Code of Practice
for Official Statistics
Presented by Yasmin Cassimally
with inputs from Aimee Cheung
STATISTICS MAURITIUS
23 September 2013
CONTENTS
Code of Practice for Official Statistics (CoP)
• What?
• Why?
• How?
• When?
• Highlights
• Uses and benefits
2
WHAT IS A CoP?
A set of principles for
• developing,
• producing, and
• disseminating official statistics
3
OFFICIAL STATISTICS
Statistics produced by
• Statistics Mauritius
• Bank of Mauritius
• Ministry of Health
• Others as approved by Statistics Board
4
WHY A CoP?
• Improve
quality,
relevance
and
credibility of official stats
• Ensure that they are produced, managed
and disseminated to high standards and
are well explained
5
CONTEXT
“The Director of Statistics shall…… with the
approval of the Board, publish a CoP for Official
Statistics which shall be based on the values of
the United Nations Fundamental Principles of
Official Statistics and the African Charter on
Statistics, and any other internationally
accepted principles relating to statistics”
Statistics Act 2000 (Amended)
6
HOW?
Benchmark and best practices
• UN Principles for official statistics
• UN Guidelines for a generic NQAF
• African Charter for Statistics
• IMF Data Quality Assessment Framework
• European Statistics Code of Practice
• UK Code of Practice
7
HOW? (cont’d)
Developed by Statistics Mauritius
in consultation with
•Bank of Mauritius
.
•Financial Services Commission
•Ministry of Health
8
WHEN?
Approved in May 2013
by
the Statistics Board
.
9
CoP - OVERVIEW
15 principles
accounting for factors influencing the
production of statistical information
+
list of indicators of best practice
10
CoP – OVERVIEW (cont’d)
Three main components
• Institutional and Organizational
environment
• Statistical Processes
• Statistical Outputs
11
INSTITUTIONAL & ORGANIZATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT
Principles
1. Professional independence
2. Mandate for Data Collection
.
3. Adequacy of Resources
4. Quality Commitment
5. Statistical Confidentiality
6. Impartiality and objectivity
12
1. Professional Independence
Indicators
1) Independence from political & external interference specified in law
2) Head of the statistical authority not subject to the direction or control of
any authority
3) Head has the sole responsibility for deciding on methods, standards and
procedures, and content and timing of statistical releases
4) The statistical work programmes are published and periodic reports
describe progress made
5) Statistical releases are issued separately from political/policy statements
6) Statistical authority may comment on statistical issues, including
erroneous interpretations and misuses of statistics
Outcome
Increased public trust and confidence in Official Statistics
13
2. Mandate for data collection
Indicators
1) The mandate of the statistical authority to collect information for
the production and dissemination of Official Statistics is specified
in law
2) The statistical authority is allowed by law to have access and use
administrative records for statistical purposes
3) The statistical authority may, by law, compel response to
statistical inquiries
Outcome
Authority of statistical agencies recognized and better statistical
reporting
14
3. Adequacy of Resources
Indicators
1)Resources are available to meet statistical needs
2)The scope, detail and cost of statistics produced and
publicized are commensurate with needs
3)Procedures exist to assess and justify demands for new
statistics against their cost
Outcome
Users’ statistics needs in terms of quality, relevance
and timeliness met
15
4. Quality Commitment
Indicators
1)
Product quality is regularly monitored according to a National Quality Assessment
Framework
2)
Procedures are in place to monitor the quality of the collection, processing and
dissemination of statistics from all sources
3)
Procedures are in place to deal with quality considerations, including tradeoffs
within quality, and to guide planning for existing and emerging surveys
4)
Quality assurance guidelines are documented and staff are trained in quality
management
5)
Regular review of key statistical outputs using external experts where appropriate
6)
Users are informed about the quality of statistical outputs
Outcome
Professionalism of statistical agencies recognized & credibility enhanced
16
5. Statistical Confidentiality
Indicators
1)
2)
3)
4)
Statistical confidentiality guaranteed in law
Staff sign legal confidentiality commitments
Penalties prescribed for any breaches of statistical confidentiality
Instructions and guidelines are provided on the protection of statistical
confidentiality, and made public
5) Physical provisions are in place to protect the security and integrity of
statistical databases, and made known to the public.
6) Strict protocols for access to micro-data for research purposes
7) Arrangements for confidentiality protection are sufficient to protect
privacy but not restrictive to limit practical utility of Official Statistics
Outcome
Increased public confidence and better reporting to statistical censuses and
surveys
17
6. Impartiality and Objectivity
Indicators
1) Statistics compiled on an objective basis determined by statistical
considerations
2) Statistical releases are objective and nonpartisan
3) Statistical release dates are according to a pre-announced release
calendar – any privileged pre-release access is publicized
4) A protocol on release procedures is publicized
5) Changes to methods or classifications are announced well in advance of
the release of the changed statistics.
