1. The Power of Numbers - Part 2
Presented to the:
Data Liberation Initiative
Atlantic Training Workshop
Ernie S. Boyko
Director
Library and Information Centre
April 23, 2004

2. Or The Power (and the Politics) of Numbers
Presented to the:
Data Liberation Initiative
Atlantic Training Workshop
Ernie S. Boyko
Director
Library and Information Centre
April 23, 2004

3. Outline Power of numbers The theory The practice Some realities
And a few things your mother never told you

4. Statistics Canada
(Not the only source of data but…)
Central Agency to serve all levels of government and public in general
Its job is to help Canadians better understand their country
Population
Resources
Economy
Society
Culture

5. Statistics Canada (cont’d)
360 statistical programs
1000+ products per year
$533 million – authorized expenditure
$110 million – voted netted expenditure
$423 million - net

6. Statistics Canada (cont’d)
92% of entire budget is allocated to statistical programs dictated by statutes, regulatory instruments and contractual obligations

7. How Does STC Manage the Statistical Process?
Refer to ‘Statistics Canada’s Quality Assurance Framework
Catalogue number XIE (free)
We will take a quick look at the stakeholder/client feedback process later
But first, a few schematics

10. Let’s talk about Decision making
THE big reason for data and statistics
How do we get from information about Canada to decision making?
Let’s look at how we get from data to decision making

11. Data System Information System
Decision Making
Data System
Information System
Inquiry System
Information for Decision Makers
Interpretation and Analysis
Data Output
Specification
and Testing
of Analytical
Framework
Measurement
Operationalization Concepts
Theoretical Concepts
Reality

12. Who are the Decision Makers?
Public versus private?
The political process?

13. Representative Government
Norman Ward(1) has said that perhaps the best definition of Canadian representative democracy comes from John Stuart Mill, for whom representative democracy meant:
“…that the whole people, or some numerous portion of them, exercise through deputies periodically elected by themselves the ultimate controlling power, which, in every constitution, must reside somewhere.”(2)
1 Norman Ward, The Canadian House of Commons: Representation, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1950, p. 4.
2 John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, first published 1861, new edition, R.B. McCallum, ed., Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1946.

14. Decision making Three Case Studies How STC makes program decisions
How DLI was established
Farm Net Income concepts

15. STC Program Decisions National Statistics Council
15 Professional advisory committees
Bilateral arrangements with key Fed depts
Chief Statistician working with DMs
Fed-Prov Council
Special liaison in areas of prov jurisdictions
Business associations and labour unions

16. STC Program Decisions Cont’d
International Organizations
Feed back from Advisory Services/users
Bilateral/multilateral discussions about cost-recovery projects (remember the $110m?!)
Biennial/quadrennial program reviews
Annual planning process

17. Data Liberation in 2004: How Did We Get Here?
Ernie Boyko, Statistics Canada
Wendy Watkins, Carleton University
Ernie Boyko
Wendy Watkins
DLI Orientation, Queen’s University April, 2004

18. Background: The Environment of the 1980's
Growing expenditure deficits
Statistics Canada undergoing managerial transitions
Paper publications
Technology: mainframes, minis, tapes, datapac
CANSIM and flat ASCII files on tape
Public Use Microdata Files
DLI Orientation, Queen’s University April, 2004

19. 1984!!! Brave New World New government in September 1984
Major program review
Budget and program cuts
1986 Census cut
Census users informed
Reinstatement of Census in return for $100M
DLI Orientation, Queen’s University April, 2004

20. Birth of CAPDU (Canadian Association of Public Data Users)
$tatistics Canada data out of reach
CAPDU born in Washington, 1988
Began as lobby group, but …
no lobbying experience
only 8 members
Required another approach
DLI Orientation, Queen’s University April, 2004

21. Fall Out From Expensive Data
One-sided research
well-funded think tanks could afford data
alternative views not heard
Data use dropped
graduate students most affected
Grant money spent on data, not research
US data used in place of Canadian
DLI Orientation, Queen’s University April, 2004

22. Data Liberation: Making it Fly
Working group led by SSFC
members from:
research community
Statistics Canada
CAPDU
research libraries
Depository Services Programme
DLI Orientation, Queen’s University April, 2004

23. Data Liberation: Making it Fly
Activities:
lobbying politicians
presentations to the bureaucracy
co-option of Treasury Board
After two years, a pilot project
see
DLI Orientation, Queen’s University April, 2004

24. Case Study # 3 Net Farm Income
Cash Receipts
Income-in-kind
Supplementary payments
Realized gross income ( )
Operating and depreciation charges
Realized net income (4 – 5)
Value of inventory changes
Total gross income ( 4 + 7)
Total net income (8 – 5)

25. Farm Net Income ($ ‘000) PEI Farm Net Income 1976 1981 1 Cash receipts
104,869
189,247 2
Income-in-kind
8,425
3,485 3
Supplementary payments - 4
Realized gross income ( )
113,294
192,732 5
Operating and depreciation charges
69,968
129,566 6
Realized net income (4 – 5)
43,326
63,166 7
Value of inventory changes
16,973
28,915 8
Total gross income (4 + 7)
130,267
221,647 9
Total net income (8 – 5)
60,299
92,081
Source: Statistics Canada, Farm Net Income, , 1976, 1984

26. Income in kind ($ ‘000) PEI 2 Income-in-kind 1976 1981 Dairy products
342
460
Poultry and eggs 95 75
Meat
414
1,246
Fruits and vegetables (2)
846
Honey and maple products 11 16
Forest products
716
842
Wool -
House rent ***
6,001
n/a
Total
8,425
3,485
Source: Statistics Canada, Farm Net Income, , 1976, 1984

27. **** What happened to house rent? Who decided? ***Income-in-kind
This item consists of the value of consumption of home grown products… The imputed house rent values that used to be included in income-in-kind are no longer included in the farm accounts.
What happened to house rent?
Who decided?

28. Income in kind ($ ‘000) PEI 2 Income-in-kind 1976 1981 Dairy products
342
460
Poultry and eggs 95 75
Meat
414
1,246
Fruits and vegetables (2)
846
Honey and maple products 11 16
Forest products
716
842
Wool -
House rent ***
6,001
n/a
Total
8,425
3,485
Source: Statistics Canada, Farm Net Income, , 1976, 1984

29. Conclusions?
Data ARE used for decision making but there are a lot of other factors involved
Decisions can be made at many different levels
It is often harder to get permission than it is to get forgiveness