Preparing for 2007
A Strategy for Change Based
on Previous Experiences
Steve Vale
Office for National Statistics, UK
Contents
• Background
• SIC(92) Lessons Learned
• SIC(2003) Lessons Learned
• Strategy for 2007
Background
• Major revision of international
classifications of economic activity for
2007
• Discontinuities for statistical outputs
• Substantial changes for statistical
business registers
• Transition needs to be carefully
managed to maintain quality
Standard Industrial Classification
• Hierarchical classification based on
5-digit codes
• UK version of NACE
• Consistent at higher levels with ISIC
• Last major revision - 1992
• Minor revisions late 1990s and 2003
SIC(92) Implementation: Approach
• Clerical re-coding from recent register
proving survey questionnaires
• Specific register proving exercise for
SIC(92) and new business register
• Automatic imputation of codes for
remaining small enterprises
• Old and new classifications both live on
the register for one year
SIC(92) Implementation: Lessons learned
• Consistency problems when more than
one classification is “live”
• Quality (consistency) of coding could be
improved using coding software
• Burden on businesses of extra register
proving survey
• Avoid simultaneous major changes so
that individual impacts can be analysed
SIC (2003) Implementation: Approach
• Stored business descriptions for local units
re-coded clerically
• Automatic coder updated as soon as
sufficient metadata available
• Clerical and automatic coding results
compared
• Forward and backward correlation tables
constructed for local units with no stored
description
• Local unit codes fed up to enterprise level
SIC(2003) Implementation: Lessons learned
• Planning time for data suppliers too
short – inconsistent implementation
• Store business descriptions for
automatic re-coding
• Improve questionnaires to capture
better quality business descriptions
• Relevance of new codes needs testing
• Re-coding can impact on register
quality and bias
… continued
• Register customers need early warning
of changes
• Register users need re-training,
especially coding staff
• Total cost > 250.000 Euro (part funded
by Eurostat)
Strategy for 2007
• Increased use of stored business
activity descriptions and automatic
coding software
• Correlation tables for smaller units
• Limited clerical resource for quality
assurance and impact assessment
• Evaluate success afterwards
Key Requirements
• Automatic coding tool
• Time – 18 months needed between final
codes and implementation to:
– Update coding tool
– Allow suppliers time to adapt
– Re-code
– Create and test correlation tables
– Analyse impact
• Resources – staff and money
Further information
• www.statistics.gov.uk/idbr
• [email protected]
Any Questions?