Template Speakers

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS
Brussels, 18 January 2009 Pierre Valette DG
Research - European Commission
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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• Official and non official statistics research an
  essential part of Social Economic Sciences and
  Humanities research
• EU Framework Programmes for Research
• EUKLEMS, an example of a success story
• Databases, models, surveys, statistics,
  indicators, methods, etc.
• ERA-Nets

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• Statistics research needs
• SSH statistics are strategic for EU policies in
  the global context
• (Commissioner Almunia, Luxembourg 2008)
• WHAT RESEARCH IS NEEDED?
• HOW SHOULD IT BE ORGANISED?
• WHAT ARE THE FUNDING SOURCES?
• All these questions need to be addressed by
  NTTS-ETK 2009

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• WHAT RESEARCH IS NEEDED?
• The areas to be addressed need to be defined by
  various groups including producers, users,
  academics and funders
• Producers at all levels international,
  supranational, national, regional, local and
  sectoral
• Users of various types policymakers, academics,
  media, general public,
• Academics of several categories researchers in
  official statistics but also other researchers
  who use official statistics
• Funders, at all levels

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• WHAT RESEARCH IS NEEDED?
• Different categories of research are needed
• Official statistics
• Non official statistics
• Infrastructures
• Socio economic research needs to support EU policy

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• HOW SHOULD IT BE ORGANISED?
• There needs to be co-ordination between all
  (statistical offices, researchers, policy makes
  and other users) involved as to what is done,
  how and when
• Involving international, supranational, national
  and/or regional level organisations
• The role of organisations planning, funding,
  research agenda, validation, dissemination,
  evaluation, etc.

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• BY WHOM SHOULD IT BE CARRIED OUT?
• This should depend on the types of work involved
• academic research should be undertaken primarily
  by academics
• applied research needs the introduction of
  producers (NSIs, ESTAT, OECD, etc.) and users as
  well
• piloting, support and follow up need statistical
  offices, academics and users but perhaps with
  less academic input
• ESSnet and the NSIs have a particular role to
  play

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• WHAT FUNDING SOURCES?
• Statistical offices
• Universities
• International Organisations EU, OECD, UN,
• Public funded organisations Max Planck,
• The Private Sector
• National Research Councils

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• Framework Programmes for Research
• The Framework Programmes for Research and
  Technological Development (FPs) have supported
  official statistics research since FP2
• Until FP7 via DG INFSO (formerly DG XIII)
• Since FP7 via DG RTD and principally via the
  Socio Economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH)
  Theme, Indicators Activity, Official Statistics
  Area, but also via other Themes such as
  Environment, Energy and Infrastructures
• The future SSH and other Themes WPs 2010- 2013,

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• Framework Programmes for Research
• Potential support for statistical research
• Seventh Framework Programmes for RTD and its
  Specific
• Programmes
• Co-operation Theme 8 Socio economic sciences
  and the humanities, Activity 6 Indicators,
  etc.
• People Marie Curie Fellowships, etc.
• Capacities Infrastructures, ERA-Nets, etc.
• Ideas European Research Council
• All implementation through annual work programmes
  and calls

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• Framework Programmes for Research
• Projects already funded or likely to be funded by
  FP7 Activity 8.6 (Indicators)
• 8.6.3 Official statistics RISQ and SAMPLE
• 8.6.1 How Indicators are used in Policy POINT
  and InnoST
• 8.6.2 Developing Better Indicators for Policy
  AMELI, ASSPRO and JUSTIS
• 8.6.4 Development of methods for the evaluation
  of research policies and
• programmes DEMETER and EERQI
• Indicators related projects from elsewhere within
  the FP7-SSH
• 1.1.2 Intangibles COINVEST
• 2.1.3 Development and applications of tools for
  the assessment of policies
• and socio-economic forecasting WIOD a
  follow up to EUKLEMS

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• EUKLEMS, is an example of a successful project
• EUKLEMS by a significant investment of funding
  transformed a dataset from academia into being a
  major tool for policymakers such as those within
  DG ECFIN and for researchers
• Parts of the EUKLEMS dataset are in the process
  of it being incorporated into the National
  Accounts part of the European Statistical System

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• EUKLEMS, is an example of a successful project
  statisticians
• EUKLEMS Productivity in the European Union A
  Comparative Industry Approach was an FP6
  research project which illustrates very well the
  sort of role research projects and European
  funding can play in a field of statistics and the
  difficulties that are often encountered
• The object of the EUKLEMS project was to build,
  on previous growth accounting work done primarily
  by academics, a large database of productivity
  measures on a detailed per industry basis and to
  use these data for analytical purposes.

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• Databases, models, surveys, statistics,
  indicators, methods, etc.
• Many socio-economic sciences and humanities (SSH)
  research projects produce databases, survey
  results, statistics, indicators, methodologies,
  etc. covering official and non official
  statistics 25 social data bases from the 6thFP!
• In some cases they are explicitly the
  results/deliverables of the project, But in many
  other cases they are just used internally by the
  project
• Our aim from now on is that as much as possible
  of such information be archived and made
  available for use by researchers and policymakers
• The archiving could be based on CESSDA (Council
  of European Social Science Data Archives)

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• ERA-Net in the field of statistics
• In parallel with the research projects funded
  under FP7-SSH, DG RTD wants to stimulate Europe
  wide research in SSH statistics
• This is being done by including an ERA-Net in
  the field of statistics in the ERA-Net call for
  proposals published in September 2008
• Closure date 21st April 2009
• Indicative budget up to 1.5 M

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• ERA-Net in the field of statistics
• The objective of the ERA-Net scheme is to develop
  and strengthen the coordination of national and
  regional research programmes through two specific
  actions
• 'ERA-NET actions' - providing a framework for
  actors implementing public research programmes to
  coordinate their activities e.g. by developing
  joint activities or by mutually supporting joint
  calls for trans-national proposals.
• 'ERA-NET Plus actions'- providing, in a limited
  number of cases with high European added value,
  additional EU financial support to facilitate
  joint calls for proposals between national and/or
  regional programmes.

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FUNDING RESEARCH IN STATISTICS

• ERA-Net in the field of statistics
• The success and even the existence of such an
  ERA-Net depends on you and your involvement
  through interest from your ministries,
  statistical offices, research councils, etc.
• Therefore if you want access to such support
  please get the relevant people together and get
  them to submit a proposal.

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• Thank you for your attention!
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