Measuring and Monitoring Public Engagement in Qatar "Measuring the Un-measurable: Challenging the Limits of Official Statistics" 27 Feb. 2012 Measuring and Monitoring Public Engagement in Qatar Hamad bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani President, Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018 Qatar Statistics Authority

Outline The Rationale Public Engagement: Concepts and Definitions Important areas of Public Engagement Impact of Public Engagement Data Sources Measurement tools Challenges to measuring Public Engagement Way Forward Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Rationale Qatar Vision 2030 focuses on the four areas of development, namely Economic development, Human development, Social development, and Environmental Development Official statistics are capable of portraying a country through a set of indicators, maps, graphs, etc. The traditional socio-economic and environmental indicators (GDP, HDI, MDGs indicators, etc.) do not adequately measure the achievement of the goals targeted in Qatar Vision 2030. New Statistics and indicators are needed. QNV 2030 Vision are four-pronged: Human Development: To enable all Qatar’s people to sustain a prosperous society. Social Development: To maintain a just and caring society based on high moral standards , Economic Development: To achieve a competitive and diversified economy Environment Development: To ensure harmony among economic growth, social development and environmental protection. The existing measures (current macro economic and social indicators do not measure all these phenomena in a holistic way. Hence the quest for New Indicators: In addition to material well -being, there is need to develop a set of new indicators to measure life satisfaction, general well-being , social justice through Public Engagement. Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Why is measuring Public Engagement important for Qatar and for the Region? The current situation in some countries in the Arab region, has prompted QSA and a group of researchers to discuss a way to better understand the concept of Public Engagement, and to suggest appropriate measurement tools. Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Public Engagement: Concepts and Definitions Public engagement is a process that brings people of all walks of life together to address issues of common importance. Public engagement builds a feeling of belonging. Builds trust in policy makers. Creates opportunities for citizens to become involved in problem solving and decision making. No additional notes required. Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Some important areas of Public Engagement Education and access to information Health and wellbeing Sports and leisure Culture and Heritage Energy and Environment Policy Consultations Media including Social Media Social Protection In particular, since in Qatar, we are now preparing for the hosting of FIFA 2022, it is an opportune time to devise some methods to measure and monitor public engagement FIFA 2022 is not just a sport event. We believe that it will bring along a wide range of economic, social , cultural and environmental activities , that would have some impact on the development process (infrastructure, net working, social media) and the life style and values of the people. In order to build preparedness for this important event , there is need to start measuring and monitoring awareness, involvement and collaboration of the Public towards making FIFA 2022 a success. . Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Impact of Public Engagement Public Access to Knowledge A knowledge based society Improved quality of life Expanded Social Capital Public Access to Facilities Improved health Improved wellbeing Institutional Commitment More effective Interaction Result oriented partnership This project on measurement of public engagement will help QSA to develop new indicators to measure the impact on quality of life including health, knowledge, wellbeing etc. Measurement of public engagement through social networks is a new avenue for data collection Assist decision makers to enhance public involvement on specific areas of concern. Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Data Sources Specialized surveys Administrative data from various Ministries and other Government Units Research activities by specialized groups Social Media New surveys on Readership, Audience, opinion mining, etc., Participation in events (membership in sports clubs/visits to Museums/conferences/Doha Debate) Research activities by specialized groups like Qatar Foundation, Qatar University , etc., Social Media (Sentimental analysis through twitter/Facebook etc.,) Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Examples of Qatari Social Media Statistics Category No. of users Penetration of Population Penetration of online population Facebook 481,280 28.32% 85.36% Twitter 133,000 7.83% 23.62% Penetration of Population: It the percentage of Facebook/Twitter users to the total population. {(Facebook users/ Population of the country)*100} {(Twitter users/ Population of the country)*100} Penetration of online Population: Percentage of Facebook/Twitter users to the internet users. {(Facebook users/ Internet Users)*100} {(Twitter users/ Internet Users)*100} Note:(The number of Internet users are Based on information from International Telecommunication Union) Source: Computing Research Institute, Qatar Foundation April,2011 Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Examples of Qatari Social Media Statistics (Cont’d) Source: Computing Research Institute, Qatar Foundation April,2011 Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Examples of Qatari Social Media Statistics (Cont’d) Source: Computing Research Institute, Qatar Foundation April,2011 Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Examples of Qatari Social Media Statistics (Cont’d) Source: Computing Research Institute, Qatar Foundation April,2011 Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

AWARENESS What to measure? Reading newspapers Watching news/Radio/online news Talking about current events/public affaires (Majlis, Doha debates) In order to measure awareness of the population on national and international topics there will be need to collect new statistics on newspaper readership, on viewers/audience of TV/Radio/specific channels. Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

CIVIC VOICE What to measure? Contacting Media Participating in Policy conferences Contacting Public Officials Using Social Media In order to measure the extent of Civic Voice, regular records will be kept on number of people reporting certain grievances/sharing of experiences/either through the regular channels or through the social media. Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

INVOLVEMENT What to measure? Membership in Groups/Associations Participation in Volunteer Activities Fundraising for Charity Participation in committees New statistics will help to better understand the extent of public engagement in specific areas, and to provide opportunities for public involvement and participation in fund raising/charities, in the decision making process at all levels (Government/Community/Family) Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Measurement Issues to Consider Standards do not currently exist at the international level There is a need to identify target population/“Different publics” Involves talking to people and not about people Build trust and ensure confidentiality Design appropriate data capturing means How will the information be used How will the information change the life of the provider At the international and regional level, there is need to better understand the concept of public engagement, to agree upon a set of indicators that would be comparable across countries, and over time. Because of the specificities of the population structure of Qatar, as well as that of the other GCC Countries, there will be need to consider the local specificities. Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Improving Response Build Trust Educate Engage Provide Feedback In order to improve the response rate to our surveys, first of all, there is need to build trust in the institutions producing official statistics. Using the lessons learnt during the publicity campaign for the 2010 Population Census, QSA will continue in its effort to educate and engage all the stakeholders in all the area of Public Engagement . Regular feedback on the outcome will be provided to the concerned Public . Example: 2010 Population Census Publicity Campaign Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Measurement process will help answer the following questions: How active is civil society in Qatar? Should Qatar develop a policy environment that fosters public engagement? What is the impact of public engagement on life satisfaction in Qatar? Is Qatar achieving it’s vision and goals? Qatar National Vision 2030 National Development Strategy 2011-2016 Qatar National Master Plan 2032 FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Challenges to Measuring Public Engagement Better understanding of the concept Need for an appropriate framework for Qatar Need to increase public awareness on the issue of Public Engagement Need to develop appropriate measurement tools/indicators Need to identify required resources, including capacity building of staff Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Way Forward QSA to initiate the process and together with partners develop the appropriate methodology for measuring Public Engagement To identify the stakeholders/Public institutions To create awareness on issues/outcomes of Public Engagement To collect data and assess the current status of Public Engagement To prepare recommendations and inform decision makers on the current status of Public Engagement QSA is the official source and repository of key statistics and indicators , on the social and economic development . It also plays an important role in the coordination of the whole National Statistical System . In order to meet the challenging task of measuring and monitoring Public Engagement, QSA in collaboration with the local stakeholders and with the international agencies ,would like to stimulate interest in the development of new methodologies to produce the appropriate statistics and indicators. Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Way Forward (Cont’d) To encourage the development of a strategy to enhance Public Engagement to achieve the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030 To collaborate and seek advice with international/regional/research institutions To develop a repository to monitor Public Engagement in Qatar. To ensure sustainability of the project at national level. Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018

Thanks Qatar Statistics Authority 11/8/2018