SiStaN in Brief

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88th DGINS The future of the European
Statistical System

Palermo, Italy Palazzo dei Normanni 19th-20th
September 2002
The Italian Statistical System
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88th DGINS The future of the European
Statistical System
First part The National Statistical System
SISTAN
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Milestones in Official Statistics

1861
Division of General Statistics within the
Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Internal
Trade
1926
Central Institute for Statistics of the Kingdom
of Italy

• Legislative Decree 322 (Statistical Act)
• National Statistical System - Sistan
• National Institute of Statistics - Istat

1989
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Sistan
L.D. 322/1989 objective
To regulate the activities carried out by public
statistical bodies and agencies for the
collection, compilation, analysis, dissemination
and storage of data
To ensure uniform policy, homogeneous
organisation and rationalised information flows
at central and local levels
Mission
To provide Italian and international bodies with
official statistical information
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Focus on

Structure
A decentralised system
Main Actors

• National Statistical Institute Istat
• Statistical offices of central and local
  government administrations
• Other bodies and organisations dealing with
  statistical information

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Committee for Directing and CoordinatingStatisti
cal Information (COMSTAT)
Commission for Guaranteeing Statistical
Information (CGIS)
Organisational structure
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Ruling bodies

COMMITTEE FOR DIRECTING AND CO-ORDINATING
STATISTICAL INFORMATION - COMSTAT
Addresses and coordinates central and local
statistical offices Deliberates on the National
Statistical Programme
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The National Statistical Programme
Is a threeyear programme, annually updated
Drawn up by Istat upon decision of the Committee
for Directing and Co-ordinating Statistical
Information supervised by the Commission for
Guaranteeing Statistical Information and
Authority for Privacy comes into force with a
Prime Ministers Decree
Defines the statistical surveys of public
interest to be assigned to the National
Statistical System and identifies their
objectives
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Ruling bodies

COMMISSION FOR GUARANTEEING STATISTICAL
INFORMATION - CGIS
Supervises impartiality and completeness of
statistical information Safeguards
confidentiality of the data collected Controls
the quality of statistical methodologies and
techniques Supervises compliance of data
collections with EU and international
recommendations
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Strengths (set)

Non-state-run national system
Coherency
Statistical culture inside the Public Administrati
on
Functionality with reference to National
Statistical Programme
Network of operators,Quality Groups,
cohesion-oriented initiatives
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Weaknesses (assessed)

Not well-rooted network attitude
Not complete exploitation of administrative source
s
Uneven development of Information Systems
Difficulty of interaction between statistical
and other offices
Weak production of statistics for territorial
needs
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A vision for the future

Strengthening of the system identity Development
of statistical culture and consent Quality
improvement Internal and external
authoritativeness Economies of scale
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88th DGINS The future of the European
Statistical System
Second part National Statistical Institute Istat
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Istat

Istat is the core of public statistical
information supply

• Its role is supported by
• long-term strategic vision
• ability to integrate information into a system

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The mission

To supply quality informationto interpret
social, economic, environmental phenomena and
their dynamics, and to guarantee the compliance
with the principles of independence,
impartiality, reliability and transparency
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The vision
Improving user-oriented quality Promoting
information systems Growing the statistical
function at the international level Growing the
statistical function at the national
level Improving Istats organisation
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Organisational structure
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Number of Regional Offices 18 Total staff 313

ISTAT
Regional Offices
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Basic principles of organisation

Separation between ruling and managing
responsibilities Departments autonomy and
decentralised functions (administrative, IT,
methodological, dissemination) Integration
between departments and promotion of
technical standards Strategic planning and
control
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Ruling bodies
PRESIDENT

Is Istats legal representative, is responsible
for technical and scientific co-ordination and
for institutional relationships at national and
international level
COUNCIL
Plans, directs and evaluates Istats activity
BOARD OF AUDITORS
Checks the validity of administrative and
accounting activities
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Presidency
President

Evaluation and Strategic Control
Direct Collaboration Offices
Cabinet
International Relations
Communication and Press
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Directorate General

Director General
Directorate for Budget, Accounting and Treasury
Organisational Innovation and Internal Auditing
Administrative Co-ordination
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Personnel and Administration Department



Personnel and AdministrationDepartment
Directorate for Personnel and General Services
Directorate for Contracts and Assets
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Sistan Central Secretariat Department


Sistan Central Secretariat Department
Directorate for Regional Offices Coordination
National Statistical System Development
National Statistical Programme
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Economic Statistics Department



Economic Statistics Department
Directorate for Structural Statistics
Directorate for ShortTerm Statistic
Directorate for Archives and Censuses of
Economic Units
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Social Statistics Department



Social StatisticsDepartment
Coordinationand Integration
Directorate for Surveys on Social Institutions
Directorate for Population Censuses and Territory
Directorate for Surveys on Living Conditions
and Quality of Life
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Integration and Technical Standards Department
Integration and Technical Standards Department
Methodology for Statistical Production
Coordination,Integration and Quality
Directorate for Dissemination of Statistical
Information and Culture
Directorate for Information Technology and
Telecommunication
Directorate for National Accounts
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Gender
Educational level
Key figures on personnel
Total staff 2663
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Type of employment
Vocational profile
Total staff 2663
Key figures on personnel
Level III
Level II
Level I
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Training Policy
USERS

• Istats and Sistans employees (Directors,
  Executives and other Civil Servants)

MAIN TOPICS

• Statistics
• Technology for statistics
• Management

AIMS

• To learn how to use statistical data for
  decision-making purposes
• To correctly understand and analyse data
• To collect, enter and process data

METHODS

• To identify needs through highlighting the
  professional identity

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Financial and operational management
Funding sources
State funds (92) Grants by European Commission,
other national or international entities
(4,5) Revenue from selling data and publications
(3,5)
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Expenditure (year 2001)
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Expenditure (1997-2001)
Censuses included
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Istats activity

Almost half of the production deals with economic
information The importance of social statistics
is growing new surveyson households, citizens
and institutions are foreseen The value of
integration is recognised and pursued Innovation
in survey techniques is promoted Growth of
Istats role as supplier of statistical
information for public institutions
Planned projectsper area Year 2002
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Planning
Guidelines defined by the Council
Strategic objectives
Operational programme and budgeting
Projects and activities
Internal auditing
Evaluation and strategic control

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Future perspectives for Istat and Sistan
Integration of Information Systems Dissemination
of statistical culture, especially for Public
Administrations staff, through ad-hoc widespread
tools and training Enhancement of
e-statistics a growing use of Internet for data
collection and dissemination Users empowerment
development of greater access to data,
particularly inside Sistan and for research
purposes Increase in territorial statistics for
regional and local policy