Idendification of and Consultation with Census Data Users United Nations Statistics Division Demographic Statistics Section 1

Overview of Presentation Importance of user consultations Who are data users? How to determine users’ needs Consultation with users

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, Rev. 2, p. 49) 3

Importance of user consultations Objective of census is to provide information to assist users to make evidence-based decisions User consultation important to determine demand for potential census topics User consultation important for census to deliver relevant products and services to data users Determination of census products and services a major factor in development of dissemination programme User consultations should be carried out at census panning stage

Who are census data users? Central, provincial and local Government Universities and other research institutions Private sector (business and industry) General public Communication media NGOs Regional and international organizations 5

Uses of census data Used for: policy making, planning and administrative purposes (e.g., in allocation of resources) research purposes business, industry and labour electoral boundary delimitation assessment of quality and adequacy of housing formulation of housing policy and programs

Uses of census data (contd.) Conduct separate consultations with different types of users with common interests Administrators, policy makers, planners Demographers, researchers Users in the business community

What to cover in user consultation process Topics on which to collect data Dissemination plans what data to make available when data will become available how to make data available (services and tools)

How to determine users’ needs Mandatory products Uses in previous censuses 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

Consultation with users Census agency should establish position on census content by assessing suitability of topics for inclusion in census. As a guide ask: Is topic of major national importance? Is there need for data on topic for small population or small geographic area? Is topic suitable for inclusion in census is it better collected through other sources? Are there sufficient resources available to collect and process the data for that topic? Does topic allow for (regional) international comparability?

Consultation with users (contd.) Other 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 – dissemination tools Dissemination tools come to serve four main purposes: Accessibility to all Independence in use Clarity of the data Processing ability - 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

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