Workshop on Information Society Measurement for Latin America and the Caribbean

Observatory for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (OSILAC)

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) / Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (ICA)

Santiago de Chile, 3 - 4 November 2004

CONCLUSIONS

The following conclusions were adopted at the Workshop on Information Society Measurement in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Santiago de Chile, during 3-4 November 2004.

1- The Observatory for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (OSILAC), which was created under the programme of international statistical work for Latin America and the Caribbean (July 2003-June 2005) of the Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA-ECLAC), should be supported in its tasks to:

a. promote dialogue among all stakeholders and facilitate a constant inventory exercise to have updated information about current statistical work related to Information Society measurement the region;

b. continue working on the standardization of information and communication technology (ICT) definitions, develop common methods required in calculating indicators, strive for the harmonization of methodologies and the development of a list of questions for specific thematic ICT surveys (supplementary list of questions);

c. exchange information and data in order to benchmark international and regional policy agendas of Information Society development, such as the Plan of Action of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS); already existing statistical information on the subject should be fully exploited;

d. strengthen capabilities of national statistical systems in the field of statistics and measurement of Information Society through training and technical assistance.

e. convey the views of Latin American and Caribbean in national, regional and international events on Information Society measurement, including WSIS and related events.

2- Cooperation and coordination among institutions producing statistics and administrative registries, including private and non-governmental entities active in this field, is essential to make best usage of scarce resources;

3- Considering existing statistical work in and outside the region, the adoption of the proposed list of core ICT questions for regular surveys is recommended to the responsible authorities of the national statistics system, as attached;

4- Besides the incorporation of the recommended core questions in regular surveys, the necessity of specific thematic ICT surveys for households, businesses and other sectors of the economy is recognized, in order to gain a better understanding of the development of the Information Society in the region. To facilitate the cross-analysis of regular and specific surveys, the design of both types of surveys should be coordinated with, or executed by National Statistical Organisms.

8 Core Questions for regular household surveys		Response Options	Criteria
Intern. Reference	LAC Reference	Observed Unit
H-1	Does this household have a fixed line telephone?	Yes No	C, E, O	ALL (20)	Household
H-2a	Does this household have a mobile telephone?	Yes No	A, C, O	19	Household
H-2b	How many members of the household have access to a mobile phone?	Number	-	-	Household
H-3	Does this household have TV?	Yes No	-	19	Household
H-4	Does this household have a computer (PC)?	Yes No	A, C, O , ES	ALL (20)	Household
H-5	Does this household have an Internet access at home?	Yes No	A, C, E, O, ES	ALL (20)	Household
H-6	Where did you use the Internet most frequently in the last 3 months? (tick all that apply)	Did not access At Home At Work Educational Facility Free public access center (specific denomination depends on national practices) Commercial public access center (specific denomination depends on national practices) House of friend or neighbor Others	C, E, O, ES	Bb, Cl, Co, Cr, Mx, TT	Individual(s) of the household
H-7a	How often did you usually access the Internet in the last 3 months? (tick one)	At least once a day At least once a week, but not every day At least once a month, but not every week Less than once a month Do not know	C, E, O, ES	Bb, Co, Mx, T T	Individual(s) of the household that use the Internet 1
H-7b	How many hours did you usually access the Internet weekly over the last 3 months?	Number of hours per week Do not know	-	-	Individual(s) of the household that use the Internet 1
H-8	For what services/activities did you use the Internet in the last 3 months? (tick all that apply)	Communication (e-mail, chat) Information search Purchasing/ordering goods or services Health related activities Education, research and related activities Transactions with public authorities Using electronic banking or other financial services Reading/downloading online newspapers/news magazines Playing/downloading games, music, software Other	A, C, E, O, ES	Bb, Cl, Co, Cr, Mx, T T	Individual(s) of the household that use the Internet 1

5 Core Questions for regular business surveys		Response Options	Criteria
Intern. Reference	LAC Reference	Observed Unit
B-1	How many computers does the enterprise have?	None Number Do not know	C	Cl, Co, Pe, TT	Enterprise
B-2	Does the enterprise use one of the following networks? (tick all that apply)	Internet Intranet Extranet LAN WAN	A, C, E, O, ES	Ar, Bb, Br, Bz, Cl, Co, Cr, Mx, Pa, Pe, S, TT, Uy	Enterprise
B-3	Does the enterprise have a website?	Yes No In construction	A, C, E, O, ES	Ar, Bb, Br, Cl, Co, Mx, Pe, TT, Uy	Enterprise
B-4	What is the share of the total number of employees using a computer connected to the Internet in their normal work routine?	% of total employees Do not know	C, E, O, ES	Ar, Cl, Co, TT, Uy	Enterprise with Internet access
B-5	What services/activities does the enterprise use the Internet for [external focus]? (tick all that apply)	Communication (e-mail, chat) Information search Placing orders Receiving orders Financial and banking services Transactions with public authorities Marketing or client support Education, research or training Other	C, E, O, ES	Cl, Co, Pe, TT	Enterprise with Internet access

The following organisms participated in the workshop: INDEC (Argentina), BARSTATS (Barbados), CSO (Belize), INE (Bolivia), IBGE (Brazil), INE and Subsecretaría de Economía (Chile), DANE (Colombia), INEC (Ecuador), DIGESTYC (El Salvador), STATIN (Jamaica), INEGI (Mexico), DGEEC (Paraguay), INEI (Peru), ONE (Dominican Republican), INE (Uruguay), INE (Venezuela), National E-Commerce Secretariat (Trinidad and Tobago), OECD, ITU, RICYT, UNESCO, ICA y CEPAL, having the presence of Comitê Gestor da Internet no Brasil, LACNIC and Social Watch.

[1] Regarding methodological implementation, the method of selecting the individual(s) in the household needs to be considered.

[2] In accordance with point 1b and 4 of the foregone conclusions, specific thematic surveys are of special interest for the business sector.

Observatory for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (OSILAC)

CONCLUSIONS

8 Core Questions for regular household surveys

Response Options

Criteria

5 Core Questions for regular business surveys

Criteria