1. Role and development of the metadata system in Statistics Norway
Rune Gløersen Assistant Director General Department for IT and Data Collection
ITDG October 2006

2. Background
Statistics Norway has developed many different metadata systems to serve different purposes and different user groups.
In the last years, there has been a strong focus on the need to link existing systems and a requirement that new metadata systems should not be built in isolation.

3. Metadata strategy (2005-) Overall aim of SSBs metadata strategy:
To create a comprehensive metadata system that will contribute to an efficient production and dissemination of statistics, and at the same time improve the quality of the statistics.
Our metadata should be updated in one place and accessible everywhere.
Linked to SDMX Content-oriented Guidelines
Cross-Domain concepts
Statistical Subject Matter domains
Metadata Common Vocabulary

4. Vardok (Variable Documentation System)
The most important purposes:
A central system for documenting ”all” variables in
Statistics Norway (e.g. definition, validity period, ....)
A tool for harmonising names and definitions of variables.
User involvement!
Stepwise development!
Her må det sies noe om definisjonen på variabler, at den stemmer med den internasjonale, men at vi ikke brukte den da vi snakket med våre brukere
Development process using contextual design
( )
- User involvement: 15 divisions and 42 people
Development process (2003)
Linking to other metadata systems
Resources spent
- A bit more than 2 man years (more than 70% IT)
Resources spent
A bit less than 4 man years (ca. 50% IT)

5. Linking Vardok to other metadata systems
Datadok
LongMdb
Longitudinal data
descriptions
Variable definitions
File descriptions
Vardok
Stabas
Smed
Questionnaires
Classifications
About the data
collection
About the
statistics
StatBank

14. Definition of variable from Vardok
displayed in About the data collections
Web services, based on XML

15. Statistical Metadata Web Page
The overall purpose of the Statistical metadata web page is to make Statistics Norway's metadata systems more accessible and easier to use. Both internal and external users will get easier access to the metadata by displaying the contents of these systems in a common web page.

16. Vision - Statistical metadata
Applications
Users
ssb.no
Stabas
Smeta
Datadok.
variable
definition
Longdb
Access
Vardok
codelist
SAS
External
e.g.
Coded,
Ramon
Fame

18. Vision - Statistical metadata
Applications
Statbank
Users
WSL
Stabas
Smeta
Notification
End
User
System(s)
Datadok.
Request
Longdb
Access
Retrieval
Vardok
SAS
User
data
Fame

19. Best practises of development
Make a strategy to obtain management support
Agree on key concepts for communication between producers of statistics and developers of metadatasystems
Stepwise development by linking new components to already existing systems
Encourage systems development that makes metadata updated in one place and accessible everywhere using SOA
At milestones, demonstrate progress

20. Linking to e-Government projects
Statistics Norway is a major contributor to e-Government projects in two aspects:
Re-use and combined use of administrative data and other types of already collected data in terms of electronic interaction with other administrations and data providers
Re-use of Statistical (content oriented) metadata and standards and our knowledge in this area, in interaction with other standardisation bodies.

21. ?