17 September 2019
At the National Ploughing Championships today (17 September 2019), the Central Statistics Office (CSO) are launching a new awareness campaign to encourage people to take part in its household surveys.
Entitled “Because you told us”, the campaign has been designed internally by staff to raise awareness of the work of the CSO and to encourage people to take part in household surveys.
As the official, impartial collector and distributor of statistics about Ireland, the CSO needs to find out the facts about our State and how we are doing individually, as a household and as a nation. More than 100 CSO interviewers visit over 30,000 households each quarter encouraging them to take part in various household surveys; such as the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC), the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Household Budget Survey (HBS). In addition, the CSO also conducts temporary surveys such as; the Adult Education Survey, Health & Crime Survey, Cross Border Shopping Survey and the National Travel Survey. The information gathered through these surveys provides a very accurate picture of the economic and social situation of the citizens of Ireland in a way and with a level of detail that no other surveys can achieve.
Campaign spokesperson, Senior Statistician Brian Ring, explains the rationale for the campaign:
“We need people to know who we are, what we do and why – and most importantly, that you can trust the CSO with your information. Taking part in a CSO survey is really important because we get vital information directly from the general public and the results affect the future of everyone in Ireland. So, when we say for example, that unemployment is falling or rising, or that some people are still at risk of poverty, we know this because you told us. The insights gathered are then used by individuals, businesses, and local and national government to make policy decisions and to plan for our future.
We also want the general public to know that if they are asked to take part in a survey, we will never share their personal information with anyone, not even another government department or agency. That guarantee of confidentiality is embedded in our legislation. Householders who take part in our surveys can be confident of their anonymity and that they can be absolutely candid and open.”
All elements of the Because you told us awareness campaign were conceived and designed by the staff of the CSO. These include a new CSO surveys brand and supporting literature, designed to help householders recognise survey staff when they call to their door and help them understand about the different types of household survey. A Because you told us video has also been produced which will be promoted by a social media campaign as well as traditional print and radio advertising which will run the week of the National Ploughing Championships. A regionally based awareness campaign is planned for 2020.
For further information and to view the video visit https://link.cso.ie/takingpart/
-- ENDS --
