Workshop on the organization of National Statistical
Systems and user-producer relations for countries in
South Asia
National Statistical Systems – the foundation of
the Global Statistical System
Stefan Schweinfest
UN Statistics Division
Colombo, Sri Lanka
22-24 July 2008
Structure of presentation
Driving forces for a Global Statistical
System
 Elements of the Global Statistical System
 Global Statistical System in action
 National Statistical Systems as foundation
of the Global Statistical System
 Future challenges

Driving forces for a Global
Statistical System

Globalization of the demand for statistics

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International organizations (UN Development agenda)
Private sector
Academia
IT revolution
 “Division of labour”

Global Statistical System???

Global ?
- as opposed to ‘international’

Statistical ?
- official statistics only

System ?
- or federation, network, mess
Elements of the Global Statistical
System
National Statistical Systems
 International intergovernmental bodies
(e.g. UNSC, CES, Labour Statisticians)
 International statistical offices
(e.g. UNSD, ECE, ILO etc.)
 International statistical associations

UN - Elements of the Global
Statistical System
UN Statistical Commission
 Committee for the Coordination of
Statistical Activities
 UN Statistics Division

UN Statistical Commission
History/Mandate:
 Started in 1946
 Small (24 members) and technical
 Promoting development of national statistics and
improvement of comparability
 Coordination of statistical work of specialized agencies
 Development of statistical services of UN secretariat
 Advising UN system on statistical matters
 Promoting improvement of statistics and statistical methods
generally
Committee for the Coordination
of Statistical Activities (CCSA)

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Since 1966 – reconstituted in 2002;
Meetings twice a year
Participation of over 20 Chief Statisticians (UN System as
well as World Bank, IMF, OECD, Regional Development
Banks, Eurostat).
“Promote coordination, integration and complementarity
among the statistical programmes of the international
organizations..”
Principles governing international statistical activities
UN Statistics Division

to develop and promote global statistical
standards

to collect, analyse and disseminate social,
economic, political and environment statistical
data

to assist Member States to establish a
functioning statistical system

to coordinate and promote global statistical
activities and enhance the functioning of the
UN Statistical Commission

to support DESA in its multidimensional
programme of work on social and economic
affairs
Global Statistical System in
action
Developing statistical standards
 Compiling and disseminating global data
 Technical cooperation

Global Statistical System in
action - Standards
Concise Oxford Dictionary:
STANDARD
“weight or measure to which others
conform or by which the accuracy or
quality of others is judged; thing
serving as basis of comparison”
Develop “common professional
language”.
Global Statistical System in
action – Standards
Challenges:





Need for an integrated
presentation of the family of
standards
Differentiate normative degrees:
Standards, Principles,
Recommendations, Manuals etc.
Ensure full legitimacy of global
standards (Statistical
Commission).
Assist countries in the
implementation of standards
Assess degree of compliance with
global standards
Global Statistical System in
action
• Make UN databases freely
available
• Organize international databases
to allow searchability and open
access
• Promote national data
dissemination
• Build a global data
dissemination infrastructure
Global Statistical System in
action – Technical cooperation

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Multitude of bilateral and multilateral projects of
cooperation reflect the shared vision of the Global
Statistical System and a sense of professional solidarity;
Context of reduced funding: coordination and pooling of
resources becomes all the more imperative.
Improve the level of coordination, through
 (i) early harmonization of submissions for projects,
 (ii) common approach to evaluation of technical
cooperation and training activities
 (iii) sharing of training and other technical cooperation
material.
National Statistical Systems as
foundation of the Global
Statistical System

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Many different types of national systems:
 Decentralized vs. centralized
 high visibility and unique identity vs. part of larger
organization
No single “best practice” model for statistical governance
Statistical systems reflect individual country circumstances
(historical and cultural)
Common characteristics of successful and effective
statistical systems: Credibility, Influence, Responsiveness
and Innovativeness.
National Statistical Systems as
foundation of the Global
Statistical System (2)
“Credibility and trust is hard to win, but easy to lose”
 Internal:
 Quality assessment process
 Methodological soundness
 Professional integrity
 External:
 International certification and peer reviews
 Complying with international standards
 Quality assurance programme
National Statistical Systems as
foundation of the Global
Statistical System (Tools)

Fundamental Principles
 Adopted by the UN Statistical
Commission in 1994
 challenge of the implementation.

Handbook of Statistical Organization
(2003)
 Topics: statistical law, council, chief
statistician, coordination, resource
management (financial, human, IT);
user communications
National Statistical Systems as
foundation of the Global
Statistical System (Tools)
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UNSD Website of good practices
Handbook (revision 4) evolving
Future challenges

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Governance of the global statistical system (effectiveness,
coherence, technical focus)
Better support for the implementation of global standards –
ensure compliance
How to tackle new areas?
Organization of an effective global “data traffic”
(consistent, transparent, fast)
Better framework for effective technical cooperation at all
levels
Development of a comprehensive strategic plan for the
Global Statistical System?
Thank you!
http://unstats.un.org