ISI Partnership with AGROST
The International Statistics Institute is the statistics brain trust of the
world and one of the oldest intellectual organisations that spans a
variety of frontiers and branches of statistics including ethics and
code of statistical practice. Its membership is largely represented in
teaching, research and applications, such as official statistics. In
terms of institutions the ISI manifests itself through institutions of
higher learning, research institutions and national statistics offices.
The African continent has grave statistical deficits for driving her
development agenda and it has ecological and social variety, which
are factors that lend themselves to statistical tuition, statistical
research and statistical application.
Among the strategic portfolios in which the ISI can contribute is:
1. to assist National Statistical Offices in African countries to
acquire the best and most recent information on the collection,
treatment and dissemination of statistical data.
2. to participate in and contribute to up-to-date training
programmes.
3. to intensify its initiatives for training in important statistical
areas in official statistics but also in other branches of statistics.
This is in branches such as in agriculture, environment,
business and industry, software, health, tourism, actuarial
science and finance, etc.
4. to work with the continent in the implementation of the code
of practice as enshrined in the charter and underlying
principles
This approach gives ample opportunities for the Statistical Training
Centers in Africa to choose a strategic direction at an advanced level
to promote activities, helping them to develop into centers of
excellence in a particular area of statistics. The decisions on
institutions, on relevant subjects and on the procedures to be
followed need to be done in close consultation with AGROST, like
are happening here at StatCom.
The project will look for close cooperation with partners that share
similar interests and/or that have comparable experiences with
teaching assignments in Africa.
At a meeting between ISI and the African stake holders in Dublin in
August 2011, it was recognized that the objectives of the ISI-initiative
fit perfectly with the AGROST objectives and mandate. It has been
recommended that AGROST, as the coordination body for statistical
training activities in Africa, supports ISI in the design and the
implementation of the project. It was further proposed to start the
implementation with a small pilot project in 2012. During the
running of this pilot project, AGROST and ISI will further discuss
how to broaden and intensify the project into an initiative where
many more institutions and subjects will be involved.
Given the intellectual capabilities of ISI and the African needs, the
Commission is asked to consider the following:
1.
ISI applies for membership of the Technical and Financial
Partners of AGROST;
2.
Statistical training, the ISI is called upon to create mechanisms
for exposing its brain trust to the African institutions of higher
learning, research institutes and mentoring young statisticians;
3.
Statistical research, the ISI is called upon to avail its resources
to national statistics offices to strengthen the branch of official
statistics; and
4.
Statistical ethics, the ISI is called upon to continually work
with the continent on code of practice, implementation of the
Statistics Charter and underpinning principles.