PRIORITY OPERATIONAL RESEARCH

FOR

CENSUS COST SAVING STRATEGIES:

CO-OPERATIVE RELAY CENSUSES

Harry A. Freedman

Statistics Canada & Central Statistics Office of Zambia

CENSUS REQUIREMENTS

• Meticulous planning• Adequate financing• Adequate time to operationalise plans• Well-trained, disciplined & dedicated personnel• Detailed geographic intelligence• Logistical expertise & equipment• Good questionnaire• Sound processing system• Flexible tabulation and dissemination system

DIFFICULTIES

• Time between Censuses

• Competition for financing

• Spiraling costs

• Scarcity of skilled personnel

• Tendency to underestimate time and training required

SOLUTION

• Innovative ways of cutting costs while maintaining or improving quality and timeliness

• How?– Improve planning– Improve training– Introduce economies of scale– Recycle

CONSORTIUM OF ROLLING CENSUSES

• The more countries that pool their census efforts the greater the potential for savings

• The greater the similarity at each census phase, the fewer surprises and the greater the savings

• Each iteration of a process that a statistician participates in re-enforces skill and increases the probability of skill retention

ROLLING CENSUS SCHEMA

Country A

Census PlanningQuestionnaire DesignFrame Development & Mapping Field Operations

Data Capture Editing & ValidationCountry B Census Planning

Questionnaire DesignFrame Development & Mapping Field Operations

Country C Census PlanningQuestionnaire Design

Frame Development & MappingCountry D Census Planning

Questionnaire DesignFrame Development & Mapping

TRAINING MODEL

• Master (skilled in specific census operation)

• Journeyman (knowledgeable)

• Apprentice (unskilled but keen to learn)

TRAINING MODEL - 2

• Each census phase managed by a Master• if country does not have a Master for a stage it

will have a Journeyman or several Apprentices who will be the senior country person/people and responsible for phase execution

• When phase completed, preparations made to shift to next country; if Journeyman has mastered the operation, (s)he replaces former Master, etc.

TOOLS AND MATERIAL

• Tools and materials developed for Country A would be adapted for Country B rather than re-developed; lessons learned from A would be incorporated into strategy for B (e.g. Questionnaire, Procedures, Manuals)

• Expensive specialty hardware could be shared

POTENTIAL IMPEDIMENTS

– Model needs research and development– Potential consortia members need to have some

things in common (e.g. language, culture, proximity)

– Statistical offices need to agree to form consortia

– Donors have to provide incentives for consortia

OUTCOME

• More skill development and retention

• Better quality censuses

• Lower cost per census