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Tackling big data

Tackling big data – Media release

22 August 2016

For the first time, data from an agency outside government, Auckland City Mission, will be included in Statistics New Zealand’s vault of information for researchers.

Data from the Auckland City Mission is going into the “Integrated Data Infrastructure” or IDI.

“The Auckland City Mission data is very topical. Its inclusion in the IDI marks an important partnership with an agency outside government. The data enables further research about the experiences of marginalised people with the aim of enhancing services for them and, ultimately, improving lives,” integrated data senior manager Andrea Blackburn said.

The data from the Auckland City Mission includes income, expenses, housing status, and household composition of Mission clients, and information about the services these clients use. A Statistics NZ analyst worked with the Mission for over a year in order to understand their clients and the data.

Auckland City Mission is a social service in downtown Auckland city, providing advocacy and health and social services to Aucklanders in need, ranging from food, clothing, and emergency housing to helping the elderly.

The Auckland City Mission data becomes part of a wealth of information held in the IDI, including anonymised tax, education, welfare, migration, crime, and health data. The IDI is a kind of data warehouse – it brings together information about people, households, and businesses from across the public sector, and combines it with data from the census and other Statistics NZ surveys.

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IDI research

Other information in New Zealand’s IDI data vault includes driver licence and motor vehicle register details from the New Zealand Transport Agency. Researchers can look at the information to answer questions such as whether or not having a driver licence is a barrier to employment, particularly for young people and low-skilled adults.

The IDI can be used to better understand the effects of lifestyle on health. Researchers have put in a proposal to study the health impacts of playing rugby and how injuries such as concussion affect players. The project is primarily about quantifying the effects on an individual’s health of playing rugby at different levels of the game, from social to professional. Researchers will look at length and quality of life, and changes in the rate of incidence and the age of onset of various diseases.

For example, New Zealand Rugby will use data to compare rates of dementia among top-level players in New Zealand between 1950 and 1970 with the rates of those who did not play rugby. This is the first application Statistics NZ has received for this sort of project.

New Zealand Rugby senior scientist Dr Ken Quarrie said, “Quality research is critical to better understanding the long-term health effects of playing rugby at a high level, particularly around the issue of concussion. New Zealand Rugby is excited about the potential of the NZ IDI project in providing valuable information that matches people who played rugby with those who are otherwise similar on a range of factors.”

"There are other research projects covering dementia but not related to sport specifically," Statistics NZ senior advisor David McNaughtan said.

Privacy and security

The IDI makes integrated data safely available for research and analysis in order to answer complex questions and improve the lives of New Zealanders.

The confidentiality of IDI data is paramount and is never compromised. Security is in place to ensure the data is not misused and researchers access only the data relating to their research.

This data provides insights into vital issues of the day to build a better New Zealand; for example, by reducing crime, improving education, and helping vulnerable children.

See the Integrated Data Infrastructure to find out more about the IDI and how it is used.

How we keep IDI data safe.

Ends


For more information about these statistics:
• Visit Tackling big data

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