1. Business Practices Survey Collaborative Project
The Business Practices Survey collaborative project with the Ministry of Economic Development is well under way. We are looking at the firm-level effects of business behaviours from the Business Practices Survey conducted in 2000, and also linking the qualitative information with financial and other explanatory variables.
For further information, contact Carmel Tuya (carmel.tuya@stats.govt.nz).
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2. 2003 Innovation Survey
The Innovation Survey measures the contribution made by technological innovation to the New Zealand economy, by collecting information on innovative activity in New Zealand businesses.
This survey was commissioned by the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST) and conducted for the first time in 2003. A full report of results was released in July and is now available on the Statistics New Zealand website.
Development work for the next Innovation collection in 2005 is currently under way. We welcome any input from interested parties to feed into this process.
For further information, contact Hamish Hill (hamish.hill@stats.govt.nz).
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3. 2003/2004 Business Finance Survey
Statistics New Zealand has been commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) to develop a new survey on demand-side finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The Business Finance Survey has been sent out to businesses and their responses are being received and processed.
With recent calls from small business groups for government to improve access to finance for SMEs, results from this survey will help assess the needs for such initiatives.
The Hot of the Press media summary will be released in April 2005, followed by a full report at the end of June 2005. Both releases will be available on the Statistics New Zealand website.
For further information, contact Hamish Hill (hamish.hill@stats.govt.nz).
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4. 2004 Research and Development Survey
The Research and Development (R&D) Survey is a joint collection conducted every two years by Statistics New Zealand and the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST). The statistics produced from this survey help the Government deliver policies to encourage research and innovation in New Zealand.
The R&D Survey 2004 is currently in the field and will measure the level of R&D activity, employment and expenditure by private sector enterprises, government departments, and government-owned trading entities.
The University Sector collection will be conducted independently in early 2005. Statistics New Zealand and MoRST are now in the planning and design stages for this collection, with advice being sought from the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors Committee (NZVCC), the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and Unitec New Zealand. In consultation with the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics of New Zealand (ITP New Zealand), we are also exploring the possible inclusion of the polytechs in the survey to produce a broader picture of research and development in higher education.
Results from the R&D Survey will be published in the coming year, with a Hot off the Press media summary to be released in May 2005, followed by a full, detailed report in July 2005.
For more information on R&D, you can find the full Research and Development in New Zealand 2002 report on the Statistics New Zealand website, and additional information related to the 2002 survey on the MoRST website.
For further information, contact Nicholas Cox (nicholas.cox@stats.govt.nz).
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5. 2004 Biotechnology Survey
The purpose of the Biotechnology Survey 2004 currently under way is to collect information on the use, production and spread of biotechnology. It will measure size of the biotechnology sector and identify barriers to research and development so that a better understanding of this emerging industry can be gained.
The current survey was posted out in August this year and responses are now being received.
The Hot off the Press media summary will be released in April 2005, followed by a full, detailed report in June 2005.
Redevelopment of the Biotechnology Survey for the 2005 reference year has already begun. Statistics New Zealand is working with representatives from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST) and the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST) to create an updated questionnaire that will be used in the biennial biotechnology collection commencing in 2005.
For more information on biotechnology you can find the Modern Biotechnology Activity in New Zealand report on the Statistics New Zealand website. As the lead agency for the Government’s Growth and Innovation Framework, NZTE have provided more information about the biotechnology sector on its website.
For further information, contact Nicholas Cox (nicholas.cox@stats.govt.nz).
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6. Information and Communication Technology: Survey Redevelopment Programme
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) survey redevelopment programme is progressing, with implementation dates close to being finalised. The programme consists of one redeveloped and four new surveys, plus new publications.
Information and Communication Technologies Supply
The current annual IT Survey, which measures the output of the IT and telecommunications industry, was posted to businesses involved with IT in August. Data from this survey will be published on 20 April 2005. The last IT Survey was published in April 2004.
The IT Survey is being redesigned in line with international practices and will be aligned with the wider ICT industries and will be called the ICT Supply Survey. Questionnaires are now being tested, with collection starting in August 2005 with the data to be published in April 2006.
Internet Service Providers Supply
We have been working closely with the Ministry of Economic Development and InternetNZ to finalise the design of the Internet Service Providers (ISP) Supply Survey. The first questionnaire is scheduled to be in the field in March 2005, with results to be published in June 2005.
Business Use of ICT
The use of Internet technologies in business will be surveyed in 2006. The questionnaire has undergone a first set of respondent tests. Data will be collected in 2006 and will be published in early 2007.
Government Use of ICT
Use of Internet technologies in government will also be surveyed in 2006 for publication in 2007. Design work is due to start in early in the new year.
Household Use of ICT
The way households and individuals use Internet technologies will be surveyed in the Household Use of ICT Survey. The project is in the feasibility phase at the moment. Decisions about requirements, collection mode and timing should be completed by Christmas.
In related areas, Statistics New Zealand is hosting the Asia Pacific ICT Technical Meeting 2004 conference from 30 November to 2 December. A group of national statisticians is meeting to discuss methods and issues involved with the development and collection of ICT statistics. For the 2004 meeting, international comparability is high on the agenda for discussion.
For further information, contact Gareth Meech (gareth.meech@stats.govt.nz).
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7. Labour Volume Series for Productivity
A preliminary labour volume series has been constructed for 2000 onwards. This series will be used along with capital and value-added output to produce an index of multi-factor productivity (MFP). The labour volume series has been developed using data from the following existing sources:
- Business demographic data (which is an annual snapshot of the Business Frame)
- Five-yearly Census of households
- Quarterly Employment Survey
- Household Labour Force Survey
The series uses an ‘hours paid’ measure of volume and covers the industries for which direct measures of value-added output are available. The following ANZSIC industries will be excluded from the initial MFP index: property and business services; government administration and defence; education; health and community services; personal and other services.
This quarter, the series is being refined at the one-digit ANZSIC level. The series is expected to be released at the aggregate level early next year, followed by the MFP index later in the year. Longer-term goals are to publish industry-level splits for MFP and to backdate the series to 1972.
For further information, contact Katy Henderson (katy.henderson@stats.govt.nz).
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8. Screen Production Survey
The Screen Production Survey is part of an overall strategy to enhance the collection of information to support the Growth and Innovation Framework (GIF). The survey will construct a core set of comprehensive official statistics to assist government policy development and enable policy implementation to be monitored over time.
For the private sectors, the survey will provide useful information for planning, marketing and business development.
A wide range of policy objectives has been identified by the key stakeholders including: Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Ministry of Economic Development, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, New Zealand Screen Council and Statistics New Zealand.
The survey design and development team is currently working on transforming the policy objectives mentioned above into a range of specific outputs. The first phase of internal assessment is set to be carried out in November 2004 and the survey is scheduled to be posted out in August 2005.
The Hot off the Press media summary will be released in April 2006, followed by a full report in June 2006.
For further information, contact Lisa Hardie (lisa.hardie@stats.govt.nz).
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9. Who's Who in Business Performance
Eileen Basher, Manager (eileen.basher@stats.govt.nz)
Gareth Meech, ICT Project Leader (gareth.meech@stats.govt.nz)
Hamish Hill, Innovation and Business Financing Project Leader (hamish.hill@stats.govt.nz)
Nicholas Cox, R&D and Biotechnology Project Leader (nicholas.cox@stats.govt.nz)
Katy Henderson, Productivity (katy.henderson@stats.govt.nz)
Carmel Tuya, Research and Communication (carmel.tuya@stats.govt.nz)
Lisa Hardie, Screen Production Analyst (lisa.hardie@stats.govt.nz)
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