Terms and conditions - Statisphere, New Zealand's official statistics portal

Scope

The policy covers:

any new sponsored statistical survey
the addition of significant new parts or new questions to an existing sponsored survey
increasing the sample size of an existing sponsored survey (to enable data to be produced at lower levels of disaggregation)
joint collections.

The policy excludes:

consultancy services related to survey processes
data supplied from other organisations to Statistics New Zealand for subsequent processing, analysis and publication
access to datasets collected by Statistics New Zealand (other than those that arise from sponsored surveys).

Prerequisites

Tier 1 surveys

There may be times when more surveys are proposed than Statistics New Zealand has the capacity to carry out to an acceptable professional standard, given its existing work programme. If this occurs, priority will be given to surveys that produce Tier 1 statistics, and especially to those identified as addressing information gaps or deficiencies in official statistics.
A sponsored survey may or may not produce Tier 1 statistics. To determine whether the statistics produced by the sponsored survey will be designated as Tier 1, the selection criteria will be aligned against the information needs the survey is going to fulfil. This alignment process will reveal whether the statistics meet the Tier 1 criteria.
After the alignment process, it will be mutually agreed between Statistics New Zealand and the sponsoring agency to give the proposed survey Tier 1 status.

Ministerial approval

In accordance with section 6 of the Statistics Act 1975, all sponsored surveys must gain approval from the Minister of Statistics before work begins, regardless of the Tier 1 status of the sponsored survey.
Statistics New Zealand will work alongside the sponsoring agency to document an agreement outlining the objectives and purpose of the survey, and its intended audience and output. The agreement will also contain the:

the purpose of the project
the roles of each agency and agreed consultation and reporting arrangements
the funding arrangements
the deliverables.

Ministerial approval and joint collections

In accordance with the Statistics Act 1975, prior approval must be obtained from the Minister of Statistics for information to be jointly collected by Statistics New Zealand and the sponsoring agency.

Note: Statistics New Zealand will not undertake a sponsored survey unless its primary purpose is to produce or effect the development of Tier 1 statistics.

Policies, terms and conditions

Statistics New Zealand will work with the sponsoring agency to maintain the high quality and standards of New Zealand’s Official Statistics System.

This involves working alongside the sponsoring agency to develop mutually agreeable terms and conditions for carrying out sponsored surveys, while taking care not to compromise Statistics New Zealand’s business objectives or the legal duties, obligations and independence of the Government Statistician.

Production of sponsored surveys to Tier 1 standards

All statistics produced by a sponsored survey or joint collection involving Statistics New Zealand will be produced to the Official Statistics System principles and protocols. A full list of the Official Statistics System principles and protocols for Tier 1 producers is contained in the document, New Zealand Official Statistics System Statement of Principles for Tier 1 statistics producers.

Confidentiality and respondent compliance

All joint and sponsored surveys carried out by Statistics New Zealand and other government agencies will be consistent with the requirements set out in the Statistics Act 1975. In particular:

confidentiality of respondent information will be fully protected, as required by the Statistics Act 1975. The Act guarantees that statistical information provided to Statistics New Zealand remains confidential, and that it will only be used for statistical purposes (refer section 37, Statistics Act 1975)
respondents will provide the requested information to Statistics New Zealand (refer section 33, Statistics Act, 1975).

Official release of statistics

Statistics New Zealand’s general policy on the official release of statistics collected under the authority of the Statistics Act 1975 states that the official (that is, first) release of all statistics takes place through a formal media release. Until official release by Statistics New Zealand, data is embargoed and may not be disseminated outside the agency. Official release of embargoed data occurs at 10:45am on the day of its release.

Access to data prior to embargoed release

For sponsored surveys, exceptions to the general policy on embargoed release are as listed below.

For any new area of statistics involving a sponsored survey, the Government Statistician will grant the sponsoring agency(ies) appropriate access to the work in progress and final survey results for a reasonable period, specifically to assist in the preparation of the first release. This will enable the agency(ies) to make effective and immediate use of the final data following the first release. Such access will be in accordance with the provisions of section 21 of the Statistics Act 1975.

For all other sponsored surveys, the Government Statistician may grant the sponsoring agency(ies) appropriate access to the work in progress and final survey results for a reasonable period, specifically to assist in the preparation of the first release so as to enable the agency(ies) to make effective and immediate use of the final data following the first release. Such access will be in accordance with the provisions of section 21 of the Statistics Act 1975.

Any other release of the data to other departmental employees or their Ministers will follow the normal Statistics New Zealand lock-up procedures for releasing embargoed data.

Publicity of sponsored survey outputs

Statistics New Zealand and the sponsoring agency will share the responsibility for publicising the survey outputs:

Statistics New Zealand undertakes responsibility for the initial press release advising the public of the availability of the survey output.
The sponsoring agency undertakes responsibility for developing a marketing strategy and organising its own publicity.

Survey development

The Government Statistician will consult and seek to reach agreement with the sponsoring agency on the involvement of the agency in the different phases of a survey.

Statistics New Zealand will invite and consider departmental views and requirements relating to:

survey design, content and analysis
statistics arising from the survey
survey publicity.

When requested, the Government Statistician will set out in writing the reasons for a decision about the level of agency involvement in the different phases of a survey.

Statistics New Zealand reserves the right to outsource parts of the work.

Managing respondent load

In common with other survey types, sponsored surveys implicitly involve a third party: the respondents/data providers. The relationship built up between agencies that conduct survey and market research activity and respondents/data providers can affect the quality of all survey work and its subsequent results.

The nature of Statistics New Zealand's work means that a strong relationship with data providers is vital to the success of all survey work.

