Date/Time
Date(s) - 29/10/2025
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Category(ies) No Categories
IASS Webinar 57: 2025 Waksberg Award Lecture – Sampling for Business Surveys at Statistics Canada
Speaker: Mike Hidiroglou
2025 Waksberg Award Winner
Wednesday, October 29th 2025 at 2pm – 3:30pm (CET)
All are invited to the webinar, organised by the International Association of Survey Statisticians, and celebrating the 2025 Waksberg Award Winner.
Please register for the IASS Webinar at: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8317573368925/WN_QqG-YmZsQZyOzRzP11y9jQ#/registration
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. There will be time for questions. The webinar will be recorded and made available on the IASS and ISI web site. See below for the abstract and biography of the speakers.
Webinar Abstract
This presentation will focus on the methodological complexities associated with the design of business surveys, with particular emphasis on sampling strategies implemented by National Statistical Offices (NSOs). It addresses the inherent challenges posed by the dynamic nature of the business population, which necessitates continual updates to the sampling frame to ensure representativeness and relevance. Critical design considerations include the determination of optimal sample sizes, stratification across key dimensions such as industry, geographic region, and enterprise size, as well as the treatment of business births and the exclusion of inactive (or “dead”) units. The article applies Bankier’s (1988) power allocation method to a two-way stratification scheme defined by industry and geography, evaluating its performance by comparing the resulting coefficients of variation with those obtained via a raking algorithm applied to the marginal coefficients. Furthermore, the approach is extended to a multivariate context to accommodate multiple estimation domains. The discussion also encompasses practical issues related to sample rotation and coordination, which are critical for maintaining data quality and minimizing respondent burden over time.
Biography
Michel Arsène (Mike) Hidiroglou has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Waksberg Award, recognizing his nearly 40 years of contributions to survey methodology at Statistics Canada, the national statistical office of Canada. Mike Hidiroglou received the B.Sc. degree (1969) and the M.Sc. degree (1970) in Mathematics and Statistics from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, and the Ph.D. degree in Statistics (1974) from Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA. Mike joined Statistics Canada in 1974 as a survey methodologist, a role he held until 2003. He subsequently served as Director of Methodology at the Office for National Statistics (United Kingdom) from 2003 to 2006, where he led several major business survey redesigns. In 2006, upon his return to Statistics Canada, he became the founding Director of the Statistical Research and Innovation Division, a position he held until his retirement in 2015. Following retirement, he continued to contribute to Statistics Canada on a part-time basis for approximately six years.
Mike has played a central role in the development and implementation of Statistics Canada’s flagship business surveys and has been a leader in advancing survey methodology both nationally and internationally. His research interests encompass a broad range of topics in survey methodology, including survey design, data collection, estimation, and the analysis of complex survey data. He has published 74 articles in refereed journals, 10 chapters in edited volumes, and has over 100 invited and contributed presentations at international conferences.
Mike is an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute and a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. He has been associated with the journal Survey Methodology for more than three decades, serving as Editor-in-Chief (2006–2015) and continuing in the role of Associate Editor.