This column has previously explored how a sample survey can deliver small-area statistics in the years between each population census and how Statistics SA's community survey aims to do this.
Sample design is central to any survey, as is the information that the survey aims to deliver. In planning what data items the community survey should gather, a range of requirements had to be taken into account. These included the government's developmental priorities; measurement of millennium development goal (MDG) indicators; data required for municipal budget allocation; and ongoing analysis undertaken by the research community.
Ten stakeholder workshops were held across the country, involving more than 360 stakeholders, predominantly drawn from government departments, and research and educational institutions.
Based on the outcomes of this and other consultative processes, the community survey will, in addition to key demographic indicators such as fertility, mortality and migration, generate some of the key indicators that the government prioritised in its 10-year review document. It will also generate some of the variables required for budget allocation to municipalities, as well as some of the UN's MDG indicators.
Whether anybody in the household has died in the 12 months prior to the survey and, if so, sex and age of the deceased and cause of death.
Questions will also be asked about school attendance, level and field of education, and participation in the expanded public works programme.
Access to different modes of communication.
The community survey, planned for February 2007, is the largest sample survey undertaken in the history of household surveys in South Africa. The logistics and planning are complex, the budget required is substantial. The statistical methodologies employed are cutting edge, especially in sample design. The survey will provide reliable social, economic and demographic information attached to each of the municipalities.