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Evaluation of Data Collection
Support Project
Strategic
Aims and Objectives
Census Data Collection was designed to contribute to the strategic
aims of the Census as laid out in the 2001 Census of Population
White Paper
(1999) including “to ensure all aspects of the census data
collection operation…..are acceptable to the public and comply
with Data Protection law”. To this end the primary goals of the
Data Collection Project included:
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To
attempt to achieve completeness of coverage of the population
by delivering appropriate census forms to every household and
communal establishment with an efficient use of resources;
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To
design, produce and distribute materials that are fit for
purpose to the field force;
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To
maximise the overall level of quality of incoming data;
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To
enable respondents to post back their census forms or have
them collected for processing in a secure manner;
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To
provide assistance and help to the public where and when
needed;
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To
ensure the field force was instructed, trained and managed to
meet project objectives;
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To
maintain confidentiality and security of information collected
from the public;
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To
manage the census operation in a cost effective and efficient
manner to achieve Census enumeration on 29th April
2001.
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The
Data Collection Support evaluation covers the key elements of
Recruitment, Community Liaison and Payroll and will be updated as
relevant information from other sources becomes available.
Objectives particular to the Data Collection Support Project are
outlined below.
Project
Objectives
Recruitment
To have the right number of people recruited and trained to
appropriate standards in the right place at the right
time.
Background
In Northern Ireland
recruitment was directed from Census Office through the Northern
Ireland Civil Service’s Recruitment Service. This provided access
to a central professional resource who had extensive experience of
the Northern Ireland Equality and Fair Employment recruitment
standards.
Methodology
(Recruitment)
For the recruitment of Census field staff, NISRA
complied with procedures consistent with those necessary to satisfy
the standards applicable to an Equal Opportunities Employer.
Competency based assessment techniques were used to select field
staff. In NI, all selection panels convened for interviewing
applicants for field staff posts, consisted of at least two people
who were matched on equal opportunity criteria.
Posts
were advertised widely to recruit
6 Census Area Managers (CAMs), 97 Census District Managers (CDMs)
and 281 Census Team Leaders (CTLs) and around 2,600 Enumerators.
Management tiers were interviewed by a combination of CAMs and Civil
Servants and Census District Managers were provided with competency
based interviewer training before conducting Enumerator interviews.
All field staff were required to provide evidence of
competencies relating to communication and interpersonal skills and
planning and organisation skills.
Northern
Ireland differed from Great Britain in that the Recruitment Service
administered and managed key elements of the recruitment process,
interfacing as necessary with Census Office and Census field staff
managers.
Community
Liaison
Project
Objectives
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To
assist and encourage those with practical difficulties,
concerns and lack of motivation to complete their census
forms;
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To
provide practical support to the various groups through the
provision of appropriate aids and assistance with Census
form-filling; and
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To
maximise local knowledge and expertise of the Community and
Voluntary Sectors and encourage them to
participate in the Census.
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Background
The need to
encourage participation, to enhance data quality and to improve
access led to a much greater emphasis being placed on the
Community Liaison programme in the 2001 Census relative to
1991. This was directed to (i) those groups with Special Needs such
as the visually impaired and those with auditory difficulties (ii)
ethnic minorities, including Irish Travellers (iii) groups such as
the homeless where special enumeration procedures were required (iv)
wider community initiatives to
increase awareness and provide assistance e.g., among the
elderly or those with literacy problems. The inclusion for the first
time in Northern Ireland of an ethnic group question (including an
Irish Travellers category) gave added importance to taking a more
pro-active approach to the enumeration of these groups. There was
also an imperative to reach out to those such as the disabled and
others with special needs who might have difficulty completing their
census forms. In addition to Census field staff, the community and
voluntary sector represented a valuable resource which could provide
assistance to those with practical difficulties such as the elderly,
those with literacy problems and the housebound
Methodology
(Community Liaison)
Representatives of a diverse range of client groups were invited to
a Census Office seminar in October 2000 to explain the objectives of
the project and to seek their support. This was then followed up by
a series of bilateral briefings to work out arrangements with
Special Needs Groups, representatives of ethnic minorities including
Irish Travellers, representatives of the Homeless etc.
Special
Needs Groups
Facilities
provided through the help of organisations such as the RNIB and the
Blind Centre, included Braille and large print versions of
Information leaflets and the NI Household Form (Person 1 Only),
audio tapes for the visually impaired and signed videos. A telephone
Helpline and text phone for the deaf were also made available.
Census Enumerators were trained
to be aware of special needs groups and to lend what support
they could.