As a consequence, Statistics New Zealand's formal responsibilities include managing respondent load across the entire Official Statistics System. This may result in Statistics New Zealand negotiating with the sponsoring agency to constrain or restrict the amount, complexity and/or sensitivity of information collected from data providers for particular sponsored surveys.

Ownership, custody and publication of data/information

Statistics New Zealand, in consultation with the sponsoring agency, may publish any further information it chooses from any sponsored survey once the results have been officially released.

Although Statistics New Zealand will manage ownership and custody of the sponsored survey datasets, the sponsoring agency, along with other agencies, can only have access to the survey data subject to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act 1975.

This access will be available through Statistics New Zealand’s business unit, the Official Statistics Research and Data Archival Centre (OSRDAC). All unit record datasets and metadata will be deposited in OSRDAC so that information obtained from Statistics New Zealand by the sponsoring agency(ies) may be freely reproduced or quoted unless supplied under special conditions. In return, the sponsoring agency will acknowledge Statistics New Zealand as the source of the data.

Similarly, Statistics New Zealand will acknowledge the sponsoring agency in any results released from a sponsored survey.

As Statistics New Zealand manages the sponsored survey data, any outputs produced for the sponsoring agency(ies) will not be sold to a third party without Statistics New Zealand's prior agreement.

Statistics New Zealand will not be liable for any loss or damage resulting from the use of survey results by the sponsoring agency(ies).

Joint collections

The Government Statistician may, after consulting with the sponsoring agency, recommend to the Minister of Statistics that an agreement be made between Statistics New Zealand and the sponsoring agency to collect information jointly, provided that the following conditions are included:

The respondents are informed in writing that the information is being collected jointly by Statistics New Zealand with, or on behalf of, a government department, local authority or statutory body (whether or not incorporated). The written notice will state the purposes to which the information will be put.
The written notice shall not prevent any respondent acknowledging to the Government Statistician that they object to the sharing of information by the parties to the joint collection.
Any employee of any government department, local authority or statutory body shall, if engaged in the joint collection of information or the processing of information collected in a joint collection, sign a declaration of secrecy (refer section 21, Statistics Act 1975).

The sponsoring agency and Statistics New Zealand can share with each other the information they jointly collect, unless the respondent objects in writing to this arrangement (refer section 9, Statistics Act 1975).

Joint reports

The Government Statistician's approval will be needed before the sponsoring agency and Statistics New Zealand make any commitment to publish a joint report. Statistics New Zealand and the sponsoring agency will work together on the reports to mutually agree and take responsibility for:

the mechanisms and timing of release of the report(s)
a writing style reflecting Statistics New Zealand's impartiality as a sponsored survey partner
the content of the joint report, ensuring it complies with Official Statistics System principles and protocols.

While information that the sponsoring agency obtains from Statistics New Zealand may be freely reproduced, or quoted (unless supplied under special conditions), Statistics New Zealand will be acknowledged as the source of the data.

In all cases, the security clauses in the Statistics Act 1975 will be complied with (refer section 37, Statistics Act 1975).

The Government Statistician will formally approve the final draft of the joint report for release under section 15(a) of the Statistics Act 1975, following the joint production of the report and after a formal sign-off from the sponsoring agency.

Dispute resolution

As noted, under the Statistics Act 1975 the Government Statistician has sole responsibility for:

survey design, content and analysis
the extent, form and timing of publication of statistics arising from the survey
survey publicity.

In the event of a dispute arising in an area covered by the Government Statistician’s responsibility, the sponsoring agency and Statistics New Zealand will develop an agreed position statement setting out the areas of disagreement and will identify the relevant facts impacting on any decision.

This statement will be presented to the relevant management in the sponsoring agency and Statistics New Zealand, and formal recommendations made as to the handling of the disagreement. All efforts will be made to seek acceptable resolutions that meet the sponsoring agency’s needs, and are consistent with good practice in official statistics and relevant legal requirements.

The Government Statistician must be satisfied with the outcome of this process and, if necessary, will have the final decision as provided for under section 15 of the Statistics Act 1975.

Payment/charges for sponsored surveys

Sponsored surveys operate on a cost-recovery basis. Full cost-recovery in this context is defined as:

the explicit direct costs of collecting and analysing data, and delivering the contracted outputs
the direct costs of developing the survey in the year they are incurred
asset depreciation associated with these activities
capital charges payable to the Crown
the expenses arising from general running costs, as distinct from particular/normal business transactions
the ongoing maintenance of the resulting dataset
the overhead costs incurred as a result of the performance of the sponsored survey.

Memorandum of understanding

Statistics New Zealand and the sponsoring agency(ies) will sign a written agreement before undertaking sponsored surveys. The agreement will be read in conjunction with any memorandum of understanding in place between both agencies, and will:

state the legal and other rights of all the parties involved in the sponsored survey
specify what happens if the sponsored survey fails to achieve its objectives
specify communication formalities
specify the sponsored survey's targets
state the survey's scope, reference period and characteristics
state the deliverables required from each party
state the expected survey qualities
state the terms of business
specify the period in which the sponsored survey will be undertaken, and the renewal process.

Feasibility assessment

After the first statement of interest by the sponsoring agency, and before either party commits to undertaking the sponsored survey, Statistics New Zealand will develop a full survey proposal and feasibility assessment for the sponsoring agency. No new survey will be conducted without a feasibility assessment and the full costs of the feasibility study will be borne by the sponsoring agency. Full details of what Statistics New Zealand's feasibility assessments involve, and the cost schedules, are provided in the document entitled ‘Feasibility Assessment Terms and Conditions’.

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