Statistics to Meet Policy Needs: The Labour of Sisypho Enrico Giovannini

Some basic facts According to users’ opinion: data always come too late; the coverage is insufficient; the comparability is poor; classifications are outdated; independence in official statistics is questioned Conclusion: confidence in official statistics is often limited

New challenges Integration between economic, social and environmental dimensions Increasing role of “intangible products” Globalisation of economic and social phenomena Reduction in overall resources devoted to official statistics Competition between official and private sources

Aim of the paper Instruments used in OECD countries to identify users’ needs Initiatives to improve the dialogue between statisticians and policy makers in developing countries The involvement of statisticians in policy decision making processes How to improve the dialogue: the role of national statistical agencies; the role of international organisations

Instruments to identify users’ needs In all OECD countries there is a full awareness of the importance of establishing and maintaining a continuous dialogue with users The “state of the art” depends on: the seniority of the national statistical system; the organisation of the national statistical system; institutional and cultural factors

The importance of having a National Statistical Council According to the UN Handbook on the Organisation of a Statistical Agency, the Council: can be used for the defence of the Agency; can be the guardian of fundamental values; can evaluate how existing resources are allocated to meet different needs; can support initiatives proposed or undertaken by the Statistical Agency Ad hoc committees are also used

At international level the picture is very heterogeneous (1) Eurostat: Dialogue with other DGs and with ECB Co-operation with NSOs (working groups, etc.) Advisory Committee on Statistical Information in the Economic and Social Spheres (CEIES) Co-decision procedure involves the EU Council and the European Parliament OECD: Co-operation with national experts (committees, etc.) High Level Group on Statistics

At international level the picture is very heterogeneous (2) UN Statistical Division: UN Regional Commissions UN bodies UN Statistical Commission Dialogue with the rest of the “UN family” International Monetary Fund: Working groups and committees Dialogue with IMF Directorates

At international level the picture is very heterogeneous (3) Other tools: Co-operation between international organisations Conference of European Statisticians National statistical societies International statistical associations Ad-hoc conferences and workshops

In conclusion: Several tools are available, at national and international levels, to identify users’ needs At least in OECD countries Therefore, the often mentioned lack of statisticians’ capacity in meeting users’ needs is not due to the lack of opportunities where to have a dialogue between statisticians and policy makers

The case of developing countries The Millennium Declaration stated the goal of halving the proportion of people living under $1 a day in 2015 UN, IMF, OECD and WB agreed a formulation for the Millennium Development Goals and related indicators: 8 goals; 18 targets; 48 indicators The UN Secretary General has to produce annual reports, starting in 2002

The issue is how to ensure: The MDGs provide an accountability framework for reporting at national and international levels Such monitoring and reporting system requires reliable, timely and relevant statistics This, in turn, requires that sufficient resources are put into the statistical system The issue is how to ensure: that policy makers allocate necessary resources? that good statistics are produced following the MDG framework?

The PARIS21 initiative UN, OECD, WB, IMF and Eurostat have founded a Consortium to: bring together donors and governments in support of country-owned development strategies; demonstrate the power and use of statistics for policy decisions; support the collection of the right information for policy making; share knowledge and foster co-ordination; build sustainable statistical capacity, by better use of data as a tool for more effective development

Initiatives are financed by a Trust Fund for Main tools: regional workshops, brochures, newsletter; web-site; etc. Initiatives are financed by a Trust Fund for Statistical capacity Building, managed by the World Bank

In conclusion: In developing countries the main problem is the creation of a statistical culture among policy makers and civil societies Various initiatives undertaken by international organisations and individual countries are important Co-ordination between international organisations is quite good Funds available for this purpose are largely insufficient

The involvement of statisticians in policy decision making processes When data are already available, statisticians have: the responsibility to make them easily accessible and interpretable to policy makers; to prepare tailored products/services for helping legislators to take their decisions; to present integrated frameworks where available statistical information provided by different sources is presented; to co-operate with substantive analysts to develop models, to interpret their results, etc.

When new data have to be collected, policy makers have: to involve official statisticians in identifying new needs, from the early beginning; to leave official statisticians free to establish definitions and classifications according to scientific criteria; to ensure that necessary resources are provided; to balance new and existing needs, ensuring that official statistics provide a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the economy and the society, taking into account the demand coming from the civil society

In conclusion: The role of official statisticians as pure “data providers” is too narrow Official statisticians have to help lawmakers to understand economic and social phenomena, as well as their interactions Needs expressed by policy makers have to be balanced with those expressed by the rest of the society The scientific independence of statisticians has to be guaranteed by law and by concrete policy makers’ behaviours

How to improve the dialogue? The role of national statistical agencies: to develop as wide as possible relationships with academia; to develop specific products to help lawmakers, and in particular parliamentarians, in preparing legislation; to invest resources to improve the dialogue with media and their understanding of statistics; to develop close relationships with business associations and their opinion leaders; to promote the general confidence in the national statistical system as a key player in the “information society”

The role of International Organisations. The case of the OECD: several research projects have been launched in co-operation with academic institutions and researchers; the OECD work programme is established by national delegates representing governments; initiatives have been undertaken to improve visibility of statistics to journalists and opinion leaders; a joint action plan has been defined with the OECD “Business and Industry Advisory Committee”; two new media have been developed: The OECD Statistics Newsletter; Statistics Brief.

More generally, international organisations: have to play a role of facilitator for exchanging experiences; can offer policy makers an integrated view of what are current and emerging users’ needs; have to improve the communication to the non-statistical world about the main conclusions of international statistical meetings; have to collect and invest more resources: in developing new statistical concepts, definitions, classifications; in helping the creation of adequate statistical capacities in developing countries and in emerging “global players”

Is it really a labour of Sisypho? Yes, it is, because even though statisticians are trying to do their best to meet current and future needs, there will always be a group of unsatisfied users However, this is our life and we have to do our best, balancing between different and contradictory needs, as well as the optimal allocation of resources New technologies offer a fundamental contribution in improving the cost-efficiency of statistical activities, but they cannot solve all problems It is still up to statisticians to develop new institutional, methodological and organisational solutions to make the statistical picture of society as accurate, timely and reliable as possible

Is it really a labour of Sisypho? International organisations can play a fundamental role in helping national policy makers and statisticians to identify needs and the most appropriate solutions In addition, they have to promote the awareness of policy makers on the role of statistics and an instrument of democracy, in each country and at international level We statisticians have to help both policy makers and individuals to adopt well informed decision-making processes Because the quality of our life, and the life of future generations, depends on these processes, we should be happy to be condemned to play the role of Sisypho