The
RNIB in Great Britain launched a ‘Census Day of Action’ on 4
April calling for everyone with a sight problem to have the right to
complete census forms, independently and privately using their
preferred method of communication, and not to have to rely on other
sources such as a friend or census enumerator to complete the form
on their behalf. This did not receive widespread attention in
Northern Ireland.
Wider
Community Initiatives
Census Area Managers were provided with a regional
contact database in January 2001 to commence briefing and
disseminate information on the Census. A parallel initiative
involving contact with all local government community sector staff
was undertaken. Census District Managers made more detailed local
arrangements with their voluntary sector contacts to provide
assistance to members of client groups who encountered difficulty in
completing census forms. Enumerators who came across anyone
requiring assistance could channel the request to the CDM to
initiate action either directly or through the client group
representative. Similarly, where a request for assistance was made
through the Helpline, Census
field staff could be dispatched or assistance requested from the
relevant voluntary sector representative. Arrangements were also
made with Advice Centre organisations to ensure that staff
encountering persons with literacy or comprehension problems
regarding the Census had a contact person to refer to if necessary.
Articles on the Census were also placed in magazines for the
elderly, the voluntary sector, homeless organisations and local
newspapers for the wider public emphasising the importance of the
Census and providing information on the assistance available.
Ethnic
Minority Groups
To increase awareness of the Census amongst the
ethnic minorities, translation leaflets were issued in eight
languages – Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Irish
and Ulster Scots. Interpreters were made available for non-English
speakers. There was liaison between Census Office staff and
representatives of ethnic
minority organisations in Northern Ireland to encourage
participation and identify any access problems. A joint initiative
was undertaken between Census Office and the Chief Executive of the
Chinese Welfare Association (CWA) to encourage the Chinese community
to participate in the 2001 Census.
Payroll
Project
Objective
To pay the field staff employed in taking the 2001 Census in an
adequate and timely manner.
Background
For the
2001 Census NISRA employed 97 Census District Managers, 281 Census
Team Leaders and over 2,500 Census Enumerators.
A
review of census procedures was carried out in 1994 and identified
census field staff payroll as a candidate for outsourcing.
The UK Census Committee considered this a possibility and
subsequently a test was held in 1997. It was subsequently decided
that the payroll function would be outsourced for the 2001 Census
and would include Northern Ireland.
Methodology
(Payroll)
In light of the decision to outsource the Census payroll
an advertisement was placed in the Official Journal of the European
Community and, after the procurement procedures were concluded, the
contract was awarded to Chessington Computer Service Limited (CCSL).
A
Census Rehearsal was held in 1999 during which the proposed methods
for the 2001 Census were tested. This included the testjng of
payroll forms, validation, authorisation and submission procedures
and conclusions were subsequently drawn which were pertinent to all
three Census Offices.
In
light of the Rehearsal a number of changes were adopted including a
reduction in the number of payroll forms and their simplification. A
detailed service specification was subsequently agreed with the
contractor which included details on form types, submission and
processing procedures, validation rules , the number of field staff,
fees and expenses to be paid to each grade, and payment dates.
The
fee for each grade was derived from a detailed task analysis of the
hours expected to be worked and calculated using the UK hourly
rates. Enumerators received 55p for each new address identified and
£1.12 for each household requiring follow up visit(s) plus
expenses.
Central
District Manager claim forms were checked and authorised by Census
Area Managers. Census Team Leader and Enumerator claims were checked
and authorised by Census District Managers. Batches of Authorised
claim forms were then posted by CDMs to the Contractor for
processing. This arrangement did create some problems in that
control over the forms was lost from the moment they entered the
postal system.
It
was found necessary to prolong the Census enumeration period
resulting in an extension to a number of Census Enumerator
contracts. An additional stage payment to Enumerators was introduced
and agreed with the Contractor with payments made as required.
Lessons
Learned
Recruitment
Early planning for recruitment of field staff is essential. Failure
to have the appropriate number of trained staff and a reasonable
contingency provision in place on time has serious implications for
the Census, particularly the data collection phase.
The
need to ensure that staff are trained in competency based
interviewing techniques, adhere to the employment equality
guidelines and procedures meet Census confidentiality requirements,
inevitably extends the time between advertising posts and appointing
staff. The longer this period the greater the drop out rates and
this undoubtedly contributed to the difficulties of Enumerator
recruitment. Northern Ireland typically commenced advertising a
month before Great Britain.
Recruitment
Service procedures adapted well to the unique circumstances of the
Census recruitment and the hard work of an excellent team fully
justified the decision to use their assistance. There were
inevitable tensions between Recruitment Service and CDMs in a
dynamic environment. Recruitment necessarily occurred simultaneously
at some 35 locations across Northern Ireland leading to some
resource pressures.
