Census public engagement campaign 2022 – extension activity (April to May 2022): evaluation report

1. Background

For over 200 years, Scotland has used 10-yearly census data to underpin national and local decision making. Census Day 2022 was Sunday 20 March, with households initially able to complete the census between 28 February and 1 May.

A marketing campaign was developed to work alongside other levers and communications to increase awareness of the importance of the census and encourage participation in the process, specifically with online responses. The campaign was aimed at the general population but also targeted specific groups identified as less likely to complete the census, or less likely to complete online.

Activity ran across three converging phases of Awareness, Persuasion and Action during February and March. The evaluation report on this activity was published on 8 July 2022 and can be found at the following link: Census campaign 2022: evaluation report - phase 1 (February to March 2022) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

At the end of April an extension to the 2022 census deadline was put in place to allow members of the public more time to complete their questionnaire. Campaign activity was therefore extended into April and May 2022 to support this and to encourage those who hadn't yet completed, to do so. Activity ran nationally, with a particular focus on regions and amongst specific audience groups where completion rates were lower (see below).

This paper reports on the evaluation of the campaign extension phase which ran in April and May 2022.