1. Business Performance group update
As the year draws to a close it is possible to look back at what has been accomplished during the year. This year has seen the release of a number of new statistics reporting on a range of areas in the New Zealand economy, as well as the establishment of a number of new collections that will help contribute to the understanding of how businesses grow and develop.
The New Year will see the release of information from a number of new series and the redesign of a couple of older series, all of which are detailed in the newsletter. As always we welcome feedback on or input into the work that is going on.
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2. Release of new official productivity measures has been delayed
As previously reported in our newsletters, over the past 18 months Statistics New Zealand has been developing new official measures for labour, capital and multifactor productivity. The series runs from 1988 to 2004 and was developed in two stages. The first stage developed a data series covering the time period 1995–2004. Statistics New Zealand estimates that new official productivity statistics will be released in the first quarter of 2006.
In July 2005, the 1995–2004 series was reviewed by an expert advisory group. They strongly recommended that before making the series available, Statistics New Zealand backdate the data to 1988 to improve the usability of the series. While backdating this data some anomalies were identified, and these require further investigation. As this is a new official productivity data series, this information will only be released when we are assured that the series meets the appropriate standards required for official statistics. At present we are systematically working through the identified issues.
For further information, please contact Janet Dickson or Brendan Mai (National Accounts) (info@stats.govt.nz).
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3. Information and communication technologies redevelopment programme
3.1 Information and communication technologies supply
The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Supply Survey 2004/2005 is currently in the data collection phase. About 2,400 questionnaires were posted out in August of this year and the results will be published in the second quarter of 2006. This survey has been redesigned from the previous Information Technology Survey run by Statistics New Zealand to bring it into line with current international best practice. This will however mean that there will be some interruption of the time series.
For further information, contact Peter McGinty (info@stats.govt.nz).
3.2 Internet service providers
The six-monthly Internet Service Provider (ISP) Supply Survey measures the nature of the Internet service provision industry in New Zealand. The survey looks at issues such as subscriber data, connection technologies, spam filtering and virus filtering. Results from the first survey (covering the six-month period to March 2005) were published in August 2005.
The September 2005 ISP Supply Survey is currently in the collection phase and the results from this survey will be published in March 2006.
For further information, contact Irene Rix (info@stats.govt.nz).
3.3 Business use of ICT
Data regarding New Zealand businesses’ use of ICT will be collected biennially by one of the three modules within the annual Business Operations Survey (BOS). The first business use of ICT module will be in the BOS 2006, to be posted out in August 2006. Results will be published in the second quarter of 2007. Surveying this information as part of BOS will allow us to analyse any relationship between the use of ICTs and firm performance across a full range of industries and sectors. This survey module is being developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development and the State Services Commission.
This survey will also provide information to benchmark ICT use in New Zealand against use in other countries. When combined with the new household and government use surveys this information on businesses’ use of ICT will paint a complete picture of the use of information and communication technologies in New Zealand.
For further information, contact Anna Thorburn (info@stats.govt.nz).
3.4 Government use of ICT
The Government Use of ICT Survey will be a survey covering all state sector organisations. As the first survey of this type in New Zealand it will create a core set of official and comprehensive statistics that can then be used to formulate government policy.
This survey will provide information about current use of ICT within the government sector, the sector's uptake of emerging technology, and factors that hamper ICT use by government organisations, as well as showing how new technologies are changing the way government organisations carry out their roles. When combined with the new household and government use surveys this information on government organisations’ use of ICT will build a complete picture of the use of information and communication technologies in New Zealand.
The survey is currently being developed together with the State Services Commission and the Ministry of Economic Development and will be run every two years. The first questionnaires will be posted out in August 2006 and results from this survey will then be published in the second quarter of 2007.
For further information, contact Anna Thorburn (info@stats.govt.nz).
3.5 Household use of ICT
The Household Use of ICT Survey is currently being developed, with the purpose of measuring the characteristics of New Zealand households and individuals who use ICT, including access to and use of the Internet and commercial activities conducted over the Internet. The survey will also cover the use of other key technologies such as mobile phones. A vital aim of the survey is to provide statistics of an internationally comparable standard so as to enable useful comparisons within both a New Zealand and an international context.
To be sent out in 2006, the Household Use of ICT Survey will be a supplement to the Household Labour Force Survey and results from the survey will be published in 2007. The Household Use of ICT Survey will then be produced biannually.