There
may be further scope for ensuring that greater attention is paid to
the interface between Recruitment Service and Census District
Managers to enable them to respond flexibly to each other’s needs.
The
need to ensure interviewers were matched along equal opportunity
criteria meant that a considerable number of CDMs did not recruit in
their own district. Some CDMs felt this disadvantaged them in not
being able to pick their own team while others recognised the need
for transparency and equity of the recruitment procedures.
The
filling of vacancies at all levels other than Enumerator was
completed within the planning timescale. However, while Enumerators
were recruited on time for the vast majority of areas, there were
locations where great difficulty was experienced in immediately
filling the required complement. While satisfactory arrangements
were arrived at in good time for all areas, special initiatives were
required for Newry and Mourne District Council and in parts of North
and West Belfast. This resulted in approximately 4% of
Enumerators carrying out the enumeration of two Enumeration
Districts (EDs).
Community
Liaison
Liaison with the Community and Voluntary
Sector network was a new and important part of the 2001
Census. The effort involved in establishing a regional database of
community and voluntary sector contacts for CDMs proved worthwhile
and should be retained. The take-up of assistance varied across
Census Districts and was a function of a number of factors including
the level of demand, the enthusiasm of the field manager in
establishing contacts and the availability of local resources. The
availability of contacts nevertheless represented an important
support for District Managers to draw on as required, but ultimately
participation was voluntary. Community liaison planning would be
rewarded by an earlier start, and firming up commitments to assist
as early as possible. Information and publicity materials should be
available on time to facilitate this. Once data needs are
established, this should be an extension of the consultative
process.
The
Central office for Information provided excellent support in
translating Information leaflets and no complaints were received
from local groups regarding the nature or quality of the
translations. Although there was limited information on the
distribution of minority groups across Northern Ireland, the
distribution of supplies appears to have worked reasonably well with
CDMs and CAMs re-distributing material as needed. Census Office
needs to have sufficient resource to undertake and carry-through the
requirements of a meaningful community liaison programme without
raising peoples expectations and not being subsequently able to
deliver.
Subject
to the policy decision being taken, planning will need to take into
account how to provide the visually impaired and blind with
alternative means of completing their census forms without
prejudicing their independence or privacy. Early finalisation of
Census form content will also facilitate the provision of such
measures, e.g.. large print requirements for those with sight
difficulties.
Payroll
Evaluation
of the payroll contract is ongoing. However, some provisional
remarks can be made at this stage.
During
live running, a number of problems arose (e.g. localised postal
strikes) which interfered with the smooth operation of the payroll.
Additional control procedures adopted by NISRA reduced the impact of
these problems. In some cases, NISRA made advances to field staff
that experienced payment delays. The Contractor recovered these when
the actual payments were subsequently made. Census Office staff also
provided a contact point to answer any queries on pay.
Payments
were made to 94.3% of Census field staff within two weeks of the due
date. A further 3.2% of
payments were paid within two weeks of receipt of a valid claim.
While the vast majority of field staff received payments within a
reasonable time period, some delays occurred in making the
remainder. This occurred as a result of a number of factors
including poor completion by some enumerators, scanning difficulties
and mistakes due to keying errors. However, the relatively small
scale of the NISRA exercise allowed Census Offfice to keep in close
contact with CAMs and CDMs regarding the processing of claim forms.
NISRA also kept duplicates of personnel records which facilitated
the tracking of claims. These advantages resulted in Northern
Ireland limiting the impact of any delays.
It
is clear that difficulties emerged where the control of claim forms
was lost, for example, once they entered the postal system. In the
early stages of the fieldwork this proved problematic and in future
consideration should be given to allow full tracking of claim forms.
The
use of geography control files to verify and validate payees was
very successful and should be considered again.
The
use of the BACS for making payments was also very successful and
could be used again.
In
spite of the pruning carried out after the Census test the general
feed-back from field staff was that there were still too many forms.
Census Office Northern Ireland provided a Guide to Payroll and
included additional training sessions for CDMs emphasising the
importance of accurate completion of payroll materials. This
assisted in reducing Northern Ireland error rates and training
should play an essential role in ensuring the success of any future
payroll system.
Over
three quarters of CDMs surveyed indicated that they felt the payroll
documentation and the timing of payments was either good or very
good. About 60% of those surveyed indicated that the payment levels
were adequate. This may also have been a factor contributing to the
difficulties experienced in recruiting Enumerators.
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