

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

Confidentiality/Privacy Measures Direct identification Indirect identification

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

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

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

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

Consultation with Users Data 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)

Consultation with Users Tools Dissemination Tools come to serve four main purposes: Accessibility to all Independence in use Clarity of the data Processing ability 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

Developing Dissemination Strategy 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

“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

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