Why Should Dissemination of Population and Housing Census Results Be Proactive? Presentation at the UNECE / UNFPA Seminar on Census Dissemination and Communication Geneva 27 – 28 June 2011 Petteri Baer, Marketing Manager, Statistics Finland

June 2011 Themes to be discussed in this presentation The magnitude of any Census effort in any country Different target groups will need different kinds of ready made information Some target groups will need mainly customized information Analytic materials! Good visual presentations! The Census – A great possibility of Contact Building for the National Statistical Office! The need of a Broad Dissemination Strategy & The need for Good Communications  Separate presentation tomorrow 2Petteri Baer

June 2011 Frequent comment on the style of statisticians “Statisticians like to talk to one another in mysterious ways and with a time clock which runs 10 times slower than everyone else's”  Statisticians need to communicate better!  Statisticians need to better imagine themselves into the position of the potential users of their information! The need of cooperation between media and statistics  Separate presentation

June 2011 Almost all Censuses are preceded by lengthy preparations, e.g. The 2010 Round United Nations ECOSOC Resolution on Censuses, Resolution 2005/13, See soc/docs/2005/resolution % pdf soc/docs/2005/resolution % pdf Conference of European Statisticians (CES) Census Recommendations, See dmin/DAM/stats/publicati ons/CES_2010_Census_ Recommendations_Engli sh.pdf dmin/DAM/stats/publicati ons/CES_2010_Census_ Recommendations_Engli sh.pdf

June 2011 Public Perceptions and expectations Health care Schools Medicines Roads Water Crime prevention Census????

June 2011 Censuses pretty often tend to have low political popularity Censuses often attract hostile media coverage… “You missed me out!” “Why does it take so long?” “What happened to the money?” “My group is undercounted!” OR A good understanding for the need of material for evidence based decision making? Any votes for the Census?

June 2011 And often we encounter sceptical ministries of Finance... There’s just not enough money for everything “Can it be that expensive?” Once in 10 years budget shock “Sorry, but we have other priorities” How much did you say?

June 2011 Sometimes even Donor organizations not have an insight in the importance of Censuses… Certainly there is need for the information …but there may be a reluctance to fund a census – complex? Hard to attribute development success “only” through having good Census results Shared funding may be hard to manage financially The decision maker may not always understand the magnitude or the process

June 2011 The importance of good Census information (1) How can resources be allocated if basic information on population is based on guesses or (too) old information? Attracting investments, doing good business, developing economic activities needs good infrastructure about the business environment – reliable official statistics is basic! Also monitoring donor activities needs good basic background information about the situation and the development trends If the denominators of the population, the Gross Domestic Product and other basic statistical indicators are wrong, consequently no information is reliable 9Petteri Baer

June 2011 The importance of good Census information (2) Think of the cost of NOT having needed data and statistical information based on the Census results Wrong analysis of the situation Of the Country as a whole; International comparisons Of the Regions and the local administrative units Economic decisions made and economic resources provided based on incorrect information Wrong allocation of resources Wrong investments of scarce resources Monitoring processes “hanging in the air” Allocation of social resources on wrong or misleading basis 10Petteri Baer

In reality, different user groups have a great need of ready made Census information Ministries and central administrative bodies Regional authorities Local authorities Research institutions Non-governmental organizations Libraries Educational institutions Businesses and economic actors – Directors, “Big bosses” – Market researchers – Investment calculators – Note: Differences according to sectors & industries Media – Different scopes: national, regional, local, scandal, with a special target June 2011Petteri Baer11

What is “ready made” information in the case of the Census? Easy to find Easy to use Focusing on relevant phenomena on which information is needed More demands for visual presentations, good graphs More demand for presentations using GIS Census web site Web site of the NSO Good navigation structures Good search function Census needs are often more specific – Need for user friendly databases – User training Researchers’ need for microdata June 2011Petteri Baer12

Example of PX-Web based statistical services (1) Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases Statistics database > Subject areas Statistics databaseSubject areas Tables on the subject area of: Population Structure Nationality according to age and gender by region Select part of table / Download entire table in PC-Axis fileformat - Size: 9630 Kb -Modified: :00 Select part of tableDownload entire table in PC-Axis fileformat Region: WHOLE COUNTRY, MAINLAND FINLAND, Uusimaa, Varsinais- Suomi,... (22) Nationality: NATIONALITIES TOTAL, …Finland, FOREIGN NATIONALITY TOTAL,... (197) Age: Age groups total, 0 - 4, 5 - 9, , , ,... (17) Gender: Genders total, Males, Females (3) Year: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997,... (21) June Petteri Baer

