A Case Study - How IT is Contributing to Changing the ABS Culture
MSIS, April 2014
Patrick Hadley, Australian Bureau of Statistics
Like other NSO’s, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has embarked on a business
transformation program to meet the challenges for new and innovative statistics products;
delivered in more sophisticated ways; faster, and at less cost; whilst maintaining data
quality. The ABS is radically transforming the way it collects, manages, uses, re-uses and
disseminates statistical information. There is the potential for new, vast sources of
information to be tapped; at the same time transformation must be undertaken within
ongoing budgetary constraints.
In September 2013 a new Australian federal government was elected with ICT policy on EGovernment and the Digital Economy; objectives included accelerating the digital economy
through enabling infrastructure and on-line engagement, smarter ICT investment and
leadership to reduce costs, lift productivity and deliver better services.
Technology, and the innovative application of technology, is central to enabling ABS
business transformation. IT has a profound and influential impact on all aspects of
organisational change – structure, processes, products and services, work and skills, culture,
and interactions with customers, stakeholders and across government. Strong partnerships
between ICT specialists and business teams are pre-requisites to success.
This paper examines the opportunities, challenges and approach to IT in business
transformation using the 2016 Population Census as a case study. Extending the use of
technologies to drive on-line data collection, together with changes in technology and the
way society is using the technology, provides a fundamentally different model.
The next Australian Census will have new processes, a richer Census data set that can
integrate more easily with other collections, new statistical and technical infrastructure,
new methodologies and digitally-enabled providers. The 2016 Census is being built "digital
first," a transformation where we rethink the business model to be orientated around data
and the use of technology to:
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Move the majority of contact, provider support and enumeration online
Use Smart Forms that reduce provider load and improve data quality
Recruit, train and manage field staff online
Use the social power of the web to connect with employees, providers and users,
primarily on mobile devices
Use admin and other data to supplement, replace, impute and validate statistical
topics
Adjust dissemination based on data user behaviour.
The 2016 Census will take advantage of emerging technologies in information analytics,
mobile, cloud and social media. The Digital Census will also develop and heavily utilise geospatial infrastructure in the design, operations and outputs of the program. To help realise
the Digital Census the ABS has adopted a Service Oriented Architecture that aligns with the
Capability Architecture. This is being realised through Agile delivery methods.