1. UNECE EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUSES GENEVA, 23-26 SEPTEMBER 2014 AGENDA ITEM 5 PROPOSED RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE OPERATIONAL ASPECTS OF THE CENSUS IAN WHITE, Office for National Statistics* UNITED KNGDOM * But not for much longer

2. WHAT DO ‘OPERATIONAL APSECTS’ COVER? Topics agreed at Expert Group meeting Sept-Oct 2013 Fundamental principles Legal basis Communications Publicity Dissemination Documentation and metadata Archiving Costs and benefits Plus Security and confidentiality (already covered by Eric on Tuesday) Coverage, quality and evaluation (being covered by Garnett tomorrow)

3. OPERATIONAL ASPECTS FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF OFFICIAL STATISTICS No change to the 10 basic principles (Appendix II – paper 14) but more emphasis is given to: Privacy (paragraph 10 of paper 14) Professional independence and integrity (paragraphs15-17 and 21 of paper 14) LEGAL BASIS (New section) Importance is emphasised by Principle 7 Allocation of funds Scope, content and timing Requirement to participate Status of census agency Uses and linkage of administrative data Dissemination Confidentiality, security and data protection

4. OPERATIONAL ASPECTS COMMUNICATIONS Consolidates and expands the material previously published in Chapter 1, Appendix VI and Appendix VII of the 2010 CESR Develops the messages of the seven ‘E’s (paragraph 18) - Engage to make people aware - Educate about benefits - Explain what to do - Encourage participation - Enforce compliance - Express thanks - Extol the value Identifies more topics for consultation (paragraph 20) - Hard-to-count populations - Language, community liaison and outreach programs - Evaluation Identifies new media (paragraph 25) - Agency websites - Facebook, YouTube, Twitter

5. OPERATIONAL ASPECTS PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN Develops material previously published in Appendix VII of 2010 CESR Suggests new media and outlets (paragraph 45) - Press conferences, round table discussions, public meetings - Bill boards/Posters/Leaflets - Internet/social media - Paid/free advertising - Call centres - School promotions - Community-based media - Audio tapes, CDs, DVDs - SMS texting Recommends locations for promotions (paragraph 46) - Government offices - Universities, colleges and schools - Banks and other public use facilities - Transport locations - Libraries - Local information points - Places of religious worship - Workplaces - Bars, pubs and places of entertainment

6. OPERATIONAL ASPECTS DISSEMINATION Expands material previously published in Chapter 1 of 2010 CESR Recognises importance of online access through NSI website (paragraph 57 (c)) Stresses the importance of maintaining credibility of detailed cross-tabulations (paragraph 62) Notes the use of value-added products such as area and household classifications (paragraph 63(e)) Warns of the implications of producing provisional output (paragraph 65) Encourages free access at the point of delivery (paragraph 66) Notes the use and value of thematic mapping (paragraphs 67-68)

7. OPERATIONAL ASPECTS DOCUMENATION and METADATA Develops material previously published in Chapter 1 (paragraphs 65-67) of 2010 CESR Notes the range of metadata to be produced (paragraph 72) - definitions of terms and concepts - data dictionary/glossary of terms - explanatory notes - classifications (including international classifications wherever possible - census questions and/or the purposes for which the information is collected The need for supporting documentation (paragraph 73) to cover: - methodology - coverage and response rates and other quality measures - outcome pilots and tests - derived variables - imputation rates - changes in methodology and content since previous census - evaluation reports -

8. OPERATIONAL ASPECTS ARCHIVING New section (paragraphs 74-78) covering The value of keeping census records as a socio-historical archive Recommended period of closure Importance of keeping all key documentation as an audit trail in evaluation, and for learning lessons for next time The need to keep abreast of changing technology

9. OPERATIONAL ASPECTS COSTS AND BENEFITS New section (paragraphs 79-100) covering: Planning and monitoring costs for each of the main operational phases (paragraph 81) Ensuring resources are available (paragraph 83) Setting up robust financial management systems (paragraph 85) Adjusting budgets to reflect changing costs (paragraph 88) Choosing the most appropriate technology (paragraph 91) Outsourcing (paragraph 92) Assessing the benefits (paragraphs 93-100) - identifying areas where the census adds real value in resource allocation - identifying where outputs contribute to delivering or monitoring policy goals - considering how much users would spend on acquiring the same data from other sources - prepare particular case studies

10. OPERATIONAL ASPECTS DISCUSSION