PRIORITY OPERATIONAL RESEARCH FOR CENSUS COST SAVING STRATEGIES: CO-OPERATIVE RELAY CENSUSES Harry A. Freedman Statistics Canada & Central Statistics Office of Zambia

CENSUS REQUIREMENTS Meticulous planning Adequate financing Adequate time to operationalise plans Well-trained, disciplined & dedicated personnel Detailed geographic intelligence Logistical expertise & equipment Good questionnaire Sound processing system Flexible tabulation and dissemination system

DIFFICULTIES Time between Censuses Competition for financing Spiraling costs Scarcity of skilled personnel Tendency to underestimate time and training required

SOLUTION Innovative ways of cutting costs while maintaining or improving quality and timeliness How? –Improve planning –Improve training –Introduce economies of scale –Recycle

CONSORTIUM OF ROLLING CENSUSES The more countries that pool their census efforts the greater the potential for savings The greater the similarity at each census phase, the fewer surprises and the greater the savings Each iteration of a process that a statistician participates in re-enforces skill and increases the probability of skill retention

ROLLING CENSUS SCHEMA

TRAINING MODEL Master (skilled in specific census operation) Journeyman (knowledgeable) Apprentice (unskilled but keen to learn)

TRAINING MODEL - 2 Each census phase managed by a Master if country does not have a Master for a stage it will have a Journeyman or several Apprentices who will be the senior country person/people and responsible for phase execution When phase completed, preparations made to shift to next country; if Journeyman has mastered the operation, (s)he replaces former Master, etc.

TOOLS AND MATERIAL Tools and materials developed for Country A would be adapted for Country B rather than re-developed; lessons learned from A would be incorporated into strategy for B (e.g. Questionnaire, Procedures, Manuals) Expensive specialty hardware could be shared

POTENTIAL IMPEDIMENTS –Model needs research and development –Potential consortia members need to have some things in common (e.g. language, culture, proximity) –Statistical offices need to agree to form consortia –Donors have to provide incentives for consortia

OUTCOME More skill development and retention Better quality censuses Lower cost per census