National Statistics Office

Lascaris

Valletta

Malta

Business Registers Unit

Business Registers Unit

National Statistics Office

Lascaris

Valletta

Malta

The Community Innovation Survey (CIS) is a survey about innovation activities in enterprises. The survey is designed to collect the information on different types of innovation, various aspects of the development of an innovation, objectives of innovation activities, sources of information, public funding or expenditure on innovation. Its aim is to measure the innovativeness of sectors and enable the analysis of the factors of innovation.

The CIS provides statistics by type of innovators, economic activities and size class of enterprises. The survey is currently carried out every two years across the EU Member States, EFTA countries and EU candidate countries.

In order to ensure comparability across countries, Eurostat together with the countries developed a Harmonised Data Collection (HDC) questionnaire accompanied by a set of definitions and methodological recommendations.

CIS 2018 concepts and its underlying methodology are based on the Oslo Manual (2018) 4th Edition. 

New review of the CIS2018  aims to meet several objectives :

1: Reduce subjectivity and biases in the main CIS indicators

2: Improve reporting about innovation activities and capabilities in the firm

3: Ensure international comparability (including compliance with the OM4)

4: Broaden the basis CIS information on enterprise management

5: Take better account the diversity of enterprises in the EU

6: Improve reporting about external drivers and enablers of innovation

7: Improve timeliness

8: Ensure the feasibility of data collection

9: Ensure continuity with the CIS 2016

10: Improve reporting about the output and impact of innovation

CIS2018 is conducted under Commission Regulation No 995/2012. This Regulation defines the mandatory target population of the survey referring to enterprises in the Core NACE economic sectors (see section 3.3.) with at least 10 employees. Further activities may be covered on a voluntary basis in national datasets. Most statistics are based on the 3-year reference period (t, t-1, t-2), but some use only one calendar year (t or t-2).

Please consider CIS t to be the survey that refers to the same year of the quality report and CIS t-2 to be the previous survey e.g.: CIS  2018= CIS t then, CIS t-2=CIS 2016

Indicators related to the enterprises are classified by country, economic activity (NACE Rev. 2), size class of enterprises and type of innovation.

The main typology of classification of enterprises in reference to innovation is the distinction between innovation-active enterprises (INN) and not innovation-active enterprises (NINN).

The enterprise is considered as innovative (INN) if during the reference period it successfully introduced a product or business process innovation, had ongoing innovation activities, abandoned innovation activities or was engaged in in-house R&D or R&D contracted out. Non-innovative (NINN) enterprises had no innovation activity mentioned above whatsoever during the reference period.

CIS covers main economic sectors according to NACE Rev.2 broken down by size class of enterprises and type of innovation activity.

In accordance with Commission Regulation 995/2012 on innovation statistics, the following industries and services are included in the core target population. Results are made available with these following breakdowns :

All NACE – Core NACE (NACE Rev. 2  sections & divisions B-C-D-E-46-H-J-K-71-72-73 )

CORE INDUSTRY (excluding construction) (NACE Rev. 2 SECTIONS B_C_D_E)

10-12: Manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco

13-15: Manufacture of textiles, wearing apparel, leather and related products

16-18: Manufacture of wood, paper, printing and reproduction

20: Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products

21: Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations

19-22 Manufacture of petroleum, chemical, pharmaceutical, rubber and plastic products

23: Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products

24: Manufacture of basic metals

25: Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment

26: Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products

25-30: Manufacture of fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment), computer, electronic and optical products, electrical equipment, motor vehicles and other transport equipment

31-33: Manufacture of furniture; jewellery, musical instruments, toys; repair and installation of machinery and equipment

D: ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY

E: WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES

36: Water collection, treatment and supply

37-39: Sewerage, waste management, remediation activities

CORE SERVICES (NACE Rev. 2 sections & divisions 46-H-J-K-71-72-73)(NACE code in the tables = G46-M73_INN)

46: Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles

H: TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE

49-51: Land transport and transport via pipelines, water transport and air transport

52-53: Warehousing and support activities for transportation and postal and courier activities

J: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

58: Publishing activities

61: Telecommunications

62: Computer programming, consultancy and related activities

63: Information service activities

K: FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES

64: Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding

65: Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security

66: Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities

M: PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES

71: Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis

72: Scientific research and development

73: Advertising and market research

71-73: Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis; Scientific research and development; Advertising and market research

All non-Core activities were also covered.