For further information, contact Steve Riley or Gareth Meech (info@stats.govt.nz). For information on the overall ICT redevelopment programme, contact Gareth Meech.
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4. Business operations
The Business Operations Survey is a modular survey, developed by Statistics New Zealand in order to give current and accurate information on how New Zealand businesses operate and what is important to their success. The August 2005 Business Performance Newsletter has more information on the background to this survey.
The Business Operations Survey 2005, which had modules on innovation (planned to run every second year on odd years) and business practices, has been sent out to businesses and results are being collected. The initial release of the data from this will be available in the second quarter of 2006, with full reports on various aspects three to six months later.
The Business Operations Survey 2006 is currently being developed and it will include modules covering businesses’ use of ICT and employment practices.
For further information, contact Hamish Hill (info@stats.govt.nz).
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5. Screen industry
The annual Screen Industry Survey will produce information to help government and other organisations develop a better understanding of the needs and practices of screen production businesses in New Zealand. The survey is sent to businesses involved in screen production in New Zealand.
We have published a paper on our website, based on currently available information, which outlines the Background to the Screen Production Industry and the reasons for a detailed survey of this kind.
The Screen Industry Survey 2005 has been sent out and data is being compiled as completed forms are returned. Results will be available on the Statistics New Zealand website in the second quarter of 2006.
For further information, contact Lisa Hardie (info@stats.govt.nz).
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6. Biotechnology
The Biotechnology Survey 2005 is currently in the data collection phase, after questionnaires were posted out in August. Questionnaires were sent to organisations that are likely or known to be involved in the use of biotechnology techniques in New Zealand. Data checking will begin before Christmas, with the initial release due in the second quarter of 2006. A detailed report on the findings from the 2005 survey will be published in the second half of 2006.
This survey was run previously in 2004. The Biotechnology in New Zealand 2004 report analyses detailed results from the Biotechnology Survey 2004.
For further information, contact Nicholas Cox (info@stats.govt.nz).
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7. Research and development
The Research and Development in New Zealand 2004 report was published on 6 September 2005. This report includes detailed analysis of the results from the Research and Development (R&D) Survey 2004.
The R&D Survey is a biennial survey and the 2006 survey will be sent out in August 2006. The new design implemented in the 2004 collection, when the survey moved from a list-based approach (1992–2002) to a combination of list and sample methodology (2004), is currently being reviewed. We would like to hear from you as users of the R&D data to discuss how it could be modified or added to. As well as this, any comments on your perception of how the data should be published would also be useful.
For further information, contact Nicholas Cox (info@stats.govt.nz).
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8. Business finance
The Ministry of Economic Development commissioned Statistics New Zealand to develop the Business Finance Survey to provide information on the capital structure of businesses in New Zealand, the sources of finance they use and their recent financing experiences. Businesses with between 1 and 500 employees were surveyed across a wide selection of industries.
The initial release of key results from the 2003/04 survey was published on 2 May 2005. This was followed by a full report of survey results published on 12 October 2005.
For further information, contact Hamish Hill (info@stats.govt.nz).
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9. Longitudinal research of business dynamics
In July 2005, the Business Performance team received funding from the Cross-Departmental Research Pool to carry out a two-year developmental project on longitudinal research of business dynamics. This project will integrate business-related data with both administrative data and sample survey data. After some initial delays in recruiting an experienced project team, this project will begin in earnest in January 2006.
For further information, please contact Janet Dickson or Antony Kennedy (info@stats.govt.nz).
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10. Who’s who in Business Performance
Eileen Basher, Manager
Gareth Meech, Project Leader Surveys
Hamish Hill, Business Operations Project Leader
Nicholas Cox, R&D and Biotechnology Project Leader
Lisa Hardie, Screen Industry Project Leader
Janet Dickson, Research Coordinator
Carmel Tuya, Statistical Analyst, Biotechnology and ICT
Daniel Martin, Statistical Analyst, Business Operations, R&D and Business Finance
Irene Rix, Internet Service Provider Project Leader and Questionnaire Design
Steve Riley, Household Use of ICT Questionnaire Design
Anna Thorburn, Government Use of ICT Project Leader
Meighan Ragg, Statistical Analyst, Questionnaire Design
Peter McGinty, ICT Project Leader
Antony Kennedy, Statistical Analyst, Longitudinal Research of Business Dynamics
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