Survey of Federal Government Expenditures in Support of Education (FEDEX)

Detailed information for 2000-2001

The purpose of this survey is to collect data on federal government expenditures in support of education.

Data release - November 25, 2003 (see online catalogue number 81-582-X)

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

Description

The Federal Government Expenditures in Support of Education survey enables Statistics Canada to determine, in detail, direct federal government financial support for education at all levels by department and by province/territory. A standard questionnaire is sent to all federal government departments and agencies with programs related to education and training.

Users of these data include stakeholders from both inside and outside of Statistics Canada. The information collected from this survey, as well as the other finance surveys, gives governments and various associations involved in the field of education, information which assists in the formulation of education policy. External users of these data include federal government departments which of course are also data providers. Data collected are also used to reconcile financial data from other sources. Moreover, these data are included as part of the inputs under ''Total education revenues and expenditures in Canada'' which is required by many organizations.

Other divisions within Statistics Canada also use these data "indirectly" as inputs into their statistical programs, for example, annual benchmarks are produced for sub-annual surveys of labour income and to feed the System of National Accounts and the Public Institutions Division. Data from this survey are also used to feed information to international organizations such as the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Moreover, these data are also used as inputs to the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program as well as the Canadian Social Trends publication.

Reference period: April 1 - March 31

Collection period: March to December

Subjects

• Education finance
• Education, training and learning
• Government

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population is federal government departments, agencies, commissions, boards and crown corporations.

Instrument design

The questionnaire was originally designed many years ago by Statistics Canada and other federal government departments which were directly involved in the education sector. Since the original design dates back to the early 1980s, information on details of the questionnaire design, testing or focus groups is not available.

A few minor changes were made in the questionnaire design in the early 2000s, including an "Authorization to release Statement" as well as statement indicating to respondents that if they choose to send data by fax or other electronic means, Statistics Canada cannot guarantee their confidentiality. Only when the data are actually received can the Statistics Act guarantee confidentiality.

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 voluntary.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys.

Questionnaires and Guideline Booklets are sent to all Federal Departments, Agencies, Commissions, Boards and Crown Corporations. Information on Language Training is obtained from Treasury Board of Canada and the FSEP (Federal Science Expenditures and Personnel) file is received from Science and Technology Division of Statistics Canada. The aforementioned is entered in the appropriate questionnaires. When the forms are returned to the division, the data are manually verified with the previous year's questionnaires, validated and entered into the computer system. The data for non-respondents units are estimated.

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

Error detection

The first stage of editing is at the capture stage as data are inspected visually and compared with previous year's data. Control totals for the provinces and Canada are also used to verify the data.

Once the data capture and edit is complete the DC2 system is used for compilation. Once the FSEP file is received it is then merged with the DC2 file and uploaded to the Mainframe in order to run the next edits.

Imputation

Imputation for missing, invalid or inconsistent data is done by the survey manager who may use a variety of methods such as, nearest neighbour, trend analysis, information from other published sources, etc.

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Quality evaluation

Before finalizing or releasing the data each year, they are compared to the previous year's figures by the survey manager using percentage increases or decreases of the dollar amounts. Relatively large increases or decreases, by program, are investigated and there maybe call-backs to the institutions if warranted. Data from this survey can be checked with other published sources. For example, if a department shows or announces, in its Public Accounts, general increases in spending for certain education programs during a particular year and the Statistics Canada FEDEX survey they filled in shows a decrease on the other hand, then a call-back would definitely be made.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that 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.

In order to prevent any data disclosure, confidentiality analysis is done using the Statistics Canada Generalized Disclosure Control System (G-Confid). G-Confid is used for primary suppression (direct disclosure) as well as for secondary suppression (residual disclosure). Direct disclosure occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of or dominated by few enterprises while residual disclosure occurs when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

No seasonal adjustment or calendarization is necessary for this survey. The survey manager makes revisions to the Final year figures if necessary and material.

Data accuracy

The response rate by department is quite high. Usually around 90%. The response rate by program within department is also quite high. Usually around 85%.