Bioproducts Production and Development Survey (BPDS)

Detailed information for 2015

The 2015 Bioproducts Production and Development Survey collects information on the characteristics and activities of businesses in Canada that develop and/or produce bioproducts and that collect, separate or refine biomass used in bioproducts.

Data release - December 21, 2016

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

Description

Statistics Canada is conducting this survey on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. The objective of the survey is to provide statistical information on the characteristics and activities of businesses in Canada that develop and/or produce bioproducts and that collect, separate or refine biomass used in bioproducts.

Information from this survey may be used by businesses for economic or market analysis, by trade associations to study industry performance, government departments, agencies and industry development practitioners to assist in and evaluate policy, programs and initiatives that promote growth, and by the academic community for research purposes.

For the purpose of this survey, bioproducts are products produced from biomass. Examples include biofuels (e.g., ethanol, biodiesel), bio-gas and bioenergy, organic chemicals (e.g., biopolymers, etc.), bio-pesticides, plant-made biologics, non-conventional construction materials and composites, intermediary biochemical and biomaterials (if produced in a non-conventional manner). Food, nutraceuticals, feed (livestock and pet food), medicines, forestry-based bioproducts produced in a traditional way (e.g., lumber, paper, etc.) are excluded.

Biomass for this survey refers to biological materials from forestry, agriculture, marine and aquaculture sources, or of a micro-biological origin (e.g. algae, bacteria, fungi, etc); by-products from processing (e.g., agricultural/ forestry/ pulp & paper/ food/feed processing); salvaged wood and wood-based products from construction and demolition sites; and waste biological materials (e.g., solid waste such as yard waste, trees, wood waste, waste cooking oil, etc.). Micro-biological materials which are only used as a catalyst or converter in a production process or in research are excluded.

Reference period: 2015 fiscal year

Collection period: Most recent 12 month fiscal period, which ended no later than March 31, of the year of collection.

Subjects

• Biotechnology
• Science and technology

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The survey's target population includes all establishments in Canada that use biomass to develop or produce bioproducts (bioproducts other than food, feed, and medicine) as well as those that collect, separate and/or refine the biomass inputs used in bioproducts.

Instrument design

Statistics Canada's Centre for Special Business Projects and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada jointly designed the electronic questionnaire for the 2015 Bioproducts Production and Development Survey. Statistics Canada's Questionnaire Design Resource Centre field-tested the questionnaire with potential respondents. Respondents' comments on the design and content were incorporated into the questionnaire.

Sampling

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

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2016-02-03 to 2016-06-15

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

Prior to the beginning of the collection period for the 2015 survey, Statistics Canada contacted all businesses in the sample to determine, through a series of filter questions, whether they were in-scope for the survey, as well as to identify the contact person best suited to respond to this survey. This contact phase involved computer-assisted telephone interviews with 1123 establishments.

A secure access code was mailed or emailed to all respondents inviting them to respond to the electronic questionnaire. A validation and non-response follow-up was conducted by telephone.

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

Error detection

To identify, minimize and correct errors, the following quality measures were applied to the data:

• A manual review was performed to ensure that the questionnaire coverage was as anticipated and that a complete response had been provided.

• Data were subjected to computerized edits. These edits are designed to ensure that the accounting relationships are respected and that related variables have been reported on a consistent basis.

• Unusual occurrences were queried to confirm and clarify with the respondents in question.

• If it was not possible to confirm with the respondents, ratios were calculated or Internet sources were used to validate the answer. If the values where considered non-valid, imputation was done.

Imputation

Mandatory questions for this survey that dealt with the type of biomass used; the types of bioproducts produced, developed or researched; and the biomass activity involved—were not imputed. Imputation for questions with partial or total non-response was done on the basis of a complete response by a respondent with similar characteristics in terms of the biomass used , the sector of activity, the province, and the size of the business. Given that most of the questions were of a qualitative nature, the hot-deck imputation method was used for the majority of questions.

Estimation

To address total non-response, adjustments factors for weighting were applied to the homogeneous response groups. These adjustment factors will serve to compute the final weight that will serve to produce estimates. A two-phase stratified random sample formula, comprising the homogeneous response groups, was used to calculate the variance.

Quality evaluation

To ensure data quality, Statistics Canada took into account and applied throughout the survey process all six dimensions of data quality control, namely, the relevance, accuracy, timeliness, accessibility, interpretability and coherence of the data collected, as per its mandate.

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 except as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data 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.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

This methodology does not apply to this survey program.

Data accuracy

The data accuracy indicators used for the Bioproducts Production and Development Survey are the standard error and the coefficient of variation.

The standard error is a commonly used statistical measure indicating the sampling and non-sampling error of an estimate. The standard error and the coefficient of variation (standard error expressed as a percentage of the estimate) were used in statistical tables to provide an indication of the data quality level of the estimates. Please note that the coefficient of variation (CV) was not calculated for percentage tables.

The results were weighted to reflect the entire count of units in the selected regions. Estimates were vetted for compliance with confidentiality rules. Data quality was assessed in consultation with the methodology team.

The response rate (in percentage) for the survey was calculated as the total number of completed questionnaires for the total active, in-scope survey sample. The overall response rate for the survey was 48.23% for a total of 107 completed questionnaires.