Introduction to ESDS International Celia Russell Economic and Social Data Service MIMAS April 14 th 2004 University of Manchester Delivering the World: The Establishment of an International Data Service Celia Russell Economic and Social Data Service MIMAS, University of Manchester UNECE/OECD Work Session on Statistical Dissemination and Communication February th 2005

Structure of the Talk  Economic and Social Data Service  ESDS International − Background to service − Data acquisition strategy − Data re-distribution licensing − Delivering the data − Building a new user community − Value added activities − Storytelling examples − Conclusion and future of service

Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS)  National data archiving and dissemination service for social science data in the UK  ESDS provides free access to, and support for a huge range of social and economic datasets for the academic sectors  Jointly supported by Joint Information Systems Committee and the Economic and Social Research Council  Project partners are Manchester University and Essex University

ESDS Specialist Data Services ESDS has four specialist data services:  ESDS Government  ESDS Longitudinal  ESDS Qualidata  ESDS International Each providing: dedicated web sites dataset documentation user support training and the data!

ESDS International  Led by MIMAS at the Manchester University in partnership with ESDS management at the UK Data Archive and is funded for five years.  Provides the UK academic community with free web-based access to a range of key international macro databanks produced by organisations such as the United Nations, OECD and World Bank  Helps users to locate and acquire international micro level datasets  Promotes the use of international datasets in research and teaching across a range of disciplines

International data providers The databanks originate from:  the International Monetary Fund  the OECD  the United Nations  the World Bank  Eurostat  the International Labour Organisation  the UK Office for National Statistics

Databases in the service (1) OECD Main Economic Indicators OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators OECD Quarterly Labour Force Statistics OECD Social Expenditure Database OECD Measuring Globalisation OECD International Development OECD International Direct Investment Statistics OECD International Migration Statistics OECD Services Statistics Time Series Data

Databases in the service (2) UNIDO Industrial Statistics UNIDO Industrial Demand Supply IMF Direction of Trade Statistics IMF International Financial Statistics IMF Balance of Payment Statistics IMF Government Finance Statistics World Bank World Development Indicators World Bank Global Development Finance United Nations Common Database Eurostat New Cronos ILO Key Indicators of the Labour Market

Background to service  Increasingly globalised world –Importance of international data growing –Powerful Inter-Governmental Organisations –Need for informed debate  Timely factors –IGOs want to demonstrate increased transparency –Datasets can now be converted for web delivery –Funding bodies want to encourage and expand research into international issues

Barriers to use of international data  Prohibitive data license costs  Lack of awareness of available data  Multiple non web-based interfaces  Different service providers  Multiple registration systems  Absence of coordinated data acquisition strategy  Size and complexity of datasets  Problems in obtaining up-to-date data  Lack of integrated user support service  Lack of appropriate data handling skills

Data Acquisition Strategy  Continued access  Data selection –Literature survey –ESDS User consultation survey –Data mapping exercise –Prohibitive data license costs – previously barrier to use –Research quality

International data themes Databanks cover:  Economic performance and development  Trade, industry and markets  Employment  Demography, migration and health  Governance  Human development  Social expenditure  Education  Science and technology  Land use and the environment

Data Re-distribution Licensing  Breaking new ground! – UK wide data re-distribution agreements  Data negotiations  Databeuro  Model licences  Special conditions

Delivery of the Data  Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server  Requires standard web browser  Accessibility compliant  Allows sub-setting, displaying, visualising and downloading of Time Series Data  Challenges of converting data  Complex files  Range of sources/formats  Varying quality/amount of documentation

Visualisation Interface: CommonGIS Human fertility in Europe

Cross tabulations

Visualisation: global data

Value Added Activities  Specialist advice  Online teaching and learning materials  Structure guide to freely available data  Training courses  Promotional activities  Data Wishes  Visualisation interface  Useful web resources elsewhere

Usage by database

User Categories

Usage by discipline

Academic user needs Up to date data Long and consistent time series Good coverage, low sparsity Available metadata Different levels of aggregation Very high quality and reliable with good temporal and geographical coverage. Relatively stable data domains Good long term potential for research and teaching Strong opportunities for comparable research Evidence of usage world wide Authoritative sources

Some User Problems Missing data Locating data –Need for standardised metadata for subject, country, periodicity, time range, definitions Comparability –Some databanks better than others for comparing countries Understanding discrepancies between databanks –Theoretically identical data points different in different databases

Example of a data discrepancy

Why the service is so popular Up to date data – the databanks are updated with the latest releases Data free at point of use (licence costs paid centrally) Single web interface to all the databanks – users only have to learn it once Single portal for wide range of international databanks, links to other resources eg freely available data Consistent and comprehensive documentation Training, user support, helpful helpdesk

Storytelling (with the international databanks!)

Example from the World Development Indicators

An example we use in teaching:

Further Work  Continue delivery of portfolio with additional databanks on energy, the environment, telecommunications, health  Monitor demand for data  Discover how data used  Continue promotional activities  Develop teaching and learning materials

Conclusions ESDS International has greatly improved usage of the international databanks in the UK. Now used by thousands, with hundreds of new users each month. Before the existence of the service, the data was used by only a handful of institutions. It is now used by virtually all UK universities. The service has significantly increased the awareness of UK social science graduates of international data resources So successful in the UK, it maybe now extended to other countries