Costs and benefits First proposals on CES Recommendations for the 2020 census round & Key results from the UNECE Survey on National Census Practices

Financial practices vary so very difficult to set rules – but principles are helpful It is impossible to plan and control the census operation without careful estimate and monitoring of costs Breakdown of costs to key activities is essential - should take account of what will be helpful in monitoring and auditing spend and planning future operations (In most cases) Census plan and budget will need to be presented to national Government in sufficient time to ensure funds are available – and time must be allowed for this Past spending is a good clue for future spending (and this is one reason for careful monitoring) – but remember to take account of change (in population structure etc) Recommendations : Costs 1/2

Robust mechanisms for distributing wages and other funds are essential at all stages of the census system – as is the ability to monitor and audit spend – transparency and consistency are essential Effective recording of costs helps inform decisions about the right approach to different elements of the operation in future – but take real care in comparing between countries Involving staff at all levels may help in promoting ‘cost- consciousness’ throughout the operation. Do not expect spend during the operation to align perfectly with estimates. Monitor and adjust the budget as things change (and agree the approach to this with funding agencies in advance). Costs associated with register based censuses will need a different approach – but the same principles hold. Again budgeting and planning should be at a level that supports monitoring, auditing and helps inform future decisions Recommendations : Costs 2/2

Practice and experience in recording benefits varies a great deal – but countries are strongly recommended to carry out a full assessment of benefits Only by assessing social and economic benefit is it possible to justify census expenditure – and consider the value of individual outputs Assessing benefits can be difficult. Social benefit can be difficult to quantify and value often extends far beyond direct use. Nonetheless it may be worth: Identifying where Census is adding real value in resource allocation Identifying where particular outputs contribute to delivery or monitoring of policy goals Considering how much users would spend on other data sources or surveys if the census were not available Recording case studies to support any future case or decision making Include the value of employment and spend associated with the census operation itself Recommendations : Benefits 1/1

A few key results from the UNECE Survey on National Census Practices

Total cost of 2010 census round MethodMedian total cost, US$ (millions) Median per capita cost, US$ Median per capita cost, US$ (PPP) Mean time the costs relate to (years) Median time the costs relate to (years) Traditional Combined Register Based ALL Differences in recording and what is included in costs makes any comparison difficult Traditional census much more expensive than register based census (enumeration costs) Combined Census somewhere in-between Difficult to draw any real conclusions from timing comparison

Cost profile over census period Mildly interesting but nothing profound in profiles Note however radically different scales Traditional Combined Register based

Cost breakdown by census method Traditional Combined Register based Field enumeration completely dominates in traditional and combined – data processing comes second Traditional and combined are strikingly similar and similarly complex - the ‘traditional census’ comes to dominate the costs Data processing dominates in register based censuses – dissemination and publication comes second Report has more detail Field enumeration Data processing

No real issues for debate but comments or suggestions on recommendations welcome