Softline, as the main subcontractor, took part in the implementation of the project for the Central Statistical Office of Poland to serve the needs of the General Agricultural Census. The performance of Agricultural Census was preceded by two test censuses. The pilot project, aimed at assessing the effectiveness and quality of the data collected by means of mobile devices, commenced in September 2009 and covered more than 3,000 farms. As part of the pilot implementation, Softline delivered mobile software, effected personalisation of mobile devices and training of census enumerators and communal leaders, as well as provided phone technical support regarding the applications aimed at census enumerators and leaders. Following the successful completion of the pilot project, Softline commenced the preparations for the General Agricultural Census, covering more than 2 million farms and 12,000 users of the mobile application. The General Agricultural Census was one of the biggest undertakings of this kind in the European Union, carried out entirely with the use of the latest solutions in mobile communication, without using paper forms. For the period of more than 2 months, the enumerators used Softline mobile application, conducting daily approx. 30,000 surveys and 80,000 synchronisations. The project scale, its innovation and importance for Polish and European economy, make it one of the biggest IT undertakings not only in Poland, but also in Europe.
“The General Agricultural Census of 2010 was implemented by GUS for the first time since Poland joined the European Union, and for the first time with such extensive use of advanced IT solutions. Thanks to the application of these solutions, we were certain that this important task would be performed with the observance of the highest quality standards and at the same time with great efficiency and precision.” Janusz Dygaszewicz, director of the Central Census Office at Central Statistical Office of Poland .
Softline participation in the project of General Agricultural Census:
- 20.06-31.07.2010: Organising and conducting trainings on a mobile application for the candidates for census enumerators and communal leaders. Total number of participants within the framework of PSR (General Agricultural Census): 14.288.
- Development, creation and implementation of the mobile application for collecting data by the CAPI method (Computer Assisted Personal Interview)
- Personalisation of mobile devices
- Phone technical support for the mobile application for communal leaders during the General Agricultural Census (pol. PSR)
Completion of the General Agricultural Census.
The General Agricultural Census came to an end on 31 October, 2010. The initial problems, which always accompany pioneering large-scale undertakings, were quickly dealt with. The enumerators, working for the period of two months, conducted 1,722,000 surveys using the mobile application created by Softline. The application usage share in census channels was 94%.
"The census turned out to be successful, and all planned tasks were completed"- says Wiesław Łagodziński, the spokesman for the Central Statistical Office
Project in numbers:
2 479- the number of communal leaders
11 809-the number of census enumerators using the mobile application
1722 310- the number of surveys conducted using the application created by Softline
The share of mobile application in the conduct of censuses:
CAPI Method (mobile application) 94%
CATI Method (phone interview) 4%
CAII Method (internet auto-census) 2%
Important dates:
Sep-Oct 2009- Test Census PSR
9 December 2010- pre-census inspection
September 2010- commencement of the General Agricultural Census
31 October 2010- completion of the General Agricultural Census