In accordance with Commission Regulation 995/2012 on innovation statistics, the following size classes of enterprises according to number of employees are included in the core target population of the CIS:

• 10 - 49 employees
• 50 - 249 employees
• 250 or more employees

No deviations.

The description of concepts, definitions and main statistical variables is available in CIS 2018 European metadata file (ESMS) Results of the community innovation survey 2018 (CIS2018) (inn_cis11) in Eurostat database.

The enterprise

Core target population are all enterprises in CORE NACE activities (see 3.3.1) with 10 or more employees.

The CIS survey covers enterprises located in Malta and Gozo NUTS 1 and 2. 

Several rounds of Community Innovation Survey have been conducted so far at two-year interval since end of 90’s.

*two reference periods can be distinguished for CIS light: 2000-2002 and 2001-2003

Not relevant.

CIS indicators are available according to 3 units of measure:

NR: Number for number of enterprises and number of persons employed.

THS_EUR: Thousands of euros. All financial variables are provided in thousands of euros, i.e. Turnover or Innovation expenditure.

PC: Percentage. The percentage is the ratio between the selected combinations of indicators.

For CIS 2018, the time covered by the survey is the 3-year period from the beginning of 2016 to the end of 2018.

Some questions and indicators refer to one year — 2018.

The list of indicators covering the 3-year period and referring to one year according to the HDC is available in the Annex section of the European metadata (ESMS). 

CIS surveys are based on the Commission Regulation No 995/2012, implementing Decision No 1608/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the production and development of Community statistics on science and technology.

This Regulation establishes innovation statistics on a statutory basis and makes the delivery of certain variables compulsory e.g. innovation activities, cooperation, development, expenditures and turnover (see the Regulation). Each survey wave may additionally include further variables. 

In addition, the Regulation defines the obligatory cross-coverage of economic sectors and size class of enterprises.

The Malta Statistical Authority Act XXIV

Not requested.

CIS data are transmitted to Eurostat via EDAMIS using the secured transmission system.

The confidentiality policy of the NSO can be accessed through: https://nso.gov.mt/en/nso/Documents/Commitment_on_Confidence.pdf

Confidential data sent to Eurostat is flagged to prevent publishing. Furthermore, if any requested data is identified as confidential, this will not be provided. Primary and secondary confidentiality rules are applied. That is for information which is being requested by NACE, if the number of units is below the value of 3 will not be released. Furthermore, any kind of information on individual units may not be given to other individuals or entities requesting the data. Confidential data sent to Eurostat is flagged to prevent publishing.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) publishes around 230 News Releases a year. All releases are published and disseminated at 1100hrs as scheduled in the Advance Release Calendar. The calendar is published on the NSO website and includes a three-month advance notice (the current month and the forthcoming two months). It should be noted that the calendar is subject to changes. 

https://nso.gov.mt/en/News_Releases/Release_Calendar/Pages/News-Release-Calendar.aspx

National Statisitcs Office’s primary channel of dissemination for official statistics is the NSO website on which official statistics are published and made available to the public free of charge. The Office also makes use of social media venues as a platform to communicate with its users and to present its output. The public is free to use, copy and quote the information published provided that the NSO is quoted as the source. It should be understood, however, that any calculations and conclusions drawn by users on the basis of the NSO data are the intellectual product of themselves.

CIS is conducted and disseminated at two-year interval in pair years.

Accessibility and clarity refer to the simplicity and ease for users to access statistics using simple and user-friendly procedure, obtaining them in an expected form and within an acceptable time period, with the appropriate user information and assistance: a global context which finally enables them to make optimum use of the statistics.

See below.

-              Online database (containing all/most results) : yes

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database

-              Analytical publication (referring to all/most results) :

-              Analytical publication (referring to specific results, e.g. only for one sector or one specific aspect) : 

The link for the Innovation Database may be found below: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database

 The following path needs to be followed to access the database - Database by themes; Science and Technology; Community Innovation Survey (CIS)

Not requested.

See below:

No other means of dissemination

Not requested.

https://metadata.nso.gov.mt/reports.aspx?id=25 

Not requested.

Data is given on request and accompanying information to the data and assistance is directly linked to the requested data.

