Identifying Data Needs:
User-Producer Collaboration
Workshop on Household Surveys and Measurement of Labour
Force with Focus on Informal Economy
Maseru, Lesotho, 14-18 April 2008
Overview
• Introduction
• Benefits of user-producer collaboration
• Scope of user-producer collaboration
• Identifying key users
• Bringing producers to the table
• Collaboration arrangements
• Challenges
• Current practices among SADC countries
• Concluding remarks
• Discussion points
2
Introduction
Common problems faced by data producers
• Scope of data collection often pre-determined with
limited data needs assessment
• Wealth of data collected but relevance is limited or little
understood by users
• Data collected but not tabulated to address specific
needs
• Limited resources to conduct extensive data analysis
• Dissemination strategies reach selected audiences
• Lack of awareness by users about data availability
• Data collected not fully utilized
3
Benefits of user-producer collaboration
• Identify and prioritize key issues and data needs
• Identify relevant policy documents
•
•
•
•
Improve relevance of data collected
Identify strengths and weaknesses of data
Improve quality of data collected
Improve relevance and quality of statistical publications
and other products
• Improve users’ understanding of data collected
• Develop more realistic expectations among users
• Improve use of data in the design, monitoring and
assessment of policies and programmes
• Promote partnerships for data analysis
4
Scope of user-producer collaboration
Effective user-producer collaboration requires
• Continuous two-way collaboration throughout data
production process
– Understand users’ needs
– Learn to communicate in the language of users
– Bring statistics to different technical levels
– Make producers’ constraints known
– Respond to and appreciate feedback
5
Scope of user-producer collaboration
Data production process
Define
issues
Concepts and
methods
Identify
statistical
needs
User-producer
dialogue
Identify
gaps
Questionnaire
design
Support
analysis
Identify
gaps
Feedback on
products
6
Identify key users
Who
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Planners
Managers
Researchers
Legislators
Workers’ advocates
Women’s advocates
Programme designers
Policy and decision makers
Media
International organizations,
development partners, bilateral
aid agencies
Where
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ministries
Women’s machineries
Universities
Research centers
Non-governmental organizations
National, sub-national associations
Regional networks
Private corporations
Regional and international
organizations
• Trainings, conferences
7
Know your users
• Understand their needs and requirements
• Appreciate their special skills and potentials
• Determine how best to capitalize on those skills
Users
Aware of gender issues
Trained in
statistics
Not trained in
statistics
Not aware of gender issues
Trained in
statistics
Not trained in
statistics
8
Develop a strong user network
• Develop and maintain list of data users and
organize them by:
– Geographic location, organization type, main
interests, strengths
• Keep users abreast of developments
• Keep log of user requests
• Set up clear and efficient system for users to
contact your office
9
Bringing producers to the table
• Maximize in-house knowledge and resources
• Strengthen collaboration across units and
institutions involved in production of official
statistics
• Increase synergies between work-plans and
programmes
• Increase awareness of strengths, resources
available, and constraints
• Develop coherent information infrastructure
10
Bringing producers to the table
Who
• Statisticians
–
–
–
–
–
Labour
Gender
National accounts
Economics
Education
Where
• National statistical offices
• Ministries
• Enterprises
• Accountants
– National accountants
• Information custodians
– Administrative data
– Business registers
Consider those inside and outside your unit within your
institution and in other institutions
11
Collaboration arrangements
•
•
•
•
Informal discussions
Individual consultations
Request for comments, feedback on draft materials
Technical workshops, seminars
– Data analysis
– Report Drafting
• Meetings of consultative/advisory committees
• Dissemination workshops
• Establishment of a statistics user-producer association
Key: keep continuous communication with a
diverse user base through multiple channels
12
Challenges
• Managing the wide range of users
• Reconciling different interests and purposes
• Responding to varying levels of understanding
of technical issues and gender awareness
• Meeting diversity of needs
• Time/scheduling conflicts
• Institutionalizing the process
13
Current practices among SADC countries
Has your NSO identified key labour issues and gender
issues in the labour market for which statistics are
needed that you are currently working on?
Labour issues
Gender issues in
labour market
Yes
11
5
No
2
8
NR
1
1
14
Current practices among SADC countries
Is there a focal point, unit, desk, or advisory, steering, or
working group on gender statistics in your NSO?
Yes
No
Gender statistics
focal point/group
7
6
NR
1
If yes, areas of collaboration
•Little, ad-hoc
•Questionnaire design
•Publications
•Tabulation
•Data analysis
•Staff training
•Assess availability of
gender statistics
•Recommend improvements15
Current practices among SADC countries
User-producer collaboration to identify key issues in labour
market or gender issues in labour market for which data are
needed.
User-producer
collaboration
Yes
No
7
6
NR
1
If yes, format
•Project/survey oriented
•Consultative meetings
•User workshops
–Consensus building
–Dissemination
•Regular symposium
•Regular communication
•Review of data requests
16
Current practices among SADC countries
User-producer collaboration
If yes, purpose
•Questionnaire review
•Gender analysis and report writing
•Help stakeholders understand data
•Strategic planning for data collection
•Mobilize funds
•Promote dialogue
•Assessment of data relevance
•Identify priority areas, data needs, and
government programmes needing monitoring
17
Current practices among SADC countries
User-producer collaboration
If yes, members
•Various data producers
•Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs
•Planners
•Business institutions
•Political authorities
•Researchers, academic Staff
•NGOs, advocacy groups
•Development partners
18
Current practices among SADC countries
Degree of interaction with National Women’s Machinery
Yes, regularly
Yes, occasionally
National
Women’s
Machinery
2
4
No
6
NR
1
If yes, areas of collaboration
•Input in questionnaire
•Data collection
•Analysis
•Stakeholder meetings
19
Current practices among SADC countries
Collaboration with other institutions
Yes
Regularly
Occasionally
No
N/A
Ministry of Labour/NSO
8
5
0
0
Ministry of Planning
6
4
3
0
Business Chamber
1
1
11
0
Research Institutions
2
7
4
0
Academic Institutions
3
6
4
0
Other: National workers
association, Treasury,
Reserve Bank,
Development partners,
International org.
5
1
0
0
20
Current practices among SADC countries
Summary
• Some degree of collaboration with users, but
• Scope of interaction is limited to specific activities
• Focuses primarily in questionnaire review, data
dissemination and data requests
• Limited on-going communication to identify issues and
improve overall production process
• Interaction is primarily with key producers of statistics and
planners, but
• Limited interaction with researchers and academic
institutions
• Poor interaction with main gender stakeholders
– Gender statistics units/group in-house
– National Women’s Machineries
21
Concluding Remarks
• Institutionalizing user-producer collaboration is
central to improve the relevance and quality of
official statistics
• Engaging gender stakeholders in-house and
externally is central to improving understanding of
gender issues and quality of data
• Collaboration needs to be bi-directional, we all
have something to give and learn
• It is part of the planning process to improve
efficiency and effectiveness of the national
statistical infrastructure
22
Reflection Points
• How can we improve user-producer dialogue?
• How can we extend our network of producers
and users? Who are we not yet talking to?
• How can we reach out and establish contact?
• What can we learn from users?
• What challenges do we expect?
23
Thank you !
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