Example of PX-Web based statistical services (2) Statistics Finland - Population Census Population Census Statistics Population Structure [one out of 7 themes] Tables [one out of different tables] Nationality according to age and gender by region 1990 – k/vaerak_en.asp k/vaerak_en.asp June Petteri Baer

Some target groups will need customized information – and are willingly paying for the work Businesses and economic actors – Market researchers – Note: Differences according to sectors & industries Media – deeper insight Different administrations and planning institutions NGOs, Advocacy organizations, lobbyists June 2011Petteri Baer15

June 2011 The Census process assists the NSO...in building Statistical Capacity It is worth while to plan the Census process as part of general building of Statistical Capacity Make as many parts as possible sustainable Introduce Census materials making use of Geographic Information Systems - GIS Make and promote good visual presentations Develop a consequent style in all publication activities Develop analytic abilities and capacities Build relations with potential user groups of official statistics in a more systematic way 16Petteri Baer

June 2011 The Census process assists the NSO...in building good relations with the media Publicity must be taken seriously! Enlarge the PR or publicity staff during the “hot” years or Census activities; Recruit a Census Press Officer Make a good plan of what will be published Advocacy materials Census result materials Target different audiences in relation to their interests Choice of correct media Make a sufficient cost plan and budget for publicity activities Generate expressed support from key users of the Census information materials 17Petteri Baer

June 2011 The Census process also assists media...in building good relations with the NSO A huge amount of factual information available! The Census data and information covers hot themes Interesting comparisons can be made Over time to analyse the development Over regions and administrative areas to make analytic comparisons Problematic areas Successful areas Development trends and needs for support or improved infrastructures Successful development attracting investments Different media target different audiences Need for a multitude of Census information materials 18Petteri Baer

June 2011 The Census process assists media...in learning more about the services of the NSO Not only Census information available! Many of the hot themes, reported through the Census are reported on a regular basis also during intermediate years, between the 10-year span of Censuses Countries where Census data is collected from high quality registers The Nordic countries + now numerous others in Europe  See!See! Statistics Canada: “Your Guide to Data Sources on Census-Related Topics”  See!See! Structured information on the web sites of the National Statistical Agencies  See!See! For some media people the Census may be a good introduction to statistical services in general 19Petteri Baer

June 2011 Useful information sources on Advocacy for Censuses UNECE Training Workshop on Management of Population and Housing Censuses for SPECA countries 30 Oct – 3 Nov 2006, Baku - AZERBAIJAN ments/ census.htm UNECE material “Making Data Meaningful 1” Storytelling UNECE material “Making Data Meaningful 2” How to present statistical information visually UNECE material “Making Data Meaningful 3” Communicating with Media UNECE – UNFPA Seminar on Census Dissemination and Communication 27 – 28 June 2011, Geneva, Switzerland 20Petteri Baer

June 2011 Making Data Meaningful, Part 1 – Main content What is a statistical story? Why tell a story? Things to take into consideration when writing a story on statistics How to write a story Writing about data: Make numbers “stick” Evaluating the impact Applying good writing techniques Examples of well written statistical stories Further reading recommendations

June 2011 Making Data Meaningful, Part 2 Available at cuments/writing/ A guide on visual presentations of statistical information How to Make good and avoid making bad graphics How to make use of GIS, present statistics in map forms

June 2011 Making Data Meaningful, Part 3 Principles, objectives and management issues in data dissemination Organisational aspects Media services Release calendars Dissemination strategy Measuring the impact Emerging technologies Using the web Dealing with Social media Dealing with negative press coverage

June 2011 Making Data Meaningful, Part 3 – Main content Writing for and releasing information to the media Who is the customer? What is the product? Making a good website Measuring web performance & collecting customer feedback Organisational issues Monitoring and measuring media activities What statisticians should learn Responding to a media errror Monitoring media – practical examples Media training How to organize media training? Handling media crises

June 2011 Additional materials attached to this Seminar’s web site Building Relations with the Media Complementary material, making use of examples from Statistics Finland Statistics Slovenia Interesting web sites and sources on the themes of the UNECE / UNFPA Seminar on Census Dissemination and Communication (Examples) Statistics Finland Statistics Canada Statistics Slovenia Statistical Committee of Belarus More materials from the UNECE

June 2011 The efforts made on a broad and differentiated promotion and dissemination of Census materials will be rewarded because... Statistical information is useful information! Fact based reporting & analysis Evidence based decision making Understanding ongoing phenomena and trends Prerequisite for democracy

June 2011 The efforts made on a broad and differentiated promotion and dissemination of Census materials will be rewarded because… Only used statistical information is useful statistical information! Thank you for your attention!