Improving Co-ordination within the National Statistical System

1
Improving Co-ordination within the National
Statistical System

• Dennis Trewin

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Centralised v Decentralised Systems

• All statistial systems have some degree of
  centralisation or decentralisation
• Statistical co-ordination is important in both
• Principle 8 of the Fundamental Principles of
  Official Statistics
• Co-ordination among statistical agencies
  within countries is essential to achieve
  consistency and efficiency in the statistical
  system

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Why is co-ordination important and becoming more
important?

• Users are seeking greater consistency across data
  sources
• Users want to access all data (irrespective of
  the source) that is available using the internet
• Governments increasingly wanted to work in a
  connected way
• Statistics should be based on sound methods
• Efficiency may be improved by sharing statistical
  infrastructure

4
Australian Legislation to support Co-ordination

• Provides Australian Bureau of Statistics with
  co-ordination power to improve compatibility,
  reduce respondent burden and improve statistical
  standards
• Statistical Clearing House has been created
• Relies on co-operation not cohesion
• Advisory Council responsibility covers the whole
  national statistical system

5
New Zealand Legislation to support Co-ordination

• Minister must approve all statistical collections
• Has delegated that function to Government
  Statistician except for the most important
  statistics
• NSO leadership role reinforced by recent review
• In practice, a lot of reliance on protocols, etc
  except for the most important statistics
• Advisory Committee established to oversight the
  national statistical system
• Statistics NZ given archival function

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Global Trends

• Many countries have made or are making changes to
  legislation to improve the co-ordination of their
  national statistical systems (eg Japan, Mexico,
  United Kingdom)

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Statistical Leadership

• More statistical expertise exists in NSOs best
  positioned to provide leadership on statistical
  issues
• Leadership is more than co-ordination
• Requires relationship management skills,
  entrepreneurship, and a capacity to add value to
  statistical work outside the NSO

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Some practical ways of improving statistical
leadership

• Developing standard classifications and support
  resources for use by all (eg geography)
• Statistical frameworks, standards and definitions
  for use by all
• Manuals of good practice and supporting training
  programs
• Agreed protocols for the operation of the NSS
• Directories of statistical sources
• Development of infrastructure for general use
• Establishing centres of statistical expertise for
  particular subject matters
• Information Development Plans

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Information Development Plans

• Key features
• Jointly agreed by all stakeholders especially the
  data providers
• Focus is on a particular field of statistics
• Identifies existing data (from across the NSS)
  that are relevant to the field
• Identifies highest user priorities for
  improvements
• Identifies plans for future action including
  responsibilities, timetables, etc

10
OECD Quality Reviews

• Reviews applied to all Divisions not just the
  Statistics Division
• Had strong support of Secretary-General
• Sought views of users
• Made constructive suggestions for improvement
• Seen as adding value by the producers of the
  statistics

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Barriers to Improved Co-ordination

• Sufficient priority being given to statistical
  issues
• Resistance to change
• Statistical skills and facilities
• NSO resourcing
• Unwillingness to put data in the public domain

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Discussion Points?

• How can I reduce resistance to NSOs playing an
  active role in the NSS?
• How can the NSO add most value?