When conducting a population census, large countries with a lot of rural, hard-to-get to communities have it hardest. The full count of everyone in a country is no easy task. That is why, the Russian Statistics Bureau will use BI tools to track results in the country’s remote areas.
Russia is planning to have its next population census between October 2020 and June 2021. The Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) will conduct the national survey. Representatives of Rosstat will drive across frozen rivers, walk through the Siberian taiga, and climb mountains to get to the country’s most remote communities.
According to the Siberian newspaper Nash Krasnoyarsk, this time around the Russian statistics bureau is getting help from BI software.
BI will provide real-time analytics
Rosstat will use BI to collect, process and store census data, monitor and control preparation and organizational work. After that, the agency will visualize all the data in real-time.
As part of preparation, Rosstat will update and categorize all addresses. With the help of BI, Rosstat can then drilled down to every little community and household.
“In fact, the system allows you to look into any area and reach every census taker in any corner of the country,” a representative of the Russian agency said.
Rosstat staff will collect information using tablets and send it straight to the headquarters in Moscow. This way Rosstat staff will dynamically assess all door-to-door visits in real-time and control the implementation of the plan.
Finally, after the data is collected, BI will quickly consolidate, process and visualize information as “transparently as possible,” the newspaper said. This information will be available publicly and everyone can use it.
“We’ll provide access to the census database. Anyone can access the system, create their own unique request and receive an answer,” said Pavel Smerdov, Deputy Head of Rosstat.
If the project works out as planned, this will be a significant breakthrough. Although most Russians live in easily accessible big cities, the census is about including everyone in the country. BI software will certainly help with this task and make it easier for Rosstat.
At least some of their staff won’t have to spend a week traveling on a sledge pulled by reindeer only to find out that people they’re looking for moved to a different location a few years ago. Power banks are the must though, tablets will lose their charge quickly in the Siberian cold.