The CIS survey follows the methodology established within EC Regulation 995/2012, concerning the production and development of Community Statistics on Science and Technology. Comparability of data with previous years based on the same methodology is the main assessment for quality.

Main strengths:

Good coverage since a census is carried out with a response rate of 75%

Better Knowledge of Questionnaire as relatively the same companies are being surveyed every two years being a census

Main Weaknesses:

The survey population included enterprises that were thought to be active and having 10 employees or more. They in fact reported differently and therefore they had to be removed from the survey population.

Relevance is the degree to which statistics meet current and potential users needs. It includes the production of all needed statistics and the extent to which concepts used (definitions, classifications etc.) reflect user needs. The aim is to describe the extent to which the statistics are useful to, and used by, the broadest array of users. For this purpose, statisticians need to compile information, firstly about their users and their needs.

The CIS is based on a common questionnaire and a common survey methodology, as laid down in the 4th edition of Oslo Manual (2018 edition), in order to achieve comparable, harmonised and high quality results for EU Member States, EFTA countries, Candidates and Associated countries.

Insitutions both at European and national levels, researchers and students, and enterprises and businesses

No user satisfaction survey was undertaken specific on Innovation data

Data is fully complete since all requested data is provided. There were no missing cells

Not requested.

Accuracy in the statistical sense denotes the closeness of computations or estimates to the exact or true values. Statistics are not equal with the true values because of variability (the statistics change from implementation to implementation of the survey due to random effects) and bias (the average of the possible values of the statistics from implementation to implementation is not equal to the true value due to systematic effects).

That part of the difference between a population value and an estimate thereof, derived from a random sample, which is due to the fact that only a subset of the population is enumerated.

The main indicator used to measure sampling errors for CIS data is the coefficient of variation (CV).

Coefficient of Variation= (Square root of the estimate of the sampling variance) / (Estimated value)

Formula:

where

Coefficient of variation (%) for key variables by NACE categories and for enterprises with 10 and more employees

Not applicable. The innovation survey is a census.

[1] = Coefficient of variation for the percentage of innovative enterprises (INN) in the total population of enterprises (ENT18)
[2] = Coefficient of variation for the turnover of product innovative enterprises with new or improved products (TUR_PRD_NEW_MKT), as a percentage of total turnover of product innovative enterprises [TUR18,INNO_PRD].
[3] = Coefficient of variation for percentage of product and/or process innovative enterprises (incl. enterprises with abandoned and or on-going activities) involved in any innovation co-operation arrangement [COOP_ALL,INN], as a percentage of innovative enterprises (INN).

Not applicable. The innovation survey is a census.

Non-sampling errors occur in all phases of a survey. They add to the sampling errors (if present) and contribute to decreasing overall accuracy. It is important to assess their relative weight in the total error and devote appropriate resources for their control and assessment.

Coverage errors (or frame errors) are due to divergences between the target population and the frame population. The frame population is the set of target population members that has a chance to be selected into the survey sample. It is a listing of all items in the population from which the sample is drawn that contains contact details as well as sufficient information to perform stratification and sampling.

Not requested.

Not requested.

The difference between the target population and the frame population is of 241 enterprises. This was mainly due to closures, inactive enterprises and employment less than 10 employed.

Not applicable

Measurement errors occur during data collection and generate bias by recording values different than the true ones. The survey questionnaire used for data collection may have led to the recording of wrong values, or there may be respondent or interviewer bias.

The vetting is done by trained and/or experienced staff. Data inputting software contains validation checks catering for the logic of the questionnaire to ensure that measurement errors are minimal.

Non response occurs when a survey fails to collect data on all survey variables from all the population units designated for data collection in a sample or complete enumeration.                                                                                                                                                                                              

There are two types of non-response:                                                                                                                                                                                      

1) Unit non-response, which occurs when no data (or so little as to be unusable) are collected about a population unit designated for data collection.                                                                                                                                                                      

a) Un-weighted unit non-response rate (%) = 100*(Number of units with no response or not usable response) / (Total number of in-scope (eligible) units in the sample)                                                                                                         

b) Weighted unit non-response rate (%) = 100*(Number of weighted units with no response or not usable response) / (Total number of in-scope (eligible) units in the sample)                                                                                                            

2) Item non-response, which occurs when only data on some, but not all survey data items are collected about a population unit designated for data collection.                                       

a) Un-weighted item non-response rate (%) = 100*(Number of units with no response at all for the item) / (Total number of eligible, for the item, units in the sample i.e. filters have to be taken into account) 

See below.

