Dissemination Working Group Luxembourg, 19-20 May 2009 18/05/2009 Dissemination Policy Charter for the European Statistical System (ESS) Draft for discussion Dissemination Working Group Luxembourg, 19-20 May 2009

The sources Existing practices, as surveyed by questionnaire on data dissemination conditions (Oct. 2008): On: free of charge or not, customer-specific extractions, microdata, conditions of use and redistribution, … 35 NSIs, including Eurostat (100% response rate!) Main conclusion: unexpectedly much common ground European Statistics Code of Practice, especially Principle 6: Impartiality and objectivity Principle 15: Accessibility and clarity Existing national policy documents

The objectives of the Charter A kind of ‘constitution’ Short and simple, ideally one page only As a support for dissemination activity of NSIs, against political-institutional and resource limitations As a common basis for more elaborate national policy documents Ensuring that all NSIs have some statement of the principles under which they disseminate

The 7 principles Equal and free access to statistics Equal and free access to explanations of statistics Respect for privacy Announced and simultaneous release Free use of statistics Free transmission or commercialisation of statistics Free access to microdata for research

Equal and free access to statistics Statistics are public good financed by taxes All citizens and organisations have equal right to them For free Statistics may be charged, but only as an exception and with justification, if they were created for private and particular use only require resources over and above what should be publicly financed

Equal and free access to explanations of statistics Statistics must be explained properly (otherwise they are meaningless) Explanations must be unbiased and objective adapted to the level of users Explanations must address collection and calculation methods the status and meaning of statistical results limitations and possible misinterpretations

3. Respect for privacy No data relating to individual persons or entities must be disclosed In compliance with confidentiality and data protection laws

4. Announced and simultaneous release Important data releases must be announced via release calendar Release must respect the calendar and be punctual Release must be simultaneous and under equal conditions for all Appropriate channels should be used Releases should be sufficiently publicised, if necessary via press release

5. Free use of statistics Statistics can be used without restrictions and at no charge IF Data integrity is respected The source is properly acknowledged

Free transmission or commercialisation of statistics 18/05/2009 Free transmission or commercialisation of statistics Statistics can be transmitted or commercialised without restrictions and at no charge IF Data integrity is respected The source is properly acknowledged These requirements are passed on to third parties Both the principle and its conditions remain valid whether or not value has been added to the original statistics

7. Free access to microdata for research Only for statistical or research purposes To users giving guarantees they will respect data integrity and confidentiality (contract) At no charge, unless requiring resources over and above what should be publicly financed

Your questions and comments? Are principles sufficiently clear and distinct? Are principles general enough, yet still meaningful choices? Is every aspect covered? Agreements / disagreements ?