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1. Project Planning and Management2. Geospatial Mapping3. Enumeration Instruments4. Data Capture5. Census Testing6. Recruitment and Training7. Deployment and Supervision8. Enumeration and Logistics9. Quality Assurance10. Census Analysis11. Partnerships12. Advocacy13. Procurement14. Post-Enumeration Survey15. Alternative Approaches16. Planning Checklist
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Introduction​

The shift to digital population censuses in Africa has fundamentally changed the operational model, making partnerships and collaboration not just beneficial, but absolutely essential for success, efficiency and cost saving. A modern digital census is too complex and resource-intensive for a National Statistical Office (NSO) to handle alone. It requires a "whole-of-society" approach, bringing together a diverse ecosystem of actors as outlined among the key prerequisites for a digital census in the chapter on planning and the UN P&R, Rev 4, para. 2.165 to 2.172.

This chapter focuses on establishing partnerships and collaboration when implementing a digital census.

Comparison of partnerships and collaboration in the non-digital versus digital census era​

The evolution from non-digital to digital censuses has fundamentally transformed the nature, necessity, and complexity of partnerships and collaboration. In the non-digital era, partnerships were largely supportive and logistical, helping the NSO execute a process it fundamentally owned and controlled. In the digital era, partnerships are foundational and integrated, forming the very technological and operational backbone without which a census cannot function. The digital era has brought new players to the centre of the census ecosystem. Telecommunication companies and cloud service providers are now as critical as the NSO itself. Their services are not optional; they are foundational.

The risk profile of partnerships has increased dramatically in the digital era. Managing a partnership with a government printer in the non-digital era is straightforward. However, managing a multi-year contract with a cloud provider involves complex service level agreements, data residency laws, and cybersecurity protocols.

In the non-digital era, collaboration happened in distinct phases (e.g., a partnership for printing, then a partnership for logistics). In the digital era, collaboration is continuous and in real-time. The NSO, the telecom, and the Information and Technology (IT) helpdesk must be in constant communication during the entire enumeration period.

The NSO is no longer the sole doer of the census in the digital era. Its primary role has evolved to become the conductor of a complex orchestra of public, private, and international partners. The most important new skill for an NSO in the digital era is strategic partnership management.

Considerations for partnerships and collaboration in a digital census​

Some considerations for partnerships and collaboration in a digital census include:

  • Formulating and understanding the roles, responsibilities, capacities and relationships of the various executive and advisory stakeholders that exist at the various administrative levels and for each census phase. Detailed roles and responsibilities of stakeholders that can be adapted to a country are outlined in the UN P&R, Rev 4, para 2.169 and 2.170.

  • Prepare legally signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) documents that are tailored to the specific needs of the partnership, providing the essential framework that enables the complex, multi-stakeholder collaboration required for a modern digital census in Africa. E.g. the technical and financial assistance MoU, public-private partnership MoU.