Strategic Vision of Internet Presence for National Statistical Offices Output Databases and Marketing Conference The Hague – Netherlands September, 2005 David Roy, Statistics Canada

The Question Information on the technology and processes related to the participants’ web sites has been shared, however little information has been shared about organizations’ strategic plans for their ‘web presence’. This paper identifies topics around which strategic direction could be established as a basis for discussion. Is there a need for strategic vision? Internet is used widely among information publishing organizations as a key element for serving communities of interest. The web was a natural fit for National Statistical Offices as their key client groups were intensive users of information. By the late 1990s our international group had become established and was sharing: Approaches to make our output accessible via Internet Approaches to facilitate electronic publishing The development and presentation of metadata Information management and data presentation tools Market research techniques to understand users needs and satisfaction The process has been invaluable to the participants who have all drawn on each others’ experiences. We have focused so far on ‘what has been done’ and ‘what we are in the process of doing’. We have rarely focused on future directions of the overall web presence of our Agencies. So perhaps the time is right for us to open a new focus that is to look at the strategic visions of our Agencies for their web presence. We sent an inquiry to the list serve asking participants if their oganization had a ‘Strategic Vision’ document for their web site. One 1 of the participants was able to provide one.

The Need for a Strategic Vision for STC’s Web Presence To inform employees across the Agency about how the Internet will be used in the full scope of our activities and processes. To ensure there is a corporate involvement in the development of our web presence which to this point has chiefly been guided by our information dissemination activity.

Research on the Needs of User/Client Groups Our redesign now in progress based on client needs feedback obtained from visitors surveys, usability tests and research on modules. Based on ‘What do you think of this?’ but not ‘What could STC do for you?’ Have your agencies conducted this type of research; if so, what was the process? How did you segment your user groups? Is it an ongoing process? Did the studies span functions other than dissemination? Is there a documentation of findings? Have any agencies conducted interviews with visitors on why they use of their site?

Creating site to accommodate different levels of user sophistication 80% of visitors found the information they needed in 3 main modules Only 30% of our content is used. Are other countries situations similar? Should we stratify our sites with elements that serve a general audience and others that require more knowledge and skill?

Developing Modules to serve different Communities of interest Some site modules designed to serve needs of particular communities Learning Resources - teachers and students. Business Data - small and medium sized businesses. Media Room - journalists, System of National Accounts - economists. Will our sites become more organized around the needs of users? Will there be higher costs over time to meet changing needs? Or, should we focus on having highly searchable sites based on ‘information by topic’?

Training Users 42% of Canadians are unable to read a bar chart or perform minimally challenging mathematical calculations. A usability test of Canadian Statistics module revealed 1 in 10 believed they had found correct data but had not. Are we overlooking a key role -to educate our users about our information and its’ uses and significance?

Client Registration Today we have a number of registrations on our site for individual services. As part of our redesign we will introduce a single registration for all services. The registered users will provide a client file for targeted market research. To encourage users to register we need to create value for them. Is visitor registration part of your long-term strategy to manage client relationships? How have you created value to encourage registration? The selection of a wide range of services, including newsletters. For the Daily An account for Priced services Being advised of new releases, based on users interest For CANSIM Notified if series contain errors Bookmark frequently used tables Have links to email addresses of subject matter specialists or account executives Limited profiles of our users.

Pricing of Internet Based Content A minority of NSOs now charge for online information. Do you see the retention of pricing of any online standard information outputs in the long-term? Will all of your published information be available online? Do you contemplate charging for support services? For those who have made the transition, have you experienced cost increases, and if so for what cost elements? Australia will now make their electronic publications available without charge. Statistics Canada plan to do the same in the near future. When pricing is removed, there still may be costs: Associated with free information For increased technical infrastructure and client support

Creation of Custom ‘Value Added Push Services’ Most NSO sites offer RSS feeds to their official releases. Other services include subscriptions to newsletters and other communiqués. An e-mail notification is sent when a new issue of a title has been released. New custom ‘value added’ push services for a fee for CANSIM are being considered. Do you envisage the provision of priced ‘value added’ services from your sites?

Creation of Consultation Portals Statistics Canada has a variety of consultative processes : 22 advisory and subject-matter committees A National Statistical Council, a Federal/Provincial Council Consultations with data users for Census and major programs Annual or semi-annual meetings. Online used for the 2006 Census, possibly online public meetings for the 2011 Census. Internet creates potential for broader and immediate consultation. Have any Agencies created a consultation portals? Do you plan to introduce any such mechanisms to build relationships or as a means of gauging the public’s views on policies or programs?

Partnerships - Other Levels of Government Canada’s provinces and territories republish much of our content and much on their internet sites. Presently, we have no portal on our site for Canada’s cities and no network to share information. Are there initiatives in place or under development to provide some standardized approach to information publishing with other levels of government? If so, are they or will they be integrated with the NSO site? Will they have links to other government sites?

A Value Proposition for Survey Respondents Obtaining Respondent cooperation is becoming increasingly challenging Making contact with households ‘Civic Duty’ is not as strong a motivation Surveys require a significant investment of time Costs for businesses that affect profitability Have your Agencies attempted to create a value in survey participation by using data outputs?

Data Collection Modules in Corporate Site Eventually most surveys will have an electronic data reporting option. Recent research shows respondents’ most preferred options are paper and internet. Most commonly used today are telephone and in-person. Today our online business surveys and Census use separate sites and infrastructures. Should we capitalize on our strong brand identification in relation to information dissemination and incorporate survey response modules within our corporate sites? Are there reasons for not doing so?

Incorporating Statistical Publishing by Other Agencies Statistics Canada currently publishes information provided by other Federal Agencies that is pertinent to our statistical program. Users have indicated they would like to see international comparisons of key indicators. Do your sites include data from other Agencies? Do your users have an interest in international comparisons related to key indicators? Should NSOs do something collectively to create a common facility for accessing internationally comparable statistics – with links to NSO sites. All of the Agency’s publishable output will eventually be included on CANSIM. CANSIM includes data from other other external agencies as well (Federal Government, Bank of Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing). We conduct a wide range of surveys for Federal Government Departments, they publish findings on their own sites. This leads to fragmentation of published data as we have very little information on our site re: these findings. Linking of sites may be a solution. Do your agencies have such standards related to publishing output sponsored by another agency?

Participation in ‘Common Services’ Strategies There is a government-wide initiative in Canada to provide single points of entry to integrated services – at local service centres, by telephone and via the internet. Are there similar initiatives underway in other countries and how are they being exploited to benefit national statistical offices? Are there concerns over loss of brand identity that may have negative consequences for data collection activities if NSO sites are not clearly identified as the source of data from their survey programs? Do these service integrations have implications for your corporate web sites?

Incorporating Content that Focuses on Issues that are Topical in the News Media Statistics Canada has been asked by the news media to provide integrative analyses on topical issues and when we do they receive broad coverage. An Editorial Board determines when something should be produced. Are other Agencies doing similar work? How is the availability of new content announced and published? Is it widely used by the news media and site visitors in general?

Survey on Web Site Strategic Vision NSOs and other organizations will be asked to complete a questionnaire including most of the questions raised in this paper. The results will be shared with all participants. David Roy roydavi@statcan.ca