Statistics New Zealand

Statistics New Zealand

Context

Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) is New Zealand's national statistical office. Its main roles are to:

• provide leadership for New Zealand's official statistics
• be the key contributor to the collection, analysis and dissemination of official statistics relating to New Zealand's economy, environment and society
• build and maintain trust in official statistics
• ensure that official statistics are of high integrity and quality, and are equally available to all.

Statistics New Zealand E-government Initiatives

• eCensus
• Numerous e-initiatives including: CAT, CATI, LEED project, OSRDAC, Multi-Modal Project
• Infrastructure 2003 Programme being implemented

Summary

Ready Access: The SNZ website performs very well, providing ready access to statistics and SNZ information. SNZ's metadata is of a high standard.

Alignment: SNZ is closely aligned with the E-government Strategy. The Internet and networks are used throughout the agency for data gathering, processing and providing access. The Internet is increasingly being used to automate the gathering of data from businesses, reducing administration time and costs.

Internet and Communications Technology

SNZ is increasingly using the Internet and network systems to obtain, collate and disseminate statistical information. SNZ has many e-government initiatives that are changing the way information is collected from individuals, businesses, agencies and third parties. SNZ intends to make greater use of data already held on networks, and to improve people's access to statistical information.

The efficient, accurate and reliable collection of information and data is of paramount importance to SNZ. The Internet helps SNZ to obtain information more effectively. For example, general household surveys are available electronically to replace paper-based forms. Computer Assisted Interviewing (CAI) and Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) have already made significant improvements in efficiency for respondents and for SNZ back-office systems.

People will have the option of completing the 2006 Census using the Internet. Although e-Census is unlikely to be faster for people to complete, it is part of SNZ's commitment to providing a range of options for completing census forms. It is expected that compiling data will be more efficient for SNZ.

SNZ is beginning to use the Internet to obtain data from businesses and other agencies, especially data for Tier 1 Statistics (the most important statistics across government). The Official Statistical Research Data Archive Centre Programme (OSRDAC) will create a central repository for Tier 1 Statistics. Secure access to these large datasets will be available via a remote data laboratory (RADL), or the INFOS system, using internet technology.

SNZ's Multi-Modal Programme allows businesses to automate their statistical returns using various electronic completion mechanisms. Different languages, including XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language), are being considered to integrate the submission of data to SNZ with other business processes, such as financial reporting.

In May 2004, a new look website was released, which improves the accessibility and consistency of information. Table Builder software has been included on the website for people to manipulate data themselves.

The Infrastructure 2003 Programme, to refresh SNZ's internal IT infrastructure, is now well advanced, and benefits are becoming apparent.

Ready Access to Information and Services

Metadata

SNZ has 77 metadata records in the Metalogue. SNZ's metadata is generally well written, being easy for a general audience to understand, and provides access to a large number of resources. Services are identified using clear language.

At the time of review, 26 records were awaiting quality assurance from SNZ before being made public. Subject (SONZ) and Function (FONZ) terms have recently been made more consistent. Only two records had broken links.

Website Assessment

Websites assessed during May 2004 included:

www.statistics.govt.nz and www.webmap.govt.nz

Overall, SNZ's websites are of a high standard.

The strengths of the sites are in information delivery and required government content. In future, site usability and accessibility could be improved. The information and services SNZ is required to provide can be readily accessed on its website.

Key quality issues noted during the assessment included:

• Good range, depth and presentation of information content.
• Good range of document and data formats.
• Usability and site navigation could be improved for easier use.
• Required email addresses are not available or were not answered during the assessment.
• Some sections appear crowded with links and do not present a clear face to users.
• The writing can include acronyms and appear theoretical, restricting the eligible reading level of the audience.
• Missing accessibility features, such as navigation skipping, access keys and style sheet problems may impede some physically impaired people's access.
• The slow speed of web page delivery may frustrate some people, particularly those on slower connections.
• Broken links prevent people from accessing some content.
• Audiences for some sections are unclear. People may not be sure whether content is relevant for them.
• The WebMap application could be tuned for easier use and understanding.

Alignment With E-government Goals

Convenience and Satisfaction

SNZ's information is increasingly being made available using the Internet. SNZ has identified three broad audiences and is tailoring the way it makes information available to each audience. The largest is the 'public' audience. Websites are well suited to making information available for the public. The public require a limited amount of information that is of low complexity. The second audience is the 'professionals', followed by the 'technical' audience. The technical audience, although small, requires a lot of highly complex data that is less well suited to website delivery, but can still be supported through other Internet channels.

Integration and Efficiency

Increasingly, SNZ is collecting administrative data from other agencies rather than surveying businesses and individuals. Cross-agency data will be used in the Linked Employer-Employee Database project (LEED) and the Injury Database project. The LEED project, for example, has the potential to provide insights into the labour market processes and outcomes that result for businesses and individuals. It will combine data from the Inland Revenue Department and the Ministry of Social Development.

SNZ is also working with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to prepare a code of practice for data integration.

Data standards are a fundamental aspect to gathering statistics data.

Participation

SNZ frequently uses the Internet to consult with the public and business about survey questions, classifications and data quality issues.