Reducing the administrative burden in official statistics

– Enterprise respondents in focus

SIMPLY2010 Ghent Conference

2.-3. December 2010

Hannele OrjalaDirector, Business Trends Department

Outline

Finnish Action Plan for reducing administrative burden Enterprise data collection programme of Statistics Finland

Comprehensive information on data collections online and enterprise data collection service

Promotion of electronic data collection and direct data collection Measurement of the response burden in statistics Challenges 2011-2014

Development of respondent relations Conclusions

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Statistics Finland

Government organization, founded 1865, located in Helsinki 1,020 employees, 200 statistical interviewers, 876 staff-years 65% of staff hold at least lowest level tertiary or university qualification Total funding EUR 63.5 million, revenue from external financing

19% of funds 200 statistical topics, 650 statistical releases 75 % of Finland’s official statistics comes from SF

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Finnish Action Plan for the reduction of the administrative burden on businesses 2009-2012

The Ministry of Employment and the Economy (MEE) launched the project in August 2008

In March 2009 the Finnish Government approved a decision-in-principle on the Action Plan for 2009-2012

The aim is to reduce burden by 25 per cent from the 2006 level by the end of 2012

Contains eight priority areas + one horizontal priority1. Taxation 2. Employers’ reporting obligations 3. Financial reporting 4. Public procurement5. Environmental permit procedures 6. Food safety and quality 7. Statistics8. Agricultural subsidization procedures

Development of electronic communication for businesses is the horizontal priority. eGovernment is a key measure to reduce administrative burden in Finland

EU legislation – what can a Member State do?

Heavy use of administrative and commercial data (Finland 40-50 different sources, 95% of input data comes from them)

Methodological solutions (editing, imputing, mix-mode sources)

Utilization of European Sample Scheme, thresholds, simplications of legislation

Influence the legislation in advance, example Statistics on tourism (Council: Working Party on Statistics)

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EU legal acts in force relating to Statistics Finland

Enterprise data collection programme 2007-2011 - Tasks and aims

Coordinate statistics and development projects Identify and evaluate development needs Share information and good practises Measure response burden of statistics in Finland Participate in the Finnish Action Plan for reducing administrative burden

2012decline in response burdenbusiness register used as a sample framesample coordination and optimizationstandard solutions for data collection

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Production process of statistics

Suppliers and sources of data

Keepers of administrative data files

Enterprises and corporations

IndividualsHouseholds

Datausers

Publicadministration

Enterprises andcorporations

Research

Media

Ordinary people

Metadata: Interperetation of contents, process steering, data management, statistical methods, concepts and classifications

Acquiring data • Direct data collection• Exploitation

of administra-

tive data files

Data processing

Analysis Publication and dissemination • Web services• Publications

Production process of statistics

Feedback and continuous, systematic improvement

The main projects of the programme are:

Comprehensive information on data collections online and enterprise data collection service

Quality assurance and automatic editing for VAT and employer payments data

Processing of data on large enterprises and development of procedures to handle respondent relations with large enterprises

Measurement of the response burden

Improvement of the usability of electronic (web-based) data collection forms

Direct data collection from the information systems of enterprises

Development of the co-ordination of samples for statistics on enterprises

Making the Business Register the core element for data on enterprises

Development of the system for receiving administrative data

Sample coordination, editing etc.

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Developing direct data collection - cases

Action Background/information

1. Comprehensive information on data collections online and enterprise data collection service

http://www.stat.fi/keruu/yritys_en.htmlhttp://www.stat.fi/keruu/tiedonkeruupalvelu_yrityksille_en.html

2. Promotion of electronic data collection and direct data collection from the information systems of enterprises

• Electronic response alternative - Xcola in all data collections (2007-)• Automated data collection in accommodation statistics (2006-)• Paperless data collection (19 out of 70 economic statistics-)• 76-100 % web response rate• Improvement of the usability of electronic (web- based) data collection forms

3. Measurement of the response burden

Modification of standard cost model

Comprehensive information on data collections online and enterprise data

collection service

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Enterprise data collection service – an example Contains information about the inquiries

60-70 independent data collection processes Data collection pages, an enterprise can ;

find basic information about the inquiriesseek guidance for answering inquirieslog in to the inquiry / answer via webfind links to inquiry results find contact information of statisticscheck which Statistics Finland’s data collections concern

them

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Data collection service

19.04.23Statistics FinlandData collections

16 June 2008 13Hannele Orjala

http://www.tilastokeskus.fi/keruu/yritys_en.html

19.04.23Statistics Finland Data collection service

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Enterprise data collection service -content

Statistics Finland

Enterprise data collection service

Promotion of electronic data collection and direct data collection from the information systems

of enterprises

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Direct collection vs. utilization of administrative datain statistics on enterprises

