1. Petteri Baer, Marketing Manager, Statistics Finland
Official Statistical Information - A key source for monitoring development and allocation of resources
Consultation Mission on Promoting the activity and Creating a positive image of the Ukrainian State Statistical bodies Kiev, Ukraine 9 – 12 December 2014
Petteri Baer, Marketing Manager, Statistics Finland
Courtesy to Mr Heinrich Bruengger, Director Emeritus, UNECE Statistical Division

2. The importance of good statistical information (1)
Attracting investments, doing good business, developing economic activities needs evidence based decision making – reliable official statistics is a basic source for this
Economic and social development should continuously be monitored. Without reliable statistical information about the past and present, no real analysis of the situation, and no inference for future developments, can be made
Petteri Baer
Kiev 9-12 December 2014

3. The importance of good statistical information (2)
How can resources be allocated if basic information on economic development, prices or population is based on guesses or (too) old information?
If the denominators of Gross Domestic Product, the population or other basic indicators are wrong, indicators may be misleading, especially when compared across countries
Petteri Baer
Kiev 9-12 December 2014

4. 2-15 March 2013
How do we perceive ourselves? How do decision makers perceive our services?
How important is our role in real decision making?
In practical terms?
How covering is our information on users?
Do we know enough about our potential users, our potential customers?
Kiev 9-12 December 2014
Petteri Baer

5. Customer Service Principles of Statistics Finland
We are easy to approach
We serve our customers flexibly and efficiently
We attend carefully to the needs of our customers
We operate fast and with precision
We keep our customers up-to-date
We learn continuously from our customers
Petteri Baer
Kiev 9-12 December 2014

6. A LEARNING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
Dialogue with customer and analysis of customer behaviour
Growth of customer loyalty
More information about
and consolidation of the
present and forthcoming
customer relationship
needs of the customer
Willingness of both parties
A LEARNING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
to invest both time
More efficient marketing
and money in building the
and service profile to customer
customer relationship
The value of the customer
More activities responding to
relationship grows for
real customer needs
both parties
More efficient customer
contacting and a decline of contacts made in vain
Petteri Baer
Kiev 9-12 December 2014

7. Statistical capacity is a combination of…
A specific institutional framework for the national system of official statistics and the main producer, the National Statistical Office, based on a law that is based on the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics
Know-how of staff in the field of producing, processing and dissemination of statistical information in the various subject areas of official statistics (a variety of complex scientific, professional and managerial tasks)
Adequate ICT resources
Petteri Baer
Kiev 9-12 December 2014

8. Trust and reliability
Official Statistics are reliable and trusted only if
Disseminated publicly in time and available to all users
Based on internationally accepted norms and recommendations
Methodology is transparent
Respondents in surveys trust the pledge of confidentiality and exclusive use for statistics
Accessibility for all users is ensured through a range of electronic and other products
Users trust the producer to be free from interference
Building trust is of utmost importance for Official Statistics
Petteri Baer
Kiev 9-12 December 2014

9. The importance of statistical information becomes evident
Imagine a situation in which statistical information for decision making is NOT available
 we will easily have
Wrong analysis of the situation
Wrong allocation of resources
Wrong investments of scarce resources
Conclusion: Building statistical capacity is a primary infrastructure investment
Petteri Baer
Kiev 9-12 December 2014

10. What are policy makers expected to do for statistics?
Help creating and respecting a good legal basis for statistical system and censuses
Make sure that NSO and other producers have the necessary resources in quantity and quality
Avoid considering statistics as being too trivial or too elusive for attention; Statistics is a key information for many actors
Enable staff to participate fully in international meetings and to follow training
Petteri Baer
Kiev 9-12 December 2014

11. Support from policy makers
Keep in mind that official statistics is a way to describe a complex reality in a condensed and quantitative form
Do not shoot (or punish) the messenger, if you do not like the reality!
Petteri Baer
Kiev 9-12 December 2014

12. Different user groups have needs for both ready made and customized statistical information
Ministries and central administrative bodies
Regional authorities
Local authorities
Research institutions
Non-governmental organizations
Libraries
Educational institutions
Businesses and economic actors
Directors, “Big bosses”
Market researchers
Investment calculators
Note: Differences according to sectors & industries
Media
Different scopes: national, regional, local, scandal, with a special target
Kiev 9-12 December 2014
Petteri Baer

13. Different user groups have different need structures
2-15 March 2013
Different user groups have different need structures
Consequently they have varying demands for statistical services
Business people versus researchers
Local authorities – comparisons with other local authorities and with the average
NGOs, lobbyists – focus on the themes, relevant for their interest group
It is not wise to serve them all with the same common approach
Petteri Baer
Kiev 9-12 December 2014
Petteri Baer

14. What is “ready made” statistical information?
Web site of the NSO
Theme and topic web sites
Good navigation structures
Good search function
Paths to deeper insight
Need for user friendly databases
User training
Researchers’ need for microdata
Easy to find
Easy to use
Focusing on relevant phenomena on which information is needed
More demands for visual presentations, good graphs
More demand for presentations using GIS
Kiev 9-12 December 2014
Petteri Baer

15. Only used statistics are useful!
And always remember...
Only used statistics are useful!
Kiev 9-12 December 2014