Innovations in data collection, data dissemination,
data access and data analytics
“Modernisation: Evolution or revolution”
Pádraig Dalton, John Dunne & Donal Kelly
Global Conference on a Transformative Agenda for
Official Statistics
New York 15-16 January 2015
What am I going to talk about?
 Introductions
 Context for the paper
 Environmental issues
 Modernisation challenges
 Highlight questions
What am I hoping for?
 Open discussion
 Amongst colleagues
 Inherited our organisations and systems
 Trying to wear a global hat!
 Provocative and perhaps challenging
 Lots of questions – fewer answers?
 Consider the power of “One Voice”
Modernisation – Broad perspective
 Expectation may be technology, Big Data, CSPA
 Context and audience led to broadening of
definition of modernisation and relativity
 Asking questions to tap into experience at
conference and develop understanding
Environmental context
 Only constant - change
 Pace of change
 Increased user demand
 Emergence of global user
 Digital age – technology, sources, strategic alliances?
 Skills: Re-profiling, outsource?
 Availability of skills?
Environmental context - continued
 Politicisation – crisis, targets and indicators
 Resources – are we too passive, a consistent message?
 Urgency some areas – revolution?
 Other areas will take more time – evolution?
 How do we decide – links to collaboration?
 Modernisation Maturity Model?
Modernisation Maturity Model (MMM)
 Just an idea – has it a role?
Strategy
Position
Govern
• Understand national & international directions & factors
• Determine organizational vision & values
• Determine organizational value proposition
• Determine organizational goals
• Communicate values & expectations
Influence & collaborate
• Develop strategies for achieving organizational goals
• Prioritize statistical portfolio
• Prioritize capability portfolio
• Allocate portfolio & programme budgets
• Build & maintain internal statistical & professional excellence
• Build & maintain strategic relations, nationally & internationally
• Build & maintain external statistical excellence
• Advance inter-agency & international collaborations
• Secure support for statistical & capability portfolio
Capability
Plan capability improvements
• Identify 'disruptive' & other
capability improvements
• Propose capability improvement
projects, including shared
infrastructure
• Manage capability improvement
programmes
Develop capability
improvements
• Undertake background research
• Develop detailed capability
requirements
• Design capability solution
• Build & release capability
solution, including shared
infrastructure
• Manage capability development
project
Manage capabilities
Corporate support
Support capability
implementation
• Maintain capabilities, including
• Support design
shared infrastructure
• Support operations
• Promote capabilities
• Support use externally
• Evaluate capabilities
• Manage data, metadata and process
data
• Manage quality
Manage business &
performance
• Manage business
performance
• Manage change and risk
• Manage legislation &
compliance
• Manage physical assets,
including building facilities
Manage finances
• Maintain accounts
(including assets &
liabilities)
• Manage procurement
& contracts
Manage human
resources
Manage IT
• Manage employee
• Manage IT services
performance
• Manage IT &
• Manage & develop
information security
skills
• Manage talent
• Manage recruitment
• Ensure succession
planning
Manage information &
knowledge
Manage consumers &
suppliers
• Manage documents &
records
• Manage knowledge
• Manage information
standards & rights
• Manage
communications and
media relations
• Manage stakeholder
consulations
• Educate users and
improve statistical
literacy
• Manage cross-product
user support
Modernisation Challenges
Institutional setting
Without appropriate institutional settings for NSIs,
despite having numbers, do we have robust, trusted,
reliable and internationally comparable data?
Statistical Framework Pillars
 Data Protection
 Freedom of Information (FOI)
 Statistical legislation
 Statistical legislation the starting point?
 Long-standing problem outside power of NSIs – but can we
influence?
 Without Data Protection and FOI can we have an effective
statistical framework?
Secondary data sources
 Variety of data sources
 Hot topic is Big Data but…….
 Administrative data
- Administrative data also evolving
- Access remains an issue – Why?
- Value proven where in use
- Have we a communications problem to address?
 Have we a role in educating custodians on why and value?
Big Data
 Must continue our work in this area
 Are considerable opportunities and challenges
 Mobile phone data, smart metering, traffic loop data
 Need to move from potential to actual delivery
 Are challenges/questions
- Conflating volume with insight
- Sustainability of data sources over time
- Availability of skill sets
- Technology challenges
- Privacy and data security concerns exist
Big Data
 Not necessarily better than traditional sources but there
is value
 Is it over-hyped at this point and are we managing
expectations?
 Those that can should push ahead but ….
 Coherent output(s) to maximise value of investment
 Create a road-map for others to follow
Privacy & Data Protection
 Are a range of challenges
- Linking secondary and primary data sources
- Implication of strategic alliances
- Privacy and efficiency debate
Privacy & Data Protection
 How do we retain trust in such an environment?
 Do we have a role in surfacing the issues and bringing a
balance to the debate?
 Beyond legal issues – cultural also?
 Communications challenge?
 One Voice
Technology
 Proliferation of mobile technology
 Web services
 Web scraping
 Visualisation
 Pace of change is incredible
 NSIs must share experiences (and tools) – collaboration
Technology
 With technology and “systems development tools”
changing so quickly in what skills etc. should NSIs invest?
 Public-private partnerships – if so in what areas?
 What is the appropriate model for these partnerships?
 Should we “club” together to increase
influence/negotiating power?
 Could or should we pool resources?
Standards based modernisation
 A lot of work ongoing
 UNECE HLG MOS – GSBPM, GSIM, GAMSO, CSPA
 DDI, SDMX
 Stability/maturity of standards - Is there development for
development sake in some areas?
Standards based modernisation
 Is there development for development sake in some
areas?
 Does it mitigate against implementation?
 Proliferation of players (ownership and maintenance)– is
it a challenge?
 How can we collaborate and influence the development
and maintenance of modernisation relevant standards?
Communications
 Already referenced - resources and privacy
 Quality-timeliness debate
 Race to the bottom?
 Must improve timeliness but trade-off limit?
 Are we clear about where we want to position official
statistics – our brand?
 Are we all agreed on our competitive advantage(s) and
unique selling point?
Communications continued
 Each of us strike our own balance or One Voice?
 How can we progress these communications
challenges?
 What will be the most effective approach?
Conclusions
 Couldn’t address all of the modernisation issues
 Focussed on what we thought were the big strategic issues
 Lots of questions – fewer answers!!
 Broader definition of modernisation required
 Is an urgency to modernise in many areas
 Reality - are also modernisation challenges that will take time
 WHO, WHAT, WHERE and WHEN? MMM to help?
Conclusions
 Collaboration is key – easy to say, difficult to do effectively
 Are a lot of modernisation programmes underway at both
national and international level
 What are the most effective and efficient mechanisms,
and divisions of labour, to support the transformative
agenda?