1211.0 - Data Communication - Emerging International Trends and Practices of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 10/02/2006  First Issue
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



Results of a survey recently conducted by Statistics Canada suggest that many National Statistical Offices (NSOs) are in different stages of progress in migrating from a paper-based publishing regime to a web-based publishing regime, and the common theme and challenges faced by them today are to make the World Wide Web an effective medium for the on-line communication of statistics.


Like many other NSOs, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is positioning itself to use the internet as the principal channel for data communication. There are a number of strategies in place to fulfil the ABS goal of web publishing. These are:

  • improving communication of statistics to facilitate user discovery of information and assessment of its fitness-for-purpose;
  • broadcasting and proactive dissemination of information such as through Real Simple Syndication and email notification;
  • improving self help; and
  • writing once/publishing many times to improve the efficiency and consistency of released information.

In this paper, the strategies and techniques used by the ABS to improve statistical communication are discussed.