Multiannual

Data collection is carried out via the Internet and possibly by post (at the request of the company).

The collection period will run from April 2021 to November 2021.

Enterprise

The sample is drawn from a sampling frame constructed from the Sirus inventory using a simple random sampling design stratified by activity, workforce segment and region where possible. The calculation of the allocations combines a Neyman allocation on the rate of innovative enterprises and a proportional allocation on the number of innovative enterprises, which makes it possible on the one hand to be precise on the central variable of the survey (the innovation rate) and also to query a reasonable number of innovative enterprises in order to ensure satisfactory accuracy for questions concerning only these enterprises.

As the interrogation unit is modified, an over-sample of legal units is also drawn. These belong to the profiled firms drawn in the main sample. The objective is to compare their answers to the mandatory questions in the Eurostat questionnaire with those given at enterprise level, and to use them if necessary to modify or complete the answer given at enterprise level.

The different steps of the survey ensure that the process meets the requirements for statistical production:
- stratified sample selection
- reminders and checks of data being collected by collectors
- clearance
- adjustment of total non-response
- shimming
- adjustment for partial non-response
- winsorisation.

Methods and practice of business surveys at INSEE