Practice run for next head count

Statistics New Zealand will hold a dress rehearsal next month for the 2006 census, including the option of filling in the form online.

Census 2006 general manager Nancy McBeth said 13,000 households with an estimated 38,000 residents would be involved in the rehearsal, which would be held in parts of Kaitaia, Hokianga, Manukau, Papakura, Palmerston North, Blenheim and Oamaru.

When the enumerators drop off the census forms and information, they will also give people a pin number so they can do the census online, McBeth says.

"From our testing we expect 15 to 20 per cent of the people will take up that option."

The $3 million contract to develop, support, operate and maintain the online census was awarded to IT services firm Datacom in October.

Statistics NZ has been working closely with the statistics departments in Australia and Canada, which are also holding censuses next year.

McBeth said her department would also work with telecommunications providers to assess the likely loads on their systems when the full census was done.

"There may be challenges in the wider environment. We know that when Australia tested this in August 2003, it coincided with a major worm, so people were concerned about any interaction online," she said.

"The other challenge is putting together a system so we minimise the likelihood we are sending collectors back to collect forms from people who have filled them out on the net."

Not having forms lying around waiting to be collected is a major advantage. So is having a percentage of data which can be dumped straight into the system without imaging and translation.

Since the 1996 census, forms have been optically scanned and the data extracted automatically, in processes developed in-house with help from IBM.

In 1986, Statistics NZ employed over 400 people for more than a year to enter and process the data.

The initial phase of automation allowed it to halve the number of back office staff for the next census, but processing still took a year.

In 2001, it took 160 people six months to scan, edit and code the returns.

A similar number will be employed next year, but processing should be about three weeks faster.

Recruiting and training of the 7000 enumerators or field staff will start in September.

Each census costs about $70 million over a five-year cycle, including, development, testing, the operational phase and the production and release of the statistics.

McBeth said the business case was for savings not in 2006 but in later censuses.

"We know from experience there will be savings in processing and scanning. It will also give our field staff more time with those people who may need extra care and follow-up."

Once the dress rehearsal is over, Statistics will load test the online system and its integration with the collection and processing environments.

McBeth said while increasing automation meant data could get into the system faster, that did not necessarily mean Statistics' reporting cycle would speed up.

"Talking with our users about their critical requirements, they stress they want high-quality data, and if that means they have to wait longer, they will."

She said some of the questions were still being finalised, including ones on telecommunications and particularly cellphone use.

Counting down

* 2006 census will include the option of filling in the form online.

* Statistics NZ is collaborating with Australia and Canada in the development of electronic systems.

* A practice run is being held next month in parts of the country.

* Running the census online will cost $3 million.