3 DEVELOPMENTS
3.1 INNOVATION AND ICT REFERENCE GROUPS - RECENT MEETINGS
3.1.1 Innovation Reference Group
3.1.2 Information and Communication Technology Reference Group
3.2 NATSTATS 2010 - RECOMMENDATIONS
3.3 BUSINESS LONGITUDINAL DATABASE (BLD) AND ASSOCIATED CONFIDENTIALISED UNIT RECORD FILE (CURF)
3.4 INNOVATION CONTENT REVIEW
3.5 PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATION
3.6 ABS PAPER ON MEASURING THE INFORMATION SOCIETY AND STATISTICS ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
3.7 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) INDUSTRY SURVEYS
3.8 HOUSEHOLD USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (HUIT) UPDATE
3.9 STATE AND TERRITORY DATA


3.1 INNOVATION AND ICT REFERENCE GROUPS - RECENT MEETINGS

3.1.1 Innovation Reference Group

The Innovation Reference Group (IRG), which provides advice to the ABS on innovation issues, including research and experimental development, was established in 2005. In particular, the IRG advises on policy priorities and requirements for monitoring policy impact at Commonwealth and State level. The last IRG meeting was convened at the ABS on 21 October 2010. Members from the following key stakeholder organisations participated in the meeting: Dept of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR); Dept of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR); Dept of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (DAFF); Productivity Commission; Australian Innovation Research Centre (AIRC); Australian Research Council, Group of 8; and Universities Australia.

Topics discussed included:

• ABS analytical projects utilising the Business Longitudinal Database (BLD);
• Status report on the 2009 release of the BLD;
• Findings from Selected Characteristics of Australian Businesses, 2008-09 (cat. no. 8167.0);
• ABS and Productivity Commission project on competition, innovation and productivity; and
• The Innovation, R&D and Business Characteristics work program.

3.1.2 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Reference Group

The ABS established an ICT reference group in early 2004 involving government, industry, academic and community representatives. The aim of the reference group is to improve the usefulness of ICT statistics collected by the ABS from a variety of sources. The reference group provides a high level forum for understanding, improving and developing ICT statistics, by providing members with the opportunity to discuss and consider strategies to address ICT statistical issues. Members from the following key stakeholder organisations participated in the May 2010 meeting: Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA); Australian Computer Society (ACS); Dept of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DCBDE); Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC); Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA); National ICT Australia (NCITA); Dept of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR); Australian Mobile Telecommunications Authority (AMTA); IDC Australia; and Dept of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI).

Topics discussed included:

• The Working Party on Indicators for the Information Society (WPIIS) and their functions;
• Activities relating to the measurement of social impact of ICT, in addition to the economic impact;
• State based ICT industries;
• Developments in Household Use of Information Technology (HUIT) statistics;
• Developments in Business Use of Information Technology (BUIT) survey;
• Update on the Internet Activity Survey (IAS)
• COAG issues; and
• Mobile devices and penetration.

3.2 NATSTATS 2010 - RECOMMENDATIONS

In September this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics hosted a second NatStats conference in Sydney. The aim of the NatStats conference was to build stronger links with key stakeholders, strengthen the understanding of statistical issues within and across government, and consolidate support for current and emerging statistical initiatives.

To ensure a relevant National Statistical System in the 21st Century, strategic alliances within the community of statistical providers will be critical. Collaboration will improve the accessibility and visibility of government information to enable more open, consultative and participative government, and a better informed society. Following are the NatStats recommendations:

1. To improve the Statistical System including a greater focus being placed on measuring outcomes across the economy, environment and society; a better understanding and measurement of the causal pathways and transitions which lead to improved economic, social, demographic, environment and wellbeing outcomes; improve the quality (relevance, timeliness, accuracy, coverage, coherence, useability and accessibility) of these statistics; and making these statistics available freely to end users.
2. Producers of official statistics at all levels of government should follow best practice to ensure consistent application of concepts, standards and classifications, and eliminate duplication. This includes business and statistical organisations developing, and sharing tools to: enhance visibility; widen access and improve comprehensibility of official statistics; enhance transferability and security of data, to minimise risk in data collection and management; and, to minimise burden on businesses, households and sub-population groups of interest.
3. As statistics underpin our democracy, public accountability of government and decision making at all levels are enhanced if Australians are able to critically evaluate and understand statistics. This includes statistical users and producers working together to use, and promote suitable evidence for policy design, delivery, analysis and evaluation of government programs.
4. Understanding and responding to the challenges posed by our place in the world requires robust and comparable international statistics. Australia should therefore seek to influence international developments in statistics to: address key information gaps; consistent best practice principles; and, promote internationally comparable data and frameworks to support this.

3.3 BUSINESS LONGITUDINAL DATABASE (BLD), AND ASSOCIATED CONFIDENTIALISED UNIT RECORD FILE (CURF)

The Business Longitudinal Database (BLD) is a valuable resource that allows analysts to monitor and evaluate the impacts of policies and industry trends on Australian businesses at the individual level. The BLD contains a range of data (both financial and characteristic) for small and medium businesses in Australia over a five year period.

