International Trade Expert meeting
What’s going on at OECD:
statistical information
management
Lars Thygesen
April, 2004
Data collection from
Member countries
April, 2004
2
Modes of data collection
standard questionnaire
 “send what you’ve got”
 web queries from web site

April, 2004
3
Quality
transmit on the day of publication
 available on web site for download
 follow specified format
 correct translation of codes

April, 2004
4
Highlights from a survey
numerous cases of missing data
(national accounts)
 short and long delays
 some errors and re-sendings

April, 2004
5
What can be done?
Short term: Remove obstacles?
 Long term: New methods?

April, 2004
6
What is SDMX?
Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange
 develop and employ more efficient
business processes for exchange and
sharing of statistical information and
metadata
 Standards

April, 2004
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And why is OECD interested?
Questionnaires:
 heavy reporting burden
 similar questionnaires for other IOs
 timeliness
 error prone
 heavy burden on OECD
April, 2004
8
What we hope to gain
more efficient reporting, i.e. less
burden on countries as well as on
OECD
 automated procedures which are
less error prone
 more timely reporting and,
consequently, dissemination
 enhanced coordination with other
international organisations

April, 2004
9
Aligned Projects
Exchange of national accounts data
between the OECD and Member
countries (NAWWE)
 Joint UN/OECD Foreign Trade
Statistics project (Comtrade)

April, 2004
10
NAWWE:
Data Flow
OECD Web Server
SDMX Based
XML Schemas
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http:..XML"...>
<xs:element name="Code">
<xs:complexType/>
</xs:element>…….
XML Data Files
Structural XML
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<OECD.STAT xmlns:xsd=...>
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<OECD.STAT xmlns:xsd=...>
<Value>CANADA</Value>
</Data>
……
Navigation
XML Files
Validated
By Schema
Web Application
<Value>STRUCTURE</Value>
</Data>
……
Upload to
SNA Database
or Output to
Other Format
Defines Dimensions
and Data Structure
Excel
Tables
<Value>AUSTRALIA</Value>
</Data>
……
XML Data Files
XML Files
Copied to
Server
Copied XML Files
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<OECD.STAT xmlns:xsd=...>
<Value>CANADA</Value>
</Data>
<?xml version="1.0"?>
……
<OECD.STAT xmlns:xsd=...>
<Value>AUSTRALIA</Value>
</Data>
……
April, 2004
11
Content
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<OECD.STAT xmlns:xsd=...>
OECD’s new
Statistical Information System
April, 2004
12
Overall goals

User friendliness
– One-stop database
– Easy access
– Common look and feel of all products

Efficiency
– Common tools
– Easy access across OECD

Quality
–
–
–
–

Coherence of concepts & data
Timeliness
Good metadata
Review of processes
Flexibility
– Separate storing, process, presentation
April, 2004
13
OECD.Stat

April, 2004
14
The central repository
("warehouse") where validated
statistics and related metadata
destined for publication and/or
sharing are stored
SIS Architecture
Production
Storage
Data Production
Environments
(incl. StatWorks)
Dissemination
OECD.Stat
Corporate Data
Cubes
Warehouse
User
Interfaces
PubStat
MetaStore
Metadata
Production
Environment
XML
XML
Web Services
Work flow
April, 2004
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Publication
Management
Interface
Published
Outputs
Metadata principles
All statistical data being shared or
disseminated, internally or externally,
must have appropriate metadata
 Statistical metadata must be consistent
 All metadata must be created only once

April, 2004
16
Quality
problems
Recommendations
Quality
Review
Statistics X
April, 2004
17
SIS
Migration
Plan
The End
April, 2004