The Integrated Business
Statistics Program at
Statistics Canada
Jim Tebrake
Director General Statistics Canada
New York, March 2014
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Some History
 1980s and mid 1990s the business statistics
program was characterized by:
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Multiple Frames
Limited use of administrative data
Numerous systems and processes
Inconsistent methodologies
Different concepts
Program specific classifications
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Early Drivers – Project to improve
Provincial Economic Statistics (PIPES)
 Mid 1990s – National Accounts data take on an
important administrative role for the Government
of Canada
• Allocation of Harmonized Sale Tax Revenue (VAT)
between the Federal Government and
Provincial/Territorial Governments
• Important input in determining revenue generating
equalization payments from the Federal government to
Provincial / Territorial Governments
• Large investment was made in the business
statistics program in order to improve the quality
and detail of the Canadian National Accounts
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Early Drivers – Project to improve
Provincial Economic Statistics (PIPES)
 The System of National Accounts was used as the
coordinating framework in the modernization of
the business statistics program (PIPES)
 The PIPES project adhered to the SNA principles
of
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Coherence
 Central business frame
 Extensive use of administrative data
 Targeted collection for Large Enterprises
 Common processes
Harmonized concepts
 Survey content
 Classifications
 But it did not go far enough…
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Current Drivers – Integrated
Business Survey Project
 Why IBSP?
1. Many survey programs remained outside of the
generic process (cost effectiveness).
2. National Account requirement for flexibility (Policy
driven)
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Research and Development, Globalization, Service sector,
introduction of new products and technologies.
3. Business Requirements
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Aging infrastructure (systems and classifications)
Statistics Canada is facing financial pressures (value for
money)
Government wide initiative to reduce red tape (Reduce
respondent burden)
Higher than historical turnover in personnel
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What is the IBSP?
1. Modernization in the way in which we produce business
statistics
2. Strong governance that ensures coherence from start
to finish and across the different programs that produce
business statistics.
3. Uses the System of National Accounts and policy
demands as the coordinating frameworks.
4. The IBSP is an important transformational project:
– Examined from a conceptual point how we want to
function
– Operationalize the conceptual approach
– Develop infrastructure
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Objective of Project
 Address the requirements of the macroeconomic
frameworks (SNA, BOP, GFS), policy makers and key
users (government, business, public, academic)
 Develop generic model for producing business statistics
• Improve quality, in particular the coherence aspect,
across the different programs
• Robust infrastructure
• Less expensive to maintain
• Flexible to respond to client needs
• Reduce respondent burden
 Return efficiencies to the corporation
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Scope of Project
 Suite of approximately 150 existing business
surveys covering manufacturing, services, retail,
agriculture, capital expenditure, energy and
R&D ; ad-hoc surveys as well
 Covers all survey activities from frame to
dissemination
• Financial and activity based
• Establishment and enterprise
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Implementation of Project
 Gather requirements from major stakeholders
(System of National Accounts, policy
departments, subject matter divisions)
 Build and test the supporting infrastructure
 Phase in business surveys over time
• RY 2013 - Manufacturing, Retail, Services and
Capital Expenditures
• RY 2014 - Energy, Research and Development
• RY 2015 - Agriculture and Transportation
• Ry 2016 – Quarterly Financial Survey
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IBSP Pillars - The Generic Statistical Business
Process Model
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To successfully achieve integration across
many programs and processes requires:
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Continuous support from Senior leaders
Very strong governance over life of project
Extensive collaboration across the organization
Ability to negotiate and adapt: generic solutions have
limitations
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IBSP Pillars - Horizontal Integration
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IBSP Pillars - Vertical Integration
Sampling
Collection
Edit &
Imputation
Survey specific
indicators
(commodity/activity)
Common Editing
Strategy
Update directly on
frame
Coordination
Frame
Target commodities
with 2 phase sampling
Estimation
Analysis
Confidentiality
Dissemination
Harmonize output
Quality indicators
IBSP Pillars – Content and
Classifications
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Harmonized common content across business surveys – it is
now an enforced standard
Harmonized questions to extent possible
One mapping between tax information and survey concepts with
the Chart of Accounts
Reduced content by 20%
Enforced use of the North American Industrial Classification
System (NAICS) and the North American Product Classification
System (NAPCS)
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IBSP Pillars - tools
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Generic processors for:
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Sampling
Edit and imputation
Estimation
Moving towards one collection platform
Common analytical tools
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Used by subject matter analysts and the System of
National Accounts analysts;
Simplifies staff mobility
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IBSP Pillars - Methodology
 Use of the Business Register
• Establishment and enterprise based
 Two-phase sampling for commodity and activity
based surveys
 For the rest, Stratified Random sample
• Allocation industry by geography
• Take-all strata for complex enterprises
• Take-some strata for simple establishments
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IBSP Pillars - Metadata
 The backbone of all survey processes
 Developed semantic model which illustrates and
documents all survey concepts and their
properties and relationships with other concepts
within a domain of knowledge
 Developed standard nomenclature and
numbering system for survey variables, cells,
code sets
• Will be re-used for all surveys to be integrated into
IBSP
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IBSP Pillars - Collection
 Collection primarily via EDR
• Modular Approach
• Built in edits
• Spreadsheets sent via e-file channel for some large
enterprises
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Reduce the collection window
Still keep paper collection
Around 70,000 Units collected
4 million $ Collection budget
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IBSP Pillars - Data Processing
 Implementation of common editing strategy
 Resolve as much as possible failed edits through
automated editing and imputation to reduce follow-up
 Systems
• Common systems platform
• Improve generalized systems
• Re-use some existing systems
 Create Data Service Center
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IBSP Pillars - Streamline the Survey
Process (The Rolling Estimates)
 Proposed processing system - iterative
• Collection, processing and analysis done in parallel
• Quality indicators used to dynamically manage collection
• Basic principle: no manual intervention inside an iteration
Collection
Dissemination
Sampling
Processing
Analysis
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
IBSP Outcomes
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Coherence
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Cost Effectiveness
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Output from different programs integrated into the
System of National Accounts
Output from different programs comparable by users
Eliminates potential overlap in coverage and helps
identify coverage gaps
Reduction in the number of systems and processes
Reduced Response Burden
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Focus on administrative data, coordinated sampling,
electronic collection
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Project Management
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To successfully achieve integration across
many programs and processes requires:



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Continuous support from Senior leaders
Very strong governance over life of project
Extensive collaboration across the organization
Ability to negotiate and adapt: generic solutions have
limitations
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Leveraging the benefits of a
centralized statistics system
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Conclusion
 Over 150 survey’s and programs integrated
into the same process using the same
systems, concepts and classifications
 5 years to develop
 Will generate and estimated $2.5 million of
efficencies
 Currently in the field for collection
 Implemenation will continue for several years
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Conclusion
 For more details, please contact
• Marie Brodeur, DG, Industry Statistics
• Marie.brodeur@statcan.gc.ca
Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada