1. Quality Assurance in the European Statistical System
Øystein Olsen
Director General, Statistics Norway
Q2010 Conference
Helsinki, 4 May 2010

2. Quality and Trust in Statistics
Complexity of societies
Globalisation and European integration
Increased demand for high quality official statistics in Europe
Quality decisive for trust!

3. ESS responses to the challenges
European Statistics Code of Practice
Cracow/Haag action plans – modernisation of the system
New European Statistical Law
New Governance structure: ESAC and ESGAB
Sponsorship on Quality

4. ESS Sponsorship on Quality
The mandate:
To promote a common view and understanding of ESS quality management
To recommend possible modifications of the Code of Practice
To provide recommendations on how to proceed with quality work in ESS

5. Work Program of the Sponsorship on Quality:

6. Quality frameworks and the ESCoP

7. Implementing Quality Frameworks
The European level:
Code of Practice compliance:
International reviews and benchmarking
National Quality Assurance:
A common framework: The Code of Practice
Minimum standards
Quality guidelines
Tools (indicators, reports, assessments etc)
Documentation

8. ESS Quality architecture
ESS level
national / Eurostat level
ESS Statistical Law
national Statistical Law
ESS Quality Declaration
(national TQM framework)
National QAF:
Description of practices and procedures for implementing the CoP
QAF:
ESS standards for implementing the CoP

9. Tools for quality assurance (Eurostat handbook)
……………

10. Documentation of Code of Practice compliance – the French case:

11. Quality and standardisation
Standardisation of processes, methods and systems
Facilitates quality assessment and assurance
Reduces risks
Effectiveness
Benchmarking
Best practices
also through international cooperation

12. Support and infrastructure in the Business process model
Data
Collection
Dissemination
Metadata system
Analysis
Data Editing
and Estimation
Archive
Support and Infrastructure
IT Services
Information Management

13. Quality and methodology
The pioneers were statisticians
But what is the situation today?
Need for revitalisation of statistical methodology within quality work?

14. Non-response rate and Diffusion Index with 95 percent confidence interval

15. Aspects of quality in register based statistics
Relevance (for statistics)
Accuracy (of each record)
Timeliness (update of registers) and reference time
Comparability (over time)
Accessibility and clarity (documentation)
Administrative concepts
Coverage and completeness
Record matching ability
Compatibility (between file formats)
Confidentiality
Source: Eurostat meeting on Assessment of quality in statistics 2003

16. Administration of statistical populations
Original register
Statistical version

17. The way forward The Code of Practice has to be kept alive!
National Quality Assurance:
Agreeing on minimum standards
Standardisation and harmonisation
Bringing in the statisticians!
Unlike businesses, we are free to cooperate!