Un-weighted and weighted unit non-response rate by NACE categories and for enterprises with 10 or more employees

The number of eligible units is the number of sample units, which indeed belong to the target population.

3 reminder letters were sent, the third one was a legal reminder. Following the second reminder, interviewers made contact with the enterprises.

See below.

Item non-response rate for Turnover (in Core NACE: B-C-D-E-46-H-J-K-71-72-73 enterprises with 10 or more employees).

Item non-response rate for new questions in CIS t (in Core NACE: B-C-D-E-46-H-J-K-71-72-73 enterprises with 10 or more employees)
 

Data entry method - data keying

Editing process and method: The data entry programme, where possible, has auto validations in place to highlight any processing errors immediately.

Coding errors - Not applicable

Not requested.

Timeliness and punctuality refer to time and dates, but in a different manner.

The timeliness of statistics reflects the length of time between data availability and the event or phenomenon they describe.

Timeliness of national data – date of first release of national level : 01/10/2020

Not requested.

Punctuality refers to the time lag between the release date of data and the target date on which they were scheduled for release as announced officially.

Date of transmission of complete and validated data to Eurostat (Number of days between that data and 30 June 2020): 30 June 2020 (no delays)

Comparability aims at measuring the impact of differences in applied statistical concepts and definitions on the comparison of statistics between geographical areas, non-geographical domains, or over time.

The coherence of statistical outputs refers to the degree to which the statistical processes by which they were generated used the same concepts (classifications, definitions, and target populations) and harmonised methods. Coherent statistical outputs have the potential to be validly combined and used jointly.

The same international standards, concepts and definitions according to the Oslo Manual and the Harmonized CIS questionnaire are used in Malta and Gozo NUTS 1 and 2.

Not requested.

Methodological deviations from the CIS Harmonised Data Collection (HDC)

Methodological deviations from the CIS Harmonised Data Collection (HDC)

Due to important methodological changes in CIS 2018 driven by Oslo Manual 2018, the data 2018 cannot be directly compared with previous CIS waves.

Not requested.

See the comparison between SBS and CIS data in the section 15.3.3 below.

Not requested.

Not requested.

This part compares key variables for aggregated CIS data with SBS data
Definition of relative difference between CIS and SBS data: DIFF = (SBS/CIS)*100

Comparison between SBS and CIS data (relative difference) by NACE categories and for enterprises with 10 or more employees

* Numbers are to be provided for the last year of the reference period (t)

Kindly note that Section K was completely left out from SBS data.

Not requested.

Confidential information on the production cost of the CIS.

Not requested.

Not requested.

Not requested.

See below:

A census is carried out using the national business register for the population source

A census is carried out

Variables and indicators filled or prefilled from other sources.

According to the Commission Regulation (UE) 995/2012, the innovation statistics shall be provided to Eurostat every two years in each even year. The data collection takes place every second year in year t-2 preceding the data provision.

- 

Survey is mandatory

A census for all enterprises with 10 head count or more

Not applicable

Not applicable

Data collection method

Not requested.

Operations performed on data to derive new information according to a given set of rules.

Imputation is the method of creating plausible (but artificial) substitute values for all those missing.

Definition of imputation rate:

Imputation rate (for the variable x) (%) = 100*(Number of replaced values) / (Total number of values for a given variable)

Definition of weighted imputation rate:

Weighted imputation rate= 100*(Number of total weighted replaced values) / (Total number of weighted values for a given variable)

No imputations were carried out. Missing or any inaccuracies were tackled directly with the enterprise. 

Imputation rate for metric variables by NACE categories and for enterprises with 10 or more employees: No imputations were carried out. Missing or any inaccuracies were tackled directly with the enterprise. 

(1) = Total turnover in the last year of the reference period (t) (TUR)

(2) = Share of the turnover in the last year of the reference period (t) due to new or improved product new to the market in the total turnover for product innovative enterprises TUR_PRD_NEW_MKT/TUR(INNO_PRD)

(3) = R&D expenditure performed in-house (EXP_INNO_RND_IH)

Weights calculation method for sample surveys

Not applicable

Not requested.