1. Idendification of and Consultation with Census Data Users
United Nations Statistics Division
Demographic Statistics Section 1

2. Overview of Presentation
Importance of user consultations
Who are data users?
How to determine users’ needs
Consultation with users

3. A census is not complete until the information collected is made available to potential users in a form suited to their needs
(UN Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Rev. 2, p. 49) 3

4. Importance of user consultations
Objective of census is to provide information to assist users to make evidence-based decisions
User consultation important to determine demand for potential census topics
User consultation important for census to deliver relevant products and services to data users
Determination of census products and services a major factor in development of dissemination programme
User consultations should be carried out at census panning stage

5. Who are census data users?
Central, provincial and local Government
Universities and other research institutions
Private sector (business and industry)
General public
Communication media
NGOs
Regional and international organizations 5

6. Uses of census data Used for:
policy making, planning and administrative purposes (e.g., in allocation of resources)
research purposes
business, industry and labour
electoral boundary delimitation
assessment of quality and adequacy of housing
formulation of housing policy and programs

7. Uses of census data (contd.)
Conduct separate consultations with different types of users with common interests
Administrators, policy makers, planners
Demographers, researchers
Users in the business community

8. What to cover in user consultation process
Topics on which to collect data
Dissemination plans
what data to make available
when data will become available
how to make data available (services and tools)

9. How to determine users’ needs
Mandatory products
Uses in previous censuses
Uses in relevant surveys and expressed needs
International recommendations
Surveys, discussion groups, and other operations to elicit needs of known users and of potential users before (and after) the census
NSO insights and leading role
Future needs

10. Consultation with users
Census agency should establish position on census content by assessing suitability of topics for inclusion in census. As a guide ask:
Is topic of major national importance?
Is there need for data on topic for small population or small geographic area?
Is topic suitable for inclusion in census is it better collected through other sources?
Are there sufficient resources available to collect and process the data for that topic?
Does topic allow for (regional) international comparability?

11. Consultation with users (contd.)
Other issues to be addressed:
Data to be collected according to accepted needs, while keeping the respondents’ rights in mind
Data to be released to ensure confidentiality and yet, relevance
Dissemination tools to ensure accessibility, independence in use, clarity and processing ability

12. Consultation with users – dissemination tools
Dissemination tools come to serve four main purposes:
Accessibility to all
Independence in use
Clarity of the data
Processing ability
- Therefore –
Under the limitations of budget, human resources and technology, users are to be consulted and demonstrated needs, with regard to dissemination tools, are to be answered

13. THANK YOU …..