Business statistics

Number of enterprises,

direct data collection

Administrative data

Structural Business Statistics

8,000 (3%) 270,000

Business Register 25,000 (5%) over 550,000

Short Term Business Statistics

• Turnover 2,000 (1%) 250,000

• Wages and salaries

61(<0.001%) 110,000

Quarterly and monthly statistics, only/mainly web inquiry

More info

The quarterly inquiry on international trade in services

On request an exell form, few excel-respondents

The sales inquiry, monthly Possibility to download paper form from Internet, over 90% response rate by web

The sales inquiry/Fixed assets data, monthly -”-

Labour cost index in the private sector, quarterly Possibility to download paper form from Internet

Price inquiry on producer price indices for manufactured products, monthly

30 % gets the form via e-mail, also possibility to download paper form from Internet (only few)

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Annual statistics, only web inquiry More info

The annual inquiry on foreign trade in services On request an exell form, few excel-respondents

Periodical regional survey of trade Possibility to download paper form from Internet, 25-30 % answer by paper

Periodic survey of motor vehicle trade -”-

Periodical survey of retail trade -”-

Periodical survey of wholesale trade -”-

Finnish affiliates abroad Only electronic web-form

Business Services Statistics -”-

Financial statements inquiry for enterprises Possibility to download paper form from Internet, 10 % answer by paper

Inquiry for industrial establishments -”-

Inquiry on manufacturing commodities Automatically only web-form for previous web-respondent, for other respondents also paper form

Business Register inquiry for small single-establishment enterprises

Possibility to download paper form from Internet or get on request a paper form, 1 % answer by paper

Business Register inquiry for single-establishment enterprises

-”-

Business Register inquiry for new enterprises -”-

Inquiry on private sector wages and salaries Possibility to download paper form from Internet

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Data direct from hotel management system – XML Web Service – an example

Choose month and send the report

Choose report to Statistics Finland

October

October

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Experiences in Finland

Trade Magazine for Hotels and Restaurants: “Data reporting is now extremely easy.”

Data quality is good Data is coming faster than before, just a few days after the

reference period Response burden is almost zero, previously 1-2 hours per month Costs have fallen in terms of working hours, mailing and printing

expenses Cooperation with Eurostat (MEETS ESSnet project) and IT

enterprises continues, results for all Member States

Measurement of the response burden

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Response burden (2009) 21% of enterprises received at least one data collection 68% received only one inquiry Burden measurement: Questionnaires in 41 surveys 2008-2009

Over 13,500 responses Modification of Standard Cost Model

Table. Direct data collections according to size of enterprise

*Active enterprise= liable to pay VAT on business operations, and/or employer enterprise or included in the withholding tax register

Size category of personnel

Number of data collectionsPercentage of

active enterprises*1 2-4 5-9 10- Total

Under 10 persons 45,059 8,321 267 10 53,657 16%10-49 persons 3,255 7,925 2,853 122 14,155 91%50-249 persons 94 646 1,246 752 2,738 100%Over 249 persons 12 47 127 496 682 100%Total 48,420 16,939 4,493 1,380 71,232 21%% 68% 24% 6% 2% 100% 

The response burden inquiry

1) How many persons participated in preparing and filling in the answers to the questions included in the inquiry?

Within your enterprise ___ persons, outside your enterprise ___ persons.

2) How much time did you spend on acquiring and processing the inquired data prior to their actual entry onto the questionnaire? (total time for all participants) ____ hours and ____ minutes.

3) How long did it take you to actually fill in the questionnaire?____ hours and ____ minutes.

4) Have any changes been made to your information systems in the past three years to make it easier for you to answer to this inquiry?

None Minor changes Some changes Extensive changes Don’t know

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5) Did you find that answering to the inquiry was? Very easy Fairly easy Neither easy nor burdensome Fairly burdensome Very burdensome

6) How did you find the inquiry you just answered?There were too many questions Yes No The questions were complicated Yes No The inquired data were available at the time of answering Yes No The answering required lengthy calculations Yes No The data had to be gathered from two or more sources Yes No Help was needed from other persons Yes No The inquired data were available at your enterprise Yes No It was difficult to decide which answer would be correct Yes No The definitions and instruction were not very clear Yes No The layout made the questionnaire difficult to read Yes No There were technical problems with the web-based questionnaire Yes No Other reasons that increased the burden of answering?

