Online Program

Methodological Challenges in the Development of Statistics Canada New Integrated Business Statistics Program

Keywords: business surveys, harmonized framework, sampling design, adaptive design

In 2009, Statistics Canada launched the Corporate Business Architecture (CBA) review initiative. Growing financial pressures led to this process to review Statistics Canada’s business model and systems to achieve further efficiencies, enhance quality and improve responsiveness in the delivery of new statistical programs. To meet the objectives of the CBA, Statistics Canada is currently undertaking a major integration project for its Business Statistics surveys, the Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP). The IBSP will provide a common survey framework for the various business surveys conducted at Statistics Canada. By 2016, over 100 surveys will be integrated into this new harmonized framework. The surveys under the umbrella of the IBSP will use a common frame, adopt common sampling, collection and processing methodologies driven by a common metadata framework and they will share common tools to analyse, edit and correct data.

The development of this new harmonized framework will bring a lot of methodological challenges at each and every survey step. This paper will discuss some of these challenges along with some of the proposed solutions.