Costs and benefits
First proposals on CES Recommendations
for the 2020 census round
&
Key results from the UNECE Survey on
National Census Practices
Recommendations : Costs 1/2
• Financial practices vary so very difficult to set rules – but
principles are helpful
• It is impossible to plan and control the census operation
without careful estimate and monitoring of costs
• Breakdown of costs to key activities is essential - should take
account of what will be helpful in monitoring and auditing spend
and planning future operations
• (In most cases) Census plan and budget will need to be
presented to national Government in sufficient time to ensure
funds are available – and time must be allowed for this
• Past spending is a good clue for future spending (and this is one
reason for careful monitoring) – but remember to take account
of change (in population structure etc)
Recommendations : Costs 2/2
• Robust mechanisms for distributing wages and other funds are
essential at all stages of the census system – as is the ability to
monitor and audit spend – transparency and consistency are
essential
• Effective recording of costs helps inform decisions about the
right approach to different elements of the operation in future –
but take real care in comparing between countries
• Involving staff at all levels may help in promoting ‘costconsciousness’ throughout the operation.
• Do not expect spend during the operation to align perfectly with
estimates. Monitor and adjust the budget as things change (and
agree the approach to this with funding agencies in advance).
• Costs associated with register based censuses will need a
different approach – but the same principles hold. Again
budgeting and planning should be at a level that supports
monitoring, auditing and helps inform future decisions
Recommendations : Benefits 1/1
• Practice and experience in recording benefits varies a great deal – but
countries are strongly recommended to carry out a full assessment of
benefits
• Only by assessing social and economic benefit is it possible to justify
census expenditure – and consider the value of individual outputs
• Assessing benefits can be difficult. Social benefit can be difficult to
quantify and value often extends far beyond direct use.
• Nonetheless it may be worth:
• Identifying where Census is adding real value in resource allocation
• Identifying where particular outputs contribute to delivery or monitoring of
policy goals
• Considering how much users would spend on other data sources or surveys if
the census were not available
• Recording case studies to support any future case or decision making
• Include the value of employment and spend associated with the census
operation itself
A few key results from the UNECE Survey
on National Census Practices
Total cost of 2010 census round
•
•
•
•
Method
Median
total cost,
US$
(millions)
Median
per capita
cost, US$
Median per Mean time
capita cost, the costs
US$ (PPP)
relate to
(years)
Median
time the
costs
relate to
(years)
Traditional
34.1
5.57
7.31
5.8
5.0
Combined
18.7
3.94
6.01
5.0
5.5
Register Based
1.9
0.24
0.18
5.6
4.6
ALL
18.7
3.94
6.01
5.6
5.1
Differences in recording and what is included in costs makes any comparison difficult
Traditional census much more expensive than register based census (enumeration costs)
Combined Census somewhere in-between
Difficult to draw any real conclusions from timing comparison
Cost profile over census period
Traditional
• Mildly interesting but nothing
profound in profiles
• Note however radically different
scales
Combined
Register based
Cost breakdown by census method
Data
processing
Field
enumeration
Traditional
Field
enumeration
Combined
Register based
• Field enumeration completely dominates in traditional and combined – data processing
comes second
• Traditional and combined are strikingly similar and similarly complex - the ‘traditional
census’ comes to dominate the costs
• Data processing dominates in register based censuses – dissemination and publication
comes second
• Report has more detail
No real issues for debate
but comments or suggestions on
recommendations welcome