The last quarter has gone by fast. The release of the Internet Service Provider Survey: June 2009 received a good level of coverage in the media – it is always good to see the data being used. I found the information paper Information and Communication Technology in New Zealand and Australia interesting, particularly given the analysis that indicated that New Zealand is similar to Australia in many instances.
It is certainly a busy time at the moment with many of our surveys collection phase coming to a close and the processing beginning in earnest. Over the coming months we will process the data, follow up with respondents and bring together the press releases. We are seeing a heightened level of interest in the firm-level analysis through the prototype Longitudinal Business Database (LBD), which again is pleasing to see.
I hope you all have a merry Christmas and happy new year.
Official Statistics Forum 2010: Realising the value of official statistics
Registrations open now – click here to register.
Very early bird price of only $325 available until 18 December 2009 – price includes both days of the forum, and a networking function .
Every few years, the producers and users of official statistics get together to review how well the statistical system in New Zealand is working, hear about innovations in the uses and application of official statistics, and seek to agree on what the promising future of the Official Statistics System (OSS) will look like. The gathering is convened by Statistics New Zealand, the leaders of the OSS.
The Official Statistics Forum will be held in Wellington across two days, 24–25 March 2010. The theme of the forum is realising the value of official statistics, both in the sense of the awareness of that value, and the fulfilment of the potential of that value. The event will feature a mix of keynote speakers, panel discussions, and concurrent sessions.
This event is sponsored by government agencies represented in the OSS, many of whom will present papers.
Any questions can be addressed to oss@stats.govt.nz with Official Statistics Forum in the subject line.
All of our ICT surveys are now being managed as the ICT programme.
Statistics NZ released a paper on 18 November 2009, which compared New Zealand's ICT industry with Australia's, for the first time. Information and Communication Technology in New Zealand and Australia includes information on sales of ICT goods and services, business use of ICT, and Internet services. Highlights from the paper include:
- Over half of all broadband users in both countries had speeds of 1.5Mbps or greater at 30 June 2009.
- Broadband users made up 72 percent of all Internet subscribers in New Zealand compared with 87 percent in Australia at 30 June 2009.
- In 2008, New Zealand had a lower percentage of businesses with broadband access compared with Australia. However, businesses in New Zealand were more likely to have a website and were more likely to place and receive orders over the Internet.
For further information, contact Deborah Harkin: info@stats.govt.nz.
Internet service providers
The latest results from the Internet Service Provider Survey were released on 27 October 2009. Results showed that the total number of broadband subscribers had exceeded 1 million. Broadband users now make up nearly three-quarters of all Internet subscribers.
This is the first time respondents were asked about their plans to install Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), and the possible barriers for installation. One-quarter of all ISPs had already installed IPv6, or would do so before the end of 2009. However, more than one-third of ISPs reported they had no plans to install IPv6.
Information and communication technology supply
This month there will be a meeting at Statistics House to discuss information needs regarding the ICT industry. Please contact Deborah Harkin if you would like more information: info@stats.govt.nz.
Household use of information and communication technology
The Household Use of ICT survey is run as a supplement to the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS). Collection began in October 2009 and will end in January 2010. The data will then be analysed and the first results will be published in April 2010, which will provide a basis for internationally comparable statistics in this area. This is the second time that this survey has been run.
For results from the 2006 survey: Household Use of ICT: 2006.
Business use of ICT
New Zealand businesses’ use of ICT data is collected every two years, as one of three modules within the annual Business Operations Survey (BOS). Latest results from the ICT module are available in the 2008 release of the survey, and can be found here.
The team is also investigating the relationships between the business use of ICT data and other general business performance data that is available through the modular design of the BOS survey.
Latest results from the 2008 Business Operations Survey were released in April 2009, and were followed by the release of the full set of tables from the survey.
The 2009 survey was posted out in August, and the majority of responses have been received and processed. This year the survey covers the topics of business operations, innovation and business finance. The survey will include the revised business operations module that aims to decrease respondent burden. Initial results will be released in April 2010.
