Research and Development of Canadian Private Non-profit Organizations

Detailed information for 2013

The Research and Development of Canadian Private Non-Profit Organizations survey produces useful statistical information to monitor science and technology activities in Canada and to support the development of science and technology policy.

Data release - October 15, 2013 (intentions); January 22, 2014 (revised intentions); January 21, 2015 (actual)

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

This survey collects data on the expenditures and personnel allocated annually to scientific research and development (R&D) by Canadian private non-profit organizations. It provides relevant statistics to keep abreast of science and technology activities in Canada. Survey results also support the development of science and technology policy.

The results of the Research and Development of Canadian Private Non-Profit Organizations Survey are published in The Daily. The data are available in CANSIM tables 358-0215 to 358-0218.

Data from the Research and Development of Canadian Private Non-Profit Organizations Survey are also used as a key component in the gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD, record number 5198) in Canada series. Data on R&D in non-profit organizations are combined with data from other sectors that perform R&D: Federal Science Expenditures and Personnel, Activities in the Social Sciences and Natural Sciences (record number 4212), higher education, Research and Development in Canadian Industry (record number 4201) and Scientific Activities of Provincial Research Organizations (record number 4208). These data serve many users, including federal and provincial government science analysts who develop and monitor programs aimed at stimulating science and technology in the Canadian industry, and international bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). University researchers, research councils, businesses, research institutes and associations, scientific journal writers, the general public and the media are all users of R&D data.

Statistical activity

Research and experimental development includes systematic creative work to increase the body of knowledge, including knowledge of people, cultures and societies, and the use of this body of knowledge to create new applications.

Science and technology (S&T) and the information society are changing the way we live, learn and work. The concepts are closely intertwined: science generates new understanding of the way the world works, technology applies it to develop innovative products and services, and the information society is one of the results of the innovations.

People are looking to Statistics Canada to measure and explain the social and economic impacts of these changes.

The purpose of this program is to develop useful indicators of S&T activity in Canada and to present them coherently.

Reference period: Fiscal year

Subjects

• Research and development
• Science and technology

Data sources and methodology

Target population

This survey targets 141 private philanthropic foundations, voluntary health organizations, associations, societies and research institutes. These organizations were identified as R&D performers or funders through a variety of research sources, such as the databases of the Federal Science Expenditures and Personnel (FSEP) and Research and Development in Canadian Industry (RDCI) surveys, the Internet, newspapers, and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) T3010 and T4033 files during the survey reference year.

Instrument design

The questionnaires were designed and developed using the OECD guidelines in the 2002 Frascati Manual: Proposed Standard Practice for Surveys on Research and Experimental Development. Questionnaire evaluation and testing are an ongoing process to determine how they cover R&D activities, including sources of funds, type of expenditures, and R&D personnel.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

This annual postal survey is intended for all Canadian private non-profit organizations that perform or fund research and development. The survey collects data for three years. For example, the survey for the 2013 reference year will collect data on actual R&D expenditures in 2013, projected expenditures for 2014 and spending intentions in 2015.

The questionnaire is mailed out in the first half of April each year. Telephone contact is made in July and August with all non-respondent non-profit organizations to discuss reporting options and make special arrangements, including partial response in some instances.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s).

Error detection

In the pre-grooming stage, edit checks are performed to find missing and invalid entries and identify which data records contain errors.
The data collected are compared with the data from previous returns.

Coding errors:

Uncorrected coding errors are infrequent since many tabulations and listings are prepared for data analysis and examined before the publication tables are created.

Data capture:

All data capture for the Research and Development of Canadian Private Non-Profit Organizations Survey is performed manually on a computer.

Data editing

The purpose of editing is to ensure that survey data are acceptable, complete, consistent and correct. There are three main categories of edits: validity, consistency and distribution edits. Validity and consistency edits are performed one record or questionnaire at a time.

Validity edits

Validity edits identify inconsistencies in the data. Examples:
- A respondent reports intramural R&D performance but has no R&D personnel.
- A respondent reports one or more sources of provincial funding that do not match the financial statements submitted.
- A respondent reports more R&D personnel than the organization's total workforce.

Consistency edits

Consistency edits verify the relationships between questions. These edits may also check the logical flow of the questionnaire or involve the use of administrative data.

The following are some examples of consistency edits for the Research and Development of Canadian Private Non-Profit Organizations Survey:
- Total intramural expenditures must equal the total sources of funds within the organization.
- The provincial governments' total for sources of funds for R&D performed within the organization must equal the sum of the detail for the provinces.
- Total intramural expenditures must equal the total R&D expenditures by socioeconomic objectives within the organization.

Imputation

Although there are a number of edits, all cases of failed edit checks are corrected after review by editors. Manual imputations are performed by the editor. Missing data are estimated on the basis of internal ratios and previous returns.

Estimation

The Research and Development of Canadian Private Non-Profit Organizations Survey is a census of known organizations that perform or fund research and development in Canada. Estimation is performed without weighting.

Quality evaluation

The quality of the statistical information is measured by the extent to which the final product meets the survey's original objective. The purpose of the Research and Development of Canadian Private Non-Profit Organizations Survey is to monitor science and technology activities in Canada and to support the development of science and technology policy.

To ensure that the data from this survey are of the highest quality, we continually monitor the coverage of our survey population, so that all enterprises known to belong to the universe are taken into account. If we do not get data directly from the respondent, we search in many other sources, including funders' reports when available, previous questionnaires or administrative data, and published data such as financial statements and the sampling frames of the Federal Science Expenditures and Personnel Survey and the Research and Development in Canadian Industry Survey.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

To prevent disclosing data on individual respondents, many items or cells must be grouped together to provide sufficient observations for dissemination (e.g., socioeconomic objectives).

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Where required, data are revised historically every year of publication.

Data accuracy

Coverage errors are minimal. The survey covers all private non-profit organizations that perform or fund research and development.

A complete enumeration of all non-profit organizations that perform or fund R&D is conducted.

However, we may not have been able to reach all non-profit organizations that perform or fund R&D. Consequently, the data, although reasonably accurate, cannot be regarded as precise.