Prepared by Andrew Robinson, Assistant Statistician Presented by Melinda Williams, Director, at 8 th Regional Statistical Research Seminar October 30, 2015 Bridgetown, Barbados

 Introduction  Defining Big Data  Challenges of Using Big Data in Official Statistics  Bermuda’s Big Data Applications for Official Statistics  Recommendations  Conclusion

 Big Data – new area for exploration for Bermuda’s Department of Statistics (BDOS)  Big Data is readily available but not always in an organized way  If managed well, Big Data can be a source for official statistics  Accuracy and confidentiality of Big Data must be considered

 Data Sources with › High Volume › High Velocity › Data Variety  Requires new tools and methods  Some examples of Big Data sources: › CCTV cameras › Sensors › Satellites

 Legislative  Privacy  Financial  Management  Methodological  Technological

Transportation - Overview  Bus passenger numbers were tracked in the past via sensors on buses.  Data downloaded once bus sensor was in range of bus terminal sensor.  Data was used to help determine bus routes.

Transportation - Overview  Ferry passenger numbers are tracked by manually operated clickers.  Results logged by clickers must be keyed manually.  Highlights the different approaches used with big data (automatic vs manual)

Transportation - Challenges  Automatic bus passenger counter via sensors is no longer operational.  Requires a system upgrade – no funding for vacant post  Manual ferry passenger data collection processes are time consuming.

Emigration - Overview  Emigration statistics are not produced.  Required data to do so is captured in the system via scanned passports.  The time consuming task of identifying travelers using multiple passports is not carried out.

Emigration - Challenges  Legislative - no mandate requiring any Government department to collect emigration statistics  Financial - there is no budget allocated for emigration data extraction from the system  Methodological – data quality produced by system can be improved

Pricing – Overview  Price data stored electronically – potential big data source  Stores would disseminate price data – minimizes store visits  Requires a private-public partnership  Idea was explored by BDOS - not adopted due to challenges

Pricing – Challenges  Technological – some stores would need to develop an electronic pricing system.  Management – strong private-public partnership difficult to achieve  Methodological – electronic price data does not always reflect in-store specials.

Crime – Overview  Approximately 150 CCTV cameras across Bermuda  High volume, real-time data  CCTV footage investigated before being recorded as an official statistic

Crime – Challenges  Management - High volume of footage (3,600 hours of video data every day)  Financial - not feasible to hire personnel to view each camera’s entire footage  Risk – potential crimes captured on CCTV overlooked

 UNSD established a Global Working Group (GWG) on Big Data for Official Statistics in March 2014  CARICOM members and associate members keep abreast of GWG progress Website:  Share big data knowledge with National Statistics stakeholders.

 Use of big data is new with much growth and potential  Current and future applications for Bermuda in using big data for official statistics  Challenges must be overcome before the use of big data in official statistics can be more established  Lessons can be learned from GWG in this area and best practices established

Questions?