6) Errors found in published statistics are corrected at the earliest possible
date and publicized
7) A revision policy for those outputs that are subject to scheduled revisions
is published
Outcome
Integrity and credibility of Official Statistics enhanced
18
STATISTICAL PROCESSES
Principles
7. Sound Methodology
8. Appropriate Statistical Procedures
9. Non-excessive Burden on Respondents
10. Cost effectiveness
19
7. Sound Methodology
Indicators
1) Methodological framework follows latest international standards and good
practices
2) Procedures are in place to ensure that standard concepts, definitions and
classifications are consistently applied
3) The business register and the frame for population surveys are regularly
evaluated and adjusted in order to ensure high quality
4) Detailed concordance exists between national and international classifications
5) Staff attend relevant training courses, and interact with colleagues at
international level to learn from best practices and improve their expertise
6) Benchmarking with international best practices is regularly conducted to improve
methodology & co-operation of international community sought
Outcome
Trust in Official Statistics and public value secured
20
8. Appropriate Statistical Procedures
Indicators
1) Appropriate tools in place to assess the quality of potential data sources
2) Questionnaires tested prior to the data collection
3) Survey designs, sample selections, and sample weights are regularly
reviewed and documented
4) Field operations, data entry, and coding instructions manuals are made
available; operations are monitored & revised as required
5) Appropriate editing and imputation computer systems are used, and
regularly reviewed and documented
6) Revisions follow standard, well-established and transparent procedures
Outcome
Trust and confidence in Official Statistics enhanced
21
9. Non–excessive Burden on Respondents
Indicators
1) The range and detail of demands in statistics is limited to what is
absolutely necessary
2) Use appropriate sampling techniques to reduce reporting burden
3) Information sought from businesses are readily available from their
records and electronic are used to facilitate its return
4) Procedures in place to streamline and harmonize surveys to avoid
duplication
5) Administrative sources to be used whenever possible
6) Data sharing within statistical authorities adopted to avoid
multiplication of surveys
7) Procedures are in place to analyze costs of new data needs to data
suppliers against the potential benefits
Outcome
Harmonized and cost-effective data collection system in place,
and cooperation of data providers enhanced
22
10. Cost Effectiveness
Indicators
1) Internal and independent external measures monitor statistical
authority’s use of resources
2) Routine clerical operations are automated
3) IT optimized for data collection, processing and dissemination
4) Proactive efforts made to improve the statistical potentials of
administrative data to avoid duplicating and costly data collection
5) Relationship between the statistical planning processes, work
programmes, allocation of resources, and outcomes assessed
6) Procedures exist to monitor expenditure against work programmes
– assess need to check if they can be discontinued or curtailed
Outcome
More cost effective statistics that respond to user needs
23
STATISTICAL OUTPUTS
Principles
11. Relevance
12. Accuracy and Reliability
13. Timeliness and Punctuality
14. Coherence and Comparability
15. Accessibility and Clarity
24
11. Relevance
Indicators
1) Processes in place to monitor the relevance and practical utility of
existing statistics in meeting users’ needs.
2) Processes in place to consult users on their emerging needs and
priorities.
3) Priority needs are met and reflected in work programmes
4) User satisfaction surveys undertaken periodically and results
publicized
Outcome
Better design and evaluation of public and private policies and
programmes, and better development progress
25
12. Accuracy and reliability
Indicators
1) Source data & statistical outputs are evaluated against
existing information
2) Sampling and non-sampling errors are measured and
documented
3) Studies and analyses of revisions are carried out routinely
and used internally to inform statistical processes
Outcome
Confidence and trust in Official Statistics strengthened
26
13. Timeliness and Punctuality
Indicators
1) Timeliness meets international standards
2) A standard daily time is set for the release of statistics
3) Periodicity of Official Statistics takes into account user
requirements
4) Inform users of any divergence from the expected time
schedule
5) Release preliminary results of acceptable quality
Outcome
More effective and timely policies, and better development
programmes
27
14. Coherence and comparability
Indicators
1) Statistics are internally coherent and consistent
2) Statistics are coherent or reconcilable over a reasonable period of
time
3) Statistics are compiled on the basis of common standards in
different surveys and sources
4) Statistics from different sources are compared and reconciled
5) Comparability is
recommendations
ensured
through
use
of
international
Outcome
Better understanding of social, economic and environmental
phenomena
28
15. Accessibility and Clarity
Indicators
1) Statistics are presented in a form that facilitates proper
interpretation and meaningful comparisons
2) Dissemination services use modern ICT tools, and are free of charge
if possible
3) Clear pricing policies are adopted and publicized
4) Access to micro-data is allowed through an official micro-data data
dissemination policy
5) Metadata are documented according to standardized metadata
systems and are publicized
6) Users are kept informed of the methodology and procedures &
quality of statistical outputs w.r.t. official quality criteria
Outcome
Improved use of statistics, and better informed policy makers and
population
29
BENEFITS OF CoP
Tool for quality management
• Overarching framework that provides context for quality initiatives,
and single place to record quality concepts, policies and practices
• Systematic mechanism for identification of quality problems and
possible actions
• Greater transparency to all processes - quality assured and
credibility reinforced
• A basis for creating and maintaining a quality culture within the
organization
• Supports quality improvements and their maintenance over time
30
WHAT NEXT?
Code of Practice for Official Statistics
• to be applied and respected by all producers
of Official Statistics
• assess compliance by an independent and
competent body at least once every 3 years
31
For more
Check our website at
http://statsmauritius.gov.mu
32
Thank you
33