2. ONS: Case Study 2 The 2011 UK Census

3. Objectives of the 2011 Census To provide accurate census population estimates National population estimate has 95% CI of +/- 0.2% All LA level population estimate has 95% CI of +/- 3.0% National response rate of at least 94% All LAs have a response rate of at least 80% To provide accurate population characteristics

4. Background to the UK Census Background to the Census in the UK A UK Census occurs every ten years since 1801 A count of all people and households. Latest Census : Sunday 27 March 2011. Online Completion Twitter, Facebook and online gaming used in publicity.

5. Three Stages of Engagement Consultation: (2007/8) On statistical geography for ONS On outputs from the 2011 Census Publicity (2011): supporting recruitment, raising awareness of the census, delivering key messages informing and engaging the public Publication:(2012/13) broadcasting census data releases promoting third party use and re-use of published data, planned in phases from summer 2012

6. Consultation Engage a wide range of census data users Identify requirements for 2011 Census products Online survey. Blog Forum Wiki

8. Publicity A comprehensive multi-platform marketing and communication campaign All census information and support was provided online A central Census website was the first point of contact for the public. The 2011 Census was the first UK census to allow people to complete their forms online. With 46.7 million internet users in the UK A digital strategy for a digital population.

10. Publicity A Flickr stream live events and competitions. The Census Facebook family history, key groups such as students Online viral game (Census Man): Younger audience - hard-to-reach youth market of 18 to 24yrs. Developed by a viral games company, Koko. To date, the game has notched up more than 700,000 plays. A Census YouTube channel Enhanced information and historical context

11. Publicity Twitter feeds: Media, the public, and the Welsh language audience. Informal voice promoting events Steering to other online media. Update the public on progress Publicising key milestones Promoting local and national media coverage.

12. Publication First 2011 Census Results: July 2012 ONS Web Strategy based on Data Feeds Encouraging machine to machine transfer of data from ONS website New websites built by organisations and individuals outside ONS Data from a single ONS source Re-usability of data in open formats. 2011 Census working with the developer community

13. Social Media for Census Outputs Social Media will be used to: Broadcast and promote ONS and 3rd party releases Distribute data (information) to users Provide analysis Mash up census data with data from other sources Present new visualizations (Hans Rosling & Gap Minder). RSS feeds for updates Social book-marking Spread the word…………………………………..

14. Lessons Learned (Consultation) Moved us (a little) beyond typical stakeholders Foundations of a broader community of practice Response to the online survey was very good A high level of continued and returning traffic to the blog and wiki BUT It attracted the usual suspects. The majority maintained only passive participation

15. Lessons Learned (Publicity) A considered review of activities will soon be conducted Current evidence is very promising. Anecdotal success at meeting the primary objectives Twitter was successful at publicising events and key dates. Re-tweeting by local government and other stakeholders

16. Conclusion The use of Social Media by government statistical organisations cannot be a pass time (no dabbling!) It requires proper resources and constant engagement. The organisation must have something to say Be prepared to listen to outsiders and act on their feedback The most cost effective use of social channels in the future for ONS will be as a broadcast platform to: announce releases promote the best uses and 3rd party releases of data, encourage such reciprocal promotion from stakeholders and partners.