Disseminating Census Data: Learning from Experience
VIRTUAL WORKSHOP
February 16, 2022
PRESENTER PACKAGE
1. Overview
The workshop’s focus will be on challenges associated with the dissemination of contemporary and historical census data to academic researchers and the public. By bringing together experts from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, we seek to understand how creators and stewards of Census data, inside and outside of government, approach dilemmas associated with its dissemination to stakeholders, and also to create an international community of practice regarding these matters.
2. Workshop Format
Each participant is asked to present for between 10 and 15 minutes. Each session is followed by 20 minutes for audience questions and interaction between presenters. The sessions are separated by breaks.
To maximize participation, the workshop will be held using the Zoom video conferencing platform. You will be given permission to share your screen. We encourage you to review how to share your screen on Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/shareonzoom. The workshop will be recorded.
The audience will include researchers and practitioners associated with the Canadian Census Data Discovery Partnership and the University of Western Ontario’s Network for Economic and Social Trends. We will also invite a small audience of stakeholders and experts with direct interest in the topic.
3. Prior to the Workshop
Several things will happen in advance of the workshop.
We will send you a short survey on Monday, January 24. You will be asked questions about your project and to provide a brief biography of the presenter. We would appreciate receiving this information before Wednesday, February 9. We will send a document summarizing this information to all presenters and confirmed audience members on Monday, February 14.
A link to join the Zoom platform will be sent by email on Monday, February 14. Should you wish to test the Zoom connection on that date, please email conference organizer Zack Taylor at zack.taylor@uwo.ca.
Should you have any technical questions prior to or during the workshop, please email Shannon Leitch at sleit022@uottawa.ca.
4. Workshop Presentation Schedule
The day’s programming is divided into three thematic sessions. All times shown below are in North American Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5). Should you have any technical questions or issues during the workshop, please email Shannon Leitch at sleit022@uottawa.ca.
09:00–09:10: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
The workshop will begin with a short introductory presentation by Leanne Trimble, the principal investigator of the Canadian Census Discovery Partnership, and Zack Taylor, the director of the Canadian Communities Policy Observatory Project.
09:10–10:30: SESSION 1 – CHALLENGES AND INNOVATIONS WITH DISSEMINATING CENSUS DATA
Guiding questions:
- Do you see a tradeoff between the complexity of your dissemination portal and reaching a wide range of stakeholders?
- How important is interoperability with other data sources and products?
- Is it important to use open data standards and open-source software versus proprietary solutions?
- How important is ensuring that data can be linked across time and space, for example by developing consistent geographical unit identification codes or variable naming conventions?
- What aspects of your project or work do you believe are especially innovative? What opportunities do you see for future innovation?
- How vulnerable is your project to funding disruption or leadership change?
- For non-governmental Census dissemination projects, does your project have a defined end-date, or is it expected to continue indefinitely? If the former, is there an archiving strategy?
Presenters:
- Jonathan Schroeder, Research Scientist, IPUMS–National Historical GIS, University of Minnesota, United States
- Humphrey Southall, Director, A Vision of Britain project, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom and Paula Aucott, Senior Research Associate, Great Britain Historical GIS Project, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
- Glen Hohlmann, Assistant Director, Census Operations Division, Statistics Canada
- Elaine Castonguay, Assistant Director, Geographic Frames and Services Sub-Division, Statistical Geomatics Centre, Statistics Canada
10:30–10:50: BREAK
10:50–11:55: SESSION 2 – DISSEMINATING MICRODATA: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Guiding questions:
- Do you see a tension between ensuring privacy and promoting accessibility?
- What dilemmas arise in partnerships with private vendors which have digitized historical microdata?
- What kind of system should be created to manage the open dissemination of anonymized microdata or identifiable microdata no longer covered by privacy rules?
- How can microdata become more widely used by academic researchers, governments, and the not-for-profit and private sectors, including journalists, foundations, and think tanks?
- How important is interoperability with other data sources and products, including through adopting standard file formats and common conventions for geographic identifiers and variable names?
Presenters:
- Deirdre Lynch, Statistician, Census Division, Central Statistics Office, Ireland
- Callum Foster, Business Lead, Census Dissemination, Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom
- Lara Cleveland, Project Manager, IPUMS-International, University of Minnesota, United States
11:55–13:00: BREAK
13:00–14:30: SESSION 3 – DISSEMINATING MICRODATA: CANADIAN PERSPECTIVES
Guiding questions:
- Do you see a tension between ensuring privacy and promoting accessibility?
- What dilemmas arise in partnerships with private vendors which have digitized historical microdata?
- What kind of system should be created to manage the open dissemination of anonymized microdata or identifiable microdata no longer covered by privacy rules?
- How can microdata become more widely used by academic researchers, governments, and the not-for-profit and private sectors, including journalists, foundations, and think tanks?
- How important is interoperability with other data sources and products, including through adopting standard file formats and common conventions for geographic identifiers and variable names?
Presenters:
- Alexandra Clemence, Chief, Orientation and Genealogy, Public Services Branch, Library and Archives Canada
- Sandra Sawchuk, Librarian, User Experience & Engagement, and Susan Mowers, Research Data Librarian, University of Ottawa (Canadian Century Research Infrastructure project)
- Kris Inwood, Principal Investigator, The Canadian Peoples Project
- Michael Haan, Academic Director, Research Data Centre, Network for Economic and Social Trends, University of Western Ontario
14:30–14:55: CONCLUSION
The day will conclude with observations by the workshop organizers and an opportunity for further discussion between the audience and presenters.
5. After the Workshop
Following the workshop, the organizers will prepare a synthetic report that will summarize and draw lessons from the day’s discussion. This report will be published by the Network for Economic and Social Trends. It will be distributed to all participants.
6. Sponsors
The Canadian Census Data Discovery Partnership
The Canadian Census Data Discovery Partnership is an ongoing research project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The Partnership’s goal is to construct a detailed searchable inventory of all Canadian historical census information sources with the longer-term goal of creating a portal to facilitate access to historical census data by a wide range of potential users. The objective of the workshop, which will be attended by project partners and some key academic Census experts, is to learn from allied projects and experts in Canada and other countries.
The Network for Economic and Social Trends
The University of Western Ontario’s Network for Economic and Social Trends (NEST) is the university’s interdisciplinary hub for evidence-based social and economic policy research. A principal focus of NEST is to use advanced data creation, management, and analytic techniques to address important policy questions. NEST is currently developing the Canadian Communities Policy Observatory, a web-based data analysis and visualization facility, the core of which will be a comprehensive collection of historical and contemporary Canadian Census data. NEST is a proud sponsor of this workshop.
Last updated: January 20, 2022
