Economic Research and Policy Analysis Branch

1. Economic Research and Policy Analysis Branch May 6, 2010 Access to Business Micro-Data to Support Economic Research and Policy Analysis: Where Do We Go From Here? By Annette Ryan Director General, Economic Research and Policy Analysis Branch and Chief Economist, Industry Canada

2. International Experiences With Data Access • Various different ‘modes’ of access to business micro-data are possible to better support the development, research and analysis of policy issues on business productivity and competitiveness, innovation and marketplace framework policies. • Deloitte (2010), “Unlocking government : How data transform democracy” • Various technologies are available to facilitate access to business micro-data • Traditional direct access (e.g. Statistics Canada Federal Research Data Center) • Indirect access (the researcher send his file of codes to an employee of the statistical agency who run it for him) • Remote access (e.g. VPN access) • Experimental random files (random files that reproduce the main descriptive statistics of the original database) • International practices • Australian Bureau of Statistics • The Remote Access Data Laboratory initiative allow to access confidential databases. • Office for National Statistics (UK) • ONS has recently develop a coherent framework to access confidential micro data where remote access plays a central role. • United States • Innovative and a leader in technology development to grant access to micro-data.

3. What Would be Needed to Facilitate Access to Data While Respecting Statistics Canada Confidentiality Requirements • Critical success factors to access confidential data and conduct research is capacity. • Appropriate structure and resources have to be in place to facilitate access while respecting the provisions of the Statistics Act. • Organization (e.g. availability of subject matter resources to vet outputs) • Physical installation (e.g. lab with computers) • A transparent protocol that clearly defines the rules (e.g. rules and user guide to release the results) • To secure resources and develop access structures, it is important to demonstrate the benefit of access. • Research done with micro-data can help explaining the innovation slowdown observed in Canada since 2000, by e.g. • Better understanding how competitiveness affects innovation. • Determining the distribution of productivity within an industry. • Analyzing the dynamics at the firm-level. • Evaluating business innovation support programs to assess the effectiveness of the actual policy mix.

4. More Open Government Source: Deloitte (2010) – Unlocking government : How data transform democracy

5. More Innovative Government Source: Deloitte (2010) – Unlocking government : How data transform democracy

6. Smarter Government Source: Deloitte (2010) – Unlocking government : How data transform democracy

7. Data Access for Government Employees • There is currently no distinction in terms of access conditions for non-Statistics Canada employees. • Academics and government sponsored projects are subject to the same restrictions in terms of accessibility and outputs release. • Privileged access to federal department researchers and analysts can contribute to improve capacity, timeliness, and relevance. • What are the lessons for Canada from international experiences? • Critical that any access respects the Statistics Act.

8. Where Do We Go From Here? • Data to support policy research and analysis are available from different sources within the existing framework. • Existing sources (i.e. previous survey data or administrative data). • New sources (e.g. new survey or administrative databases such as SIBS and LFE from GBPS). • Linkages (linking new and existing data sources to each other). • Given the fiscal context, the medium focus might shift on leveraging existing data. • The experience with the General Business Panel Survey highlights some important points. • Importance of securing capacity and physical access. • Exchange of knowledge between researchers and Statistics Canada on subject matter is critical. • Transparent and efficient rules to facilitate the divulgation and release of results.