The BLD complements the large range of ABS macro-economic outputs and meets very strong demand from government, academics and private users for micro-economic data. It will increase understanding of:

• The activities or factors that are relevant to business performance; and
• The business characteristics that are associated with these activities or factors.

To ensure microdata confidentiality is maintained, access is managed in a unique virtual environment, the Remote Access Data Laboratory. Further information is available at the CURF Micordata Entry Page on the ABS website. The most recent (and thus far only) release of the BLD CURF is the 2009 release, which contains three years worth of data, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07. The next release will be in December 2011 and will contain data up to the 2009-10 reference period. For further information, please contact Helen Reich, Assistant Director, Innovation and Technology Branch on (08) 9360 5148.

3.4 INNOVATION CONTENT REVIEW

Users are being consulted to determine whether the current innovation outputs from the Business Characteristics Survey (BCS) are still relevant and up-to-date; continue to meet user needs; and, whether refinement or changes are required to meet new or future needs. This review will impact on the content of the 2010-11 BCS (with detailed innovation data due for release in August 2012). The ABS is seeking feedback from Innovation Reference Group (IRG) members regarding both current and potential content.

3.5 PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATION

The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) are developing an Australian Public Sector Innovation Index (APSII) to measure innovation in the public sector. The aim of the project is to make the APS more innovative in its practices as outlined in the recommendations of the 2010 report Empowering Change: Fostering innovation in the Australian Public Sector. The objectives are:

• To develop a more open and collaborative approach to public policy and administration in the APS;
• To integrate innovation into APS work in a more strategic and systematic way;
• To develop and apply the right skill sets to facilitate innovative approaches with the APS; and
• To share, recognise and reward innovation in the APS, both to increase learning and to develop a more innovate culture.

The ABS will be working in partnership with DIISR on this project.

3.6 ABS PAPER ON MEASURING THE INFORMATION SOCIETY AND STATISTICS ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

The Bureau of the Conference of European Statisticians (CES) selected at its October 2009 meeting the topic of measuring the information society and statistics on science, technology and innovation for an in-depth review by the CES in 2010. The purpose of the review is to provide an overview of international statistical work in the area, identify challenges and propose a way forward.

As part of this review, the ABS prepared a paper to provide the basis for discussion at the June 2010 plenary session of the CES in Paris: http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/ece/ces/2010/4.e.pdf

In considering the topic, discussion during the plenary session noted that:

• The lack of a common definition makes the information society difficult to measure effectively;
• There are useful manuals on innovation statistics and R&D, but the information society is changing very rapidly and is only partially captured in the SNA;
• Measurement challenges include tensions between consistency and relevance, and difficulties in determining price indices for ICT services;
• There is scope for better measurement of the information society by re-using and linking existing statistical and administrative data sources; and
• There are many international groups working in this area, and stronger coordination is needed.

The ABS paper was subsequently revised to reflect this discussion as well as responses received from member countries on the topic; this updated paper was recently presented at the November 2010 meeting of the CES in Geneva.

The paper highlights the importance of measuring outcomes rather than just activity; the need for better metrics around quantifying inputs and identifying the outcomes from the activity; and the use of IT and R&D to create innovation. While the importance of a comprehensive, overarching and integrated framework (including social outcomes) is acknowledged, practical conceptual and measurement difficulties mean that such a framework is unlikely to be feasible in the medium term (particularly with regard to social & environmental impacts and outcomes). The paper suggests that the application of the standard economic framework should be more achievable and will go some way toward ensuring greater international comparability.


3.7 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) INDUSTRY SURVEYS

In the past, the ICT industry survey (ICTIS) has been conducted as a stand-alone survey on a biennial basis. Following the 2006-07 ICTIS, the collection of financial information about the ICT industry became part of the Annual Integrated Collection (AIC) rolling survey program. As part of the rolling program, ICT industry statistics will be collected every 6 years. The first collection is scheduled to be conducted in respect of 2012-13, and then again for 2018-19. Any increases in frequency will require user funding. While these AIC based surveys are intended to produce outputs comparable to previous ICTIS, users will be consulted prior to the development of the 2012-13 survey to ensure that current needs are met.

For the most recent ICTIS results, see Information and Communication Technology, Australia, 2006-07 (cat. no. 8126.0).

3.8 HOUSEHOLD USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (HUIT) UPDATE

The 2010-11 Household Use of Information Technology (HUIT) module for the Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS) is being expanded to collect more content. The 2010-11 HUIT focuses on the nature of IT, the activities undertaken and reasons for use of the Internet rather than just connectivity. Development of the Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities (CPCLA), which contributes to the HUIT outputs, is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2011.

3.9 STATE AND TERRITORY DATA

The Innovation and Technology statistics output program releases state and territory level statistics from all four Surveys of Research and Experimental Development; outputs for Household Use of Information Technology; and, the Internet Activity Survey.

State and territory level statistics are not available from any of the outputs from the Business Characteristics Survey. This is because state/territory are not included in the stratification for sample design and, as such, the included sample may not be representative of the business population in each state or territory. Also, as changes in the composition or structure of the state/territory business population are not accounted for in design, movements for a particular indicator (for example, innovation) may not reflect a real change. State/territory outputs are, therefore, subject to more than the usual sampling error (as measured by standard error) and the quality maybe highly variable from collection to collection.