A significant challenge for the future of official statistics is balancing the needs of users against those of respondents.
Finding this balance is increasingly difficult, as the demands of evidence-based policy development mean business and individual respondents receive more requests for information. This increased need for information, along with busier lifestyles and more competitive business practices, means the value exchange associated with giving up time or money to provide information is no longer accepted as a matter of course.
The OECD defines respondent load as: “The effort, in terms of time and cost, required for respondents to provide satisfactory answers to [a] survey.”
We have always been aware of the need to manage the impact of our survey activity on different sectors of the economy and society. Over the last 10 years, we have undertaken a number of initiatives to reduce the load for survey respondents.
This Respondent Load Strategy is the next step forward. It will provide a framework for initiatives that manage and minimise the respondent load associated with Statistics New Zealand surveys over the next three to five years. For businesses, individuals and communities, the strategy will clarify the expectations placed on them and the value exchange associated with providing data.
While the reduction of respondent load is an explicit aim of some of the initiatives within the strategy, future information needs may result in a net increase of survey activity.
While the focus of this strategy is on Statistics NZ, it is guided by the framework provided by Principles and Protocols for Producers of Tier 1 Statistics, agreed to by members of the Official Statistics System. The strategy is intended to provide a best practice model that can eventually be adopted by other official statistics producers.
The aim of the strategy is to:
- reduce respondent load
- balance the needs of users against those of respondents
- meet the respondents’ reasonable expectations of Statistics NZ
- responsibly manage the Official Statistics System to ensure the ongoing trust and participation of the New Zealand public.
Geoff Bascand
Government Statistician