The software for users of census and small area statistics

SASPAC Bulletin - July 2007

www.saspac.org

The SASPAC bulletin is regularly distributed to all SASPAC users and other interested parties. It aims to keep users up to date with the latest software news, developments and events. We hope you find this bulletin useful. To unsubscribe simply use the following link: unsubscribe.
2001 Census Comparison Tools Paper
This paper evaluates the facilities available for accessing Census data and has been produced by the SASPAC team. Presented as a detailed matrix comparing aspects such as cost, functionality and ease of use, the paper examines the best known public sector software and Web based Census tools. Download (PDF 1.1 MB).
Updated Web Publishing tool
A new version of the Web Publishing tool is currently being tested by the SASPAC team. This includes a number of improvements, for example, being able to alter the colour palette and publish map templates for a large number of geographical areas (this was previously limited to 45). This will be released with the next version of the software later this year but beta versions are available on request from the helpdesk.
2007 Wards for Scotland
Following a review of Electoral Wards by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland, the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) has begun to publish 2001 Census Data for the new 2007 Wards. The Univariate Statistics tables are currently available in SASPAC and the other datasets will be made available as soon as they have been published by GROS. More...
2011 Census Output
Earlier this month the Census Offices published an Advisory Group paper discussing the potential data distribution mechanisms for 2011. As an experienced Census data distributor SASPAC was invited to present at the consultation workshop that informed part of this paper. For those who are interested the slides we presented at this event are available and the Advisory Group Paper will shortly be added to the ONS website.

UK Output Area Classification (OAC) available in SASPAC
This freely available classification has been produced on behalf of the Office for National Statistics by the University of Leeds. OAC was created from 41 Key Statistics Census variables and classifies all of the 223,060 Output Areas in the United Kingdom. The data is downloadable as SASPAC System Files from our website and can be accessed in much the same way as existing Census datasets. More...

If you have already been using OAC to support work within your organisation you may be interested in a recently established User Group that aims to promote the use of OAC and other area classifications. This group is also hosting an information exchange event at the Royal Statistical Society, focusing on the applications of OAC and providing an opportunity for users to share their experiences.

User Manual
The SASPAC User Manual is now available and will be released with the next version of the software. The manual has been completely updated to reflect all 2001 Census datasets and SASPAC's integrated GIS and Web Publishing applications. If you would like an electronic version of this manual a PDF/HTML version is available from the helpdesk.

  

Training
As usual SASPAC training courses are available for new and existing users. One, two and three day courses are available at the City Hall, London or on location. For more details visit the training page of our website. The next dates at the City Hall in London are provisionally booked for 27/28 September 2007, please contact the helpdesk if you would like to attend.

As always if you have any SASPAC issues or comments please contact the helpdesk.

www.saspac.org
tel: 020 7983 4348

For more information about how the software is developed visit SASPAC's About page.