CSO upgrading in response to covid19

The Central Statistical Office (CSO) has planned to undertake the population and housing census in May 2022, using its new technology and training.

In a media release on Friday, the Ministry of Planning and Development, which oversees the operations of the CSO said it had revamped and modified its data collection processes to work around the circumstances brought on by the covid19 pandemic.

It noted the use of its new technology and training done in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

It said, the pandemic stymied much of its work, with key surveys having to be postponed. "Training sessions have been ongoing with field officers, where over 100 have been trained to date in the use of the Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) software, which will soon replace paper-based surveys.”

The ministry said the training for the Continuous Sample Survey of the Population (CSSP), which used that CSSP Labour Force Survey, has also been upgraded, for more efficient data collection.

It said, “This redesign would empower the CSO to disseminate accurate, timely and relevant labor market information. Further, the modernised sampling design will facilitate a ranking of each community in the country according to the factors of social vulnerability.”

It said additional training to ensure that this project was moved from the design stage to full implementation was necessary, guidance and monitoring by a specialised survey statistician was required and an expert consultant was hired.

“The CSSP is the largest inter-censal exercise currently undertaken by the CSO. A wide range of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics regarding the population of Trinidad and Tobago are gleaned from the conduct of the CSSP,” the ministry explained.

Its line minister Camille Robinson-Regis said in her budget contribution that the new resources the CSO also planned to get several surveys done early next year.

“The CSO office has planned to conduct the household budgetary survey in the first quarter of 2021, the multiple indicator cluster survey – a survey on the welfare status of women and children, also in the first half of 2021.

"The labour force survey, another household survey, the CSO is currently undertaking a listing exercise of households which is prerequisite to enumeration”

With these surveys to be done soon, Robinson-Regis said it was hoped that telephone contact information will allow the resumption of the labour force survey, and a reduction in the level of face-to-face interviewing.

The ministry also said all other non-household-based surveys such as business establishments and retail prices were under way as scheduled.