Coordination
OESR shares its experience and skills in information management and statistics by providing events and coordination services to government agencies.
OESR coordinates all whole-of-government statistical issues under the direction of the Queensland Government Statistician. OESR identifes and reviews the statistical requirements of the Queensland Government, and advises the ABS on statistical issues that inform the national statistical work program. Statistical coordination activities support the Queensland Government Statistician on the Australian Statistical Advisory Council, the State Statistical Forum and the Queensland Statistical Table. OESR also arranges centralised data purchasing across the Queensland Government to avoid duplication.
Events and Networks
OESR uses Data Smart as its registration system for events management. Although most OESR events are free, Data Smart also includes the functionality to register and pay for courses and seminars. For upcoming event information and registration, please use Data Smart.
A range of Queensland based networks are coordinated and promoted by OESR with a focus on managing information, including statistical, economic and spatial. These networks comprise representatives from Queensland Government agencies, local government authorities and regional bodies, and the Commonwealth Government. The objective of these networks is to encourage member agencies to share knowledge and information on information management issues, including data requirements and caveats, information gaps, current and future projects, and research proposals and opportunities.
Statistical networks also provide a forum to coordinate centralised responses to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Current networks include metadata networks, Statistical Liaison Officer networks (head-office and regional), the Crime Statistics network and the Indigenous Statistics network.
Indigenous statistics coordination
OESR provides statistical advice and information about Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
An Indigenous Statistics Team was established in OESR in 2008. The Team, funded by the Queensland Department of Communities, works in partnership with other Queensland Government agencies to improve statistics about the wellbeing of Indigenous people and communities in Queensland.
The main areas of focus for this Team are:
For communities:
- To gather Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander statistics from Queensland Government agencies;
- To provide statistical information for Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and other interested parties;
- To prepare the regular Queensland Government statistical reports on closing the gap;
For Government:
- To provide advice on statistical indicators and evaluation frameworks;
- To optimise the use of the Indigenous Identifier within Queensland Government administrative datasets; and
- To prepare statistical methodology papers about Queensland Indigenous data methodologies and analysis.
Research
OESR engages in a range of research collaborations with various local universities, research institutions and in conjunction with other Queensland Government agencies. OESR manages these research projects and coordinates the input from participating Queensland Government agencies. It is the first point of contact for the researchers and provides advice and expertise on technical questions and research related issues.
The research projects cover economic, socio-economic, spatial and statistical topics with the ultimate aim to improve the evidence base for informed policy decision making and service delivery for Queensland Government.
Information sessions
OESR conducts information sessions for the Queensland community on basic statistical techniques. Content provides participants with an appreciation of official statistics and how to find them. It includes free advice on where to find regional data and information and how best to use these data. Participants can gain an understanding of census and survey data, and can develop skills in summary statistics and constructing meaningful statistical reports.
Information sessions are also offered by OESR in the surveys field, covering interpretation of sample surveys and the survey process. In addition, according to demand, brief sessions are available on sample size, presenting data and other advanced statistical techniques such as regression.
Promotion
OESR participates in the promotion of statistics, such as awareness campaigns built around the national Census, development of statistical materials for use in schools, and celebration of Queensland's 150th anniversary through the release of statistics from the archive.
Census Promotion
Every five years OESR assists in promoting the national Census of Population and Housing conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
2011 Census of Population and Housing
Past 2006 Census involvement and data releases.CensusAtSchool
In 2001 and again in 2003 the Office of Economic and Statistical Research conducted the CensusAtSchool project to involve school children in a mini-census, based on a model developed in the United Kingdom. A primary objective of the project was to develop an interesting and applicable teaching resource and associated materials that teachers at both primary and secondary level could use in teaching a variety of subject areas.
Schools were able to register for the survey on line and could download questionnaires and survey materials from the website. The results of the census are available on line.
Q150 statistical collection
Public access to old and rare statistical documents can be difficult. The Q150 statistical collection brings together a wide range of historical publications, artefacts and statistics from 1859 to the present day for use by communities, agencies and individuals for research or general interest purposes.
Last reviewed 22 July 2011
Other languages