Improving the quality of administrative data used
for Official Statistics – Recent experiences in the
Emirate of Abu Dhabi
Nancy McBeth and Khaled Al Hashmi
IAOS 2014, Da Nang Vietnam
October 2014
www.scad.ae
Contents
1.
Introduction to Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates
2.
Statistical System of Abu Dhabi (SSAD)
3.
Pilot Data Quality Assessment Process
4.
Key Findings
5.
Implications for SSAD Strategy
6.
Lessons and Recommendations
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1. Introduction to Abu Dhabi and the United
Arab Emirates
• Abu Dhabi – largest of the seven emirates that make up the United
Arab Emirates (UAE)
• UAE - established in 1971, major producer of oil and gas; major
transport hub and tourism destination
• Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi - SCAD has four main functions:
– Develop and organize a statistical system for Abu Dhabi.
– Contribute to the UAE’s national statistical system.
– Provide official statistics related to the conditions of the Abu
Dhabi society.
– Support decision makers in Abu Dhabi.
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2. Statistical System of Abu Dhabi
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Future Strategy of Statistical System of Abu
Dhabi
SSAD Vision
Leading statistical system providing relevant,
accurate statistics to meet the needs
of users and inform Abu Dhabi’s development agenda
Priorities
• sustainable statistical system
• use of official statistics in decision making
• profile of Abu Dhabi globally
• world class systems
Strategic Objectives
Producers
1. Build the
statistical
capability of
entities in the
SSAD
Capability
Products
2. Elevate the
quality of data
and statistical
products
Quality
Users
Management
Governance
3. Improve user
orientation of the
SSAD
4. Drive
continuous
improvement
through
management and
coordination of the
SSAD
5. Ensure
adequate
oversight,
representation and
governance of
statistical activity
Service
Coordination
Oversight
SSAD Strategic Initiatives
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Future Strategy of Statistical System of Abu
Dhabi
SSAD Strategy
SSAD Quality Initiatives
•
SSAD Standards and Guidelines
Handbook
•
Quality Assurance & Audit for
SCAD + ADGE, QA Function
•
ADGE Statistical Accreditation
•
Certification process for surveys
and statistics production
•
Define Scope and Revise SLAs
between SCAD and ADGE
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3. Pilot Data Quality Assessment Process
1
Quality Assessment framework
2
Pilot project – 43 datasets provided by 23 Abu Dhabi Government
and Federal entities
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Two stage assessment:
a) Internal SCAD assessment
b) Final assessment prepared after discussions with
sub-set of entities
4
Action Plans developed between SCAD and sub-set of Entities
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Pilot Data Quality Framework – Quality
Components
Relevance
Accuracy
Timeliness & Punctuality
Accessibility & Clarity
Comparability
Coherence
Based on DESAP – and adjusted for local conditions
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4. Key Findings
Components of
Quality
Key Findings
Relevance
Nearly all relevant. More work needed to understand user
satisfaction
Accuracy
25% of datasets with significant under coverage. Errors in
approximately 50%
Timeliness &
Punctuality
25% of datasets frequently delivered late. Nearly 20% of
datasets significant lag. SCAD Outputs are generally delivered
to deadlines
Accessibility &
Clarity
75% of datasets - limited or no metadata supplied, resulting in
poor metadata provided to Users.
Nearly all datasets are eventually released as statistics
Comparability
Comparable over time – but more work needed to compare and
contrast data with other datasets
Coherence
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Generally internally coherent
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Key Results – Overall Quality
Scale: 1 Poor 5 Very Good
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Example of High Quality
Scale: 1 Poor 5 Very Good
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Example of Poorer Quality
Scale: 1 Poor 5 Very Good
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Quality Issues within Entities
Component
Issue
Possible Causes within Entities
Accuracy
Significant undercoverage
•
•
Limited IT functionality
Outsource contracts with no or
limited quality checks
Timeliness and
Punctuality
Significant lags
Data delivery delays
•
•
•
Limited IT functionality
Time needed for data review
Data supply timeframes not aligned
with SCAD
Poor metadata supply
•
Struggle to source metadata from
their providers
Metadata needs to be enhanced to
meet statistical requirements
Metadata Supply
•
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Actions to improve the Quality of
Administrative Data
• Metadata frameworks
• Quality Manual and Guidelines
• Timeliness and Accuracy Improvement Projects in entities
• Review and strengthen Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Develop and implement the Statistical System of Abu
Dhabi (SSAD)
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5. Implications for SSAD Strategy
SSAD Vision
Leading statistical system providing relevant,
accurate statistics to meet the needs
of users and inform Abu Dhabi’s development agenda
Priorities
• sustainable statistical system
• use of official statistics in decision making
• profile of Abu Dhabi globally
• world class systems
Strategic Objectives
Producers
1. Build the
statistical
capability of
entities in the
SSAD
Capability
Products
2. Elevate the
quality of data
and statistical
products
Quality
Users
Management
Governance
3. Improve user
orientation of the
SSAD
4. Drive
continuous
improvement
through
management and
coordination of the
SSAD
5. Ensure
adequate
oversight,
representation and
governance of
statistical activity
Service
Coordination
Oversight
SSAD Strategic Initiatives
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6. Lessons and Recommendations
Lessons
•
DESAP model can be adapted
•
Data quality is a joint
responsibility between the
providing entity and the
Statistics Office
•
•
•
Quality assessment combination of in-house
resources and data providers
Pilot, reflect, revise
Recommendations
• Base Quality Assessment
frameworks and tools on
International practices, but
adapt to local conditions
• Develop and implement Data
Quality Assessments - Don’t be
afraid to start
• Improving Data Quality, one of
the many activities to enhancing
relationships with data providers
Manage data quality
improvements in the context of
the wider system
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Thank You
• Questions?
• For More information
Read our paper
Talk to us
Khaled Al Hashmi
Nancy McBeth
Visit our website
-
kalhashmi@scad.ae
nemcbeth@scad.ae
www.scad.ae
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