The development for the 2010 survey is underway. Module C for 2010 will cover topics of finance conditions, as well as price setting and wage bargaining.
For further information, contact Kathy Jackson: info@stats.govt.nz.
The Screen Industry Survey 2008/09 was posted out in August to all businesses involved in the screen industry. The data from the survey is currently being processed and analysed, in preparation for the publication of results in April 2010.
One of the industry's main annual conferences, the SPADA (Screen Production and Development Association) conference, was held in November 2009. Members of the Statistics NZ Screen Industry Survey team attended and contributed to a session on statistics available on the industry.
The Screen Industry Survey collects information about the size and nature of the screen industry in New Zealand. Screen industry refers to all businesses involved in the following sectors: screen production and post-production, distribution, exhibition, and broadcasting.
For further information contact Geraldine Davies: info@stats.govt.nz.
Research and Development (R&D) Survey 2010 research will be posted out in August 2010. Results of this survey will likely to be released in March 2011.
Consultation with stakeholders is underway to determine that the needs of the survey are still current. Also, we are implementing the recommendations of the survey review.
For further information, contact Ritesh Anand: info@stats.govt.nz.
Compared with the Biotechnology Survey which it replaced, the Bioscience Survey takes a wider approach , but keeps biotechnology at its core, thereby allowing international comparisons to be made.
Bioscience is applied in the following areas: agriculture, medicine, and veterinary science (including equipment and research), microbes, and biotechnology.
The Bioscience Survey is currently in the field and has so far achieved the target 90 percent response rate. Initial results will be released by mid-February 2010.
For further information, contact Meighan Ragg: info@stats.govt.nz.
This has been a relatively slow period for the energy domain. The sample design has been completed, and the questionnaire design is nearly complete.
In other news, Statistics NZ is consulting with stakeholders on the energy domain plan to develop a research programme on energy statistics. The programme will aim to fulfil the main stakeholder needs expressed in the energy domain plan, and Statistics NZ may play a key role in this research as we are ideally placed in our role of data producers and custodians.
For further information, contact Martin Brown-Santirso: info@stats.govt.nz.
The prototype Longitudinal Business Database (LBD) contains integrated data from survey and administrative sources, and is used for microdata research. It was created by the two-year feasibility project, IBULDD (Improved Business Understanding via Longitudinal Database Development). The database contains a wide range of longitudinal, annual, enterprise-based data on New Zealand businesses.
In the last quarter IBULDD has made some great progress and achieved several milestones.
- Improvements were made to the imputation method allowing for complete coverage of key financial data from 1999–2007.
- The IBULDD team continues to contribute to the OECD Innovation Microdata Project. In the last quarter, the LBD was used to complete the latest updates to the simple innovation indicators.
- The 09/10 IBULDD Annual Update is now under way with the first set of data due to be loaded by the end of this month. During the IBULDD Annual Update, all the data in the LBD is updated. Currently the LBD contains data from 2000–07 and the addition of the 2008 data is just starting. This work will be complete and the LBD fully updated by 30 June 2010.
For further information, contact Keely Betham: info@stats.govt.nz.
Andrew Neal, Energy Use Statistical Analyst
Carolina Cladellas Escola, ICT Suite Statistical Analyst
Chloe Lynch, Questionnaire Design
Deborah Harkin, ICT Project Leader
Gary Dunnet, Manager, Business Performance, Energy and Agriculture
Geraldine Davies, Screen Project Leader
Hamish Hill, Energy and Innovation Project Manager
Julia Gretton, Screen, ICT and Research Project Manager
Kathy Jackson, Business Operations Project Leader
Keely Betham, IBULDD Statistical Analyst
Martin Brown-Santirso, Energy Use Project Leader
Meighan Ragg, Bioscience Project Leader
Ritesh Anand, Research and Development Project Leader
Rosi Zeiske, Business Operations Statistical Analyst
Will Lu, Screen Industry Statistical Analyst
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