Increasing User Engagement John Cornish

Why? Effective user engagement is a critical success factor for a statistical agency to be seen as relevant and effective Need user input into – work program & priorities – design of collections, standards etc – content and design of outputs – dissemination & methods of access

Users are diverse Recognise the different types of users and engage with them appropriately Also recognise importance of engaging with stakeholders (eg govt ministers, privacy guardians) as well as users

Be Aware of User perspective From a user perspective, engagement by a statistics office can be haphazard, uncoordinated and duplicated Can be seen as a waste of time if nothing happens Users can have a different view on the balance between confidentiality and access to data Statistical issues are often seen as lesser priority than other issues

ABS approach Commissioned market surveys of users Employed marketing experts and consultants Developed a market segmentation approach Note that introduction of user pays and revenue targets was important stimulus

ABS marketing vision Know who our clients are and what they want, and provide services tailored to their needs. Can only achieve this by engagement

ABS user segments a.key accounts; b.other clients with whom the ABS has an ongoing relationship (usually subscribers); c.ad hoc users; and d.specialist segments for the media and students.

Methods for engagement Australian Statistics Advisory Council Advisory groups (eg CPI revision) Membership & participation in professional associations Program evaluations User groups Market research Outposting of staff Client managers for key clients Lifeline managers Newsletters Joint ventures & strategic alliances

Engagement of key clients Lot of personal/one-on-one engagement Get them involved with Advisory Council, user groups, etc Special recognition of ‘lifeline’ clients –Top level meetings –Lifeline managers

Engagement of regular & ad hoc users These are the largest groups of users and most diverse Regular users - engage primarily through newsletters, with more sophisticated users invited to participate on user groups Ad hoc users - undertake regular customer surveys and obtain feedback Encourage self help - web, Library Extension Program

Engagement of media The media is the main means of getting statistics known to the public, politicians etc Also need to maintain good working relations to assist with issue management Main engagement is through Public Relations Unit, but subject staff encouraged to engage with media to maintain profile

Engagement of education sector Investment in future users Support both teaching and research in universities Engagement primarily through client managers allocated to the sector Education versions of key products created Library Extension Program

NZ Meeting of Users Required by statistics legislation “The Statistician shall, at least every 5 years, convene a meeting of users of official statistics to review user needs for such statistics.” The value obtained is related to the effort put into its organisation Engage the users, rather than just talk to them Must be open, be honest about what can and cannot do, and follow through with commitments