Maximising the Effectiveness of
National Statistical Offices:
What Does It Mean?
Enrico Giovannini
President of the Italian Statistical Institute
New York, February 2010
The Istat mission
To serve the society through the production and
communication of high-quality statistical
information and analyses, produced in full
authonomy using rigourous ethical and professional
principles and the most advanced statistical
standards, in order to develop an in-depth
knowledge of environmental, economic and social
conditions of Italy, at different territorial levels, and
to foster decision-making processes of all
components of the society (citizens, policy makers,
etc.)
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The Istat vision
Istat intends to be an innovative administration,
committed to serve the society fostering the
professionalism and the integrity of its staff,
establishing appropriate working conditions and
minimising its impact on the environment.
Istat respects the privacy of respondents, protects
the confidentiality of data collected and carries out
its work in a transparent and independent manner.
Istat is committed to achieve the maximum
effectiveness and efficiency in the use of available
resources and to foster the development of the
National Statistical System and the collaboration
with other public administrations, research
institutes and civil society, also to improve
statistical literacy.
Istat is part of the European Statistical System and
cooperates with the other members of the
international
statistical 3system.
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The output of official statistics
A recent carried out on 28 countries indicates that the
most frequently used output indicators include:
o
o
o
o
number of publications (or number of releases);
number of publication copies sent to subscribers;
number of visits to the Internet page;
number of indicators accessible in the Internet
databases;
o number of tables viewed in the Internet databases;
o number of presentations at conferences and seminars;
number of media quotations.
Many NSOs also try to measure the quality of output
with quantitative indicators (punctuality of releases,
revisions in statistical database, etc.) or user’s
satisfaction surveys
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How to measure the output of official statistics
According to the International Standard Industry
Classification (ISIC Rev.1), the production of official
statistics is a non-market service
 Part of Section L, Division 75 “Public Administration
and Defence”
 Group 7511 “Administration of the State and the
economic and social policy of the community”,
which includes:
o administration and operation of overall economic and
social planning and statistical services at the various
levels of government
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How to measure the output of official statistics
According to the SNA93, services are the result of a
production activity that changes the conditions of
the consuming units
The changes that consumers of services engage the
producers to bring about can take a variety of
different forms such as:
(a) changes in the condition of the consumer’s goods
(b) changes in the physical condition of persons
(c) changes in the mental condition of persons
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How to measure the output of official statistics
According to the Atkinson’s Report
“the output of the government sector should in
principle be measured in a way that is adjusted for
quality, taking into account of the attributable
incremental contribution of the service to the
outcome”
So, what is the outcome of the consumption of
statistics?
Knowledge
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How to measure the output of official statistics
N
VAS =
S
(QSA * MFi * RSi * TSi * NLi) – CS
i=1
VAS = value added of official statistics
QSA = official statistical information produced
MFi = role played by media to disseminate QSA to the user
RSi = relevance of QSA to the user
TSi = trust in official statistics
NLi = user’s numeracy
CS = cost of producing official statistics
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Empirical evidence
 69% of Europeans think that it is necessary to know
economic key data
 53% of Europeans are not able even to guess the GDP
growth rate in their country. 8% know the right figure
 45% of Europeans do not trust official statistics
 In the US the five main TV channels report GDP figures
only in the 46% of cases, the 27 main newspapers in the
39% of cases
 40% of Americans never heard of official GDP data or the
source agency
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Statistical information produced (QSA)
 More information available than ever
o
o
o
o
New domains, new breakdowns
Longitudinal studies and microdata
Indicators
...
 Competition with the private sector
o Opinion polls
o Administrative data
o …
 Growing users’ needs
o Globalisation
o Timeliness
o …
MAIN MESSAGE: resources are the constraint
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Role of media (MFi)
 New channels
o Internet
o YouTube
o ...
 New tools
o Visualisation and videos
o Wikis, blogs, twitter, ...
o ...
 New information brokers
o Specialised websites
o People
o ...
MAIN MESSAGE: be proactive and innovative
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Relevance for each and every user (RSi)
 New formats of releases
o Redesign press releases, websites and datawarehouses
o Establish links to other content (tagging, wordclouds, etc.)
o ...
 Engage users in designing products
o Statistical tables and charts
o Wikis and blogs
o ...
 Change the language
o Use layman’s language
o Engage young generations and “prosumers”
o ...
MAIN MESSAGE: harness the power of new
technologies and of “collective intelligence”
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Role of Trust (TSi)
 Measure trust and evaluate the “corporate image”
o Opinion surveys
o Focus groups
o ...
 Be transparent
o Admit mistakes and manage revisions
o Engage users in regular quality evaluations
o ...
 Be authoritative
o Implement the IV fundamental principle in a balanced way
o Establish a continuous dialogue with media
o ...
MAIN MESSAGE: do not take trust for granted
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Role of numeracy (NLi)
 Invest in statistical literacy
o Statistics at school
o Training courses for journalists and policy makers
o ...
 Establish partnerships
o Governmental and non-governamental organisations
o Scientific associations
o ...
 Engage parliaments at national and local levels
o Provide dedicated services
o Establish a continuous dialogue with parlamentarians
o ...
MAIN MESSAGE: enhancing numeracy is part of
statistical offices’ mandate
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Cost of producing statistics (CS)
 Develop an effective system for planning
o Continuous evaluation of positive and negative priorities
o Build medium term scenarios
o ...
 Establish a quality framework
o Rolling reviews to identify and share best practices
o Create a conducive environment for innovation
o ...
 Engage external experts and reviewers
o Exploit new developments in ICT
o Engage academics and research institutes to test new ideas
o ...
MAIN MESSAGE: exploit all opportunities and be
ready to implement both minor and radical changes
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