Stocktake of the Code of Practice Census in sierra leone – enumerators struggling to collect data – current plans for UK census discussing the ethics of linking admin data from different sources – to work at the cutting edge of developments Regulation of government stats – in a few countries – that we have embedded this in UK Sig – April 2016 – Graciela Bevacque former head of Argentina’s official CPI removed from post for the 2nd time in her career – this time due to lack of backing from the government in the time it would take to redevelop CPI from scratch. Still facing civil charges in Argentinia for producing her own measure of the national inflation – supports independence – that we take for granted – but we go one step further – we have an independent regulatory function within government from which to scrutinise National statistics – and our voice in this role has grown – we use our voice to ensure the correct representation of government data in debate – and indeed in growing quickly in our country – so to be in a position to stocktake the regulatory standard I see as a great sign of success and indeed paving the way for better standards in future Stocktake of the Code of Practice Richard Laux, Johanna Hutchinson and Tegwen Green

Objective : Raise the profile & value of the Code Christmas 2015 Easter 2016 Objective : Raise the profile & value of the Code Code Desk based research Survey Workshops Analysis Feedback/implemetation Steering group meeting Bilateral discussions Steering group meeting Recommendations Christmas 2016

Engagement Survey monkey – 600+ responses 12 workshops in 8 cities Bilaterals Non GSS responses

What does the Code mean to you? We asked… What does the Code mean to you? We asked for one word to describe the Code – what word would you use? The most popular 1) Guidance 2) Useful 3) Standards Others sneaking in too - ‘Vague’ and ‘Restrictive’ – we want to address these

GSS comment Sharing data between others in the same team No clear lines on sharing statistics for MI purposes Producing and publishing daily data Release time of 09:30 is problematic Pre release access restrictions

Users perspectives Proportionate burden not taken seriously Interpreting Official Statistics in layman's language Hard to find & badly worded Definition of user needs is too generic Not clear how to use the Code to enforce change

Emerging findings of the Code stocktake Evidence of support for… making the Code more transformational strengthening the National Statistics brand stimulating an increase in the trust, quality and public value of official statistics = evidence for a review of the scope, content and presentation of the Code Evidence leads to us to think that for the following reasons the Code needs to be reviewed embedded in GSS, maturity in use of a regulation function developments in the collection, production and dissemination of stats – which were not in existence in 2008

Emerging Themes …‘clarify the scope’ and ‘talk in plain English’ …‘engage with the digital age’ …‘promote the brand’ …‘review the focus of assessment’ …‘bring the Code to life’

1. ‘clarify the scope’ Broad resolution = expand the reach of the Code We could: widen the definition of official statistics? Or we could: rename the Code – ‘Code of Practice for Statistics’?

2. ‘engage with the digital age’ Broad resolution = modernise the Code to embrace innovation and creativity in producing, presenting and disseminating statistics Maintain a focus on quality Support the high level Code principles with standards and guidance written by us or others (and endorsed by us)

Justify the ‘value’ of existing National Statistics 3. ‘promote the brand’ Broad resolution = clearly communicate the meaning of the National Statistics brand in terms of trust, quality and value (TQV) and its place in relation to other statistics and data Define ‘value’ Justify the ‘value’ of existing National Statistics Consider a proportionate approach to compliance Restructure the Code around TQV principles?

4. ‘review the focus of assessment’ Broad resolution = greater emphasis on assessing all five ESS dimensions of quality and the trade offs between them Assess some aspects of input and process quality? Conduct some deep dives into methodology?

5. ‘bring the Code to life’ Broad resolution = publish an interactive, searchable version of the Code, to supplement the paper copy encourage creativity and innovation include case studies to demonstrate good practice tailor for different users of statistics?

How can we enhance public value in government statistics? Questions…. One for you….. How can we enhance public value in government statistics? Questions for Ed and I…… Johanna.hutchinson@statistics.gsi.gov.uk