______________________________________________________________

7) Feedback and suggestions for improvement concerning the questionnaires, instructions, customer service, data collection application or other matters related to the inquiry:

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Statistics Finland total:Did you find that answering to the inquiry was? – an example of results

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Statistics Finland total :Sources of response burden - an example of results

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The most burdensome inquiries: Total time spent on acquiring and processing the inquired data and filling in the inquiry top 12, year 2009

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TO Statistics on agriculture Yearly 8 697 22,9

YR Financial statements inquiry for enterprises (TILKES) Yearly 8 482 17,4

HP Labour cost survey 2008 Other regular 2 849 16,6

TO Authority data collection (Virati) Quarterly x 1 656 14,1

YS Business Register and emplaoyment statistics inquiry for multi-establishment enterprises Yearly 5 252 10,2

TO Outstanding credit Quarterly 2 396 10,2

YR Inquiry on manufacturing commodities Yearly 4 081 9,8

HP Labour cost index in the private sector Quarterly 6 988 9,6

YS Monthly inquiry for accomodation statistics Monthly 12 198 9,2

YS Inquiry on volume index of industrial output Monthly 12 720 9,0

YR Inquiry for industrial establishments Yearly 2 013 7,7

HP Price inquiry on producer price indices for manufactured products Monthly 22 800 6,2

Yks Name of data collection

Frequency of

data

collecting

Number of

respondents

The number

of staff-

years

Estimated

response

burden

Direct business data collections, response burden 2008

Staff-years(Source: Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) estimation about employees’ average working hours per annum (year 2008), staff-year = total of working hours / 1717.5)

Statistics Finland 190 staff-yearsNational Board of Customs: Intrastat 210 staff-yearsCosts

(Source: Private sector monthly salaries average, year 2008, in Classification of Occupations: Clerks)

Statistics Finland’s direct data collections EUR 8.3 millionNational Board of Customs: Intrastat EUR 9.2 million

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Direct business data collectionsresponse burden 2006-2010*

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Project on usability testing of web questionnaires

The aim of the project is to do usability testing with data collections during 2009-2010

Business Register inquiry for multi-establishment enterprises, Finnish affiliates abroad, Inquiry on service commodity, Information technology and electronic commerce in enterprises, Inquiry on private sector wages and salaries, Financial statements inquiry for enterprises and Finance of housing corporations

The screen capture software DreamScreen brought the experience of respondents into the

video clips are in the server behind password and could be seen in Internet just clicking the hyperlink of a recording

As a broader goal is to develop a model of usability testing process in Statistics Finland and develop design guidelines in web questionnaires

A long term goal is to launch user-centered design methods culture

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Challenges of the programme 2011-2014

The Business Register in a consistent enterprise data system 2,1 million Euro finance 2011-2014 30+ staff-years

FIA – fully integrated accounting system Partners with enterprises, Tax Authorities and many other

organisations Data directly from enterprise accounting systems via common report

codes Common web identification ”Katso”

One common system with the authorities

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The Business Register in a consistent enterprise data system

”Enterprise production database” (1)

-Production system of the Business Register

-Production systems of other /selected statistics

Free unit information

service on web

Charged batch service

Data collection

Administrative files, their metadata and their basic checking

Direct data collection(XCOLA, FIA etc.?)

Processing of data into production database

Estimation, imputationData checking,utilisation of data from other statistics,prompt verification of structural changes

Data processing Data dissemination

Updating once a day

Annual statistics on

Finnish enterprises

Statistics X on

enterprises

Inquiries to enterprises jointly with other statistics

Warehouse of data on

enterprises(2)

Data on each item only once.

E.g. industry, turnover,personnel

NationalAccounts

Information service

Updating once a day

Co-ordination of samples

Register of data providers Archiving

of data

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Production process of statistics – co-operation

Suppliers and sources of data

Keepers of administrative data files

Enterprises and corporations

IndividualsHouseholds

Datausers

Publicadministration

Enterprises andcorporations

Research

Media

Ordinary people

Metadata: Interperetation of contents, process steering, data management, statistical methods, concepts and classifications

Acquiring data • Direct data collection• Exploitation

of administra-

tive data files

Data processing

Analysis Publication and dissemination • Web services• Publications

Production process of statistics

Feedback and continuous, systematic improvement

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Structure of cooperation with data providers and enterprises

Suppliers and sources of

data

Keepers of administrative

data files

Enterprises and

corporations

Government data administration (JUHTA),

sub-division for register providers

Appointed coordinator at Statistics Finland for each administrative data

provider

Regular bilateral meetings at different levels of organizations

Liaison group between business sector and Statistics Finland since

early 1990s

Coordinator and working group for large enterprises

Data collection service – feedback, web service

Agenda 19.10.2010

-SNA and ESA-ROAD TRAFFIC TRANSPORT STATISTICS-EGR- STS Sales inquiry

Administrative burden per country (Source: European Commission 2006)

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Conclusions The aim is to achieve high-quality and coherent economic statistics for

users and reduce response burden (Strategy of Statistics Finland 2007)

Development focus on Direct data collections / automated direct data collecting Services to data providers and (large) enterprises Methodological exploitation of administrative data Reshaping of statistical production process Consistent systems / processes within public sector International cooperation with other statistical offices

Tools Programme for the development of data collections from enterprises 2007-2011 and the

Finnish Action Plan for reduction of administrative burden 2009-2012 Cooperation with data providers and respondents

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Thank you for your attention!

Hannele Orjala

Director, Business Trends Department

Statistics Finland

hannele.orjala@stat.fi

www.stat.fi/index_en.html