1. Specific Objectives: 1 & 2
Technical Content
Specific Objectives: 1 & 2
The What Part

2. Countries National Strategies Meetings & Conferences
Environment
Quality
Administrative Records
Response Burden
Governance
Registers
Story Telling
Sharing of Know-How
Tools & Methods
DC Meeting, June 2009
This strategy shall complement the specific National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) and sub-regional strategies
Cooperation
Public Trust
Monitoring Systems
Research in Statistics
Tech 4 Statistics
Data analysis
Statistical Literacy
Capacity Building - Training
Energy
Code of Practice
Practices
Capacity Building - Communication
Migration
Energy
Employment
Agriculture
Metadata
Statistics 4 All
Countries National Strategies
Regional Strategies
Meetings & Conferences
NSDS

3. Commonalities Alignment Intervention
Enrichment – Build on what exists
Common Priorities
National
Dakar Declaration, Nov 2009
By 2014 statistical systems in all countries should better meet the needs of users, operating in an efficient, cost-effective and results-based manner
By 2014, the international community should support a program of research and development to modernize statistical tools and technologies and to promote their use
Common Interests
Regional
Focus on Users
Common Challenges
Global
Focus on Production Processes
The planning, implementation and evaluation would be through the Concept of mutual beneficial framework

4. Focus on Production Processes
Focus on Users
Focus on Production Processes
Target: Empowering users
Means: Data and Tools
Goal: Relevant statistics
To meet needs raised in the region and the evolution of the EU-MED policy agenda
Target: Production processes
Means: Frameworks, standards, Tools
Goal: Quality conscious, Cost conscious, Comparability conscious
Objective One
Objective Two
Visibility
Relevancy: Available data and new ones

5. HOW Objective One: Empowering Users Facts:
More data in stock than the ones that are made available
Presentations need to reflect the questions of concern
More emphasis is needed to collect users feedback
More attention is needed to disseminate statistics for researchers – Digital data files
HOW
User-producer dialogue
User-tailored data sets
Cataloguing data
Joint analytical studies
Statistical literacy
Usability Techniques
Statistical Calendar

6. Objective One: Empowering Users
Cataloguing data
The development of standards is a regional activity that benchmarks EU experiences while the actual implementation of the cataloguing is an activity to be undertaken by the MED partners
Large amount of data in stock & users have become more demanding
Develop/adopt regional standards on presenting information about available data in each country (Not publications)
Details of standards/formats is to be decided by regional technical working groups
Cooperation: National & regional levels
Sharing common tools, approaches and databases. Flexibility and efficiency of data storage and access facilitates greater use of that data and connections between different sectors.
Helsinki Meeting, 6-7 May 2010

7. Amman Declaration, July 2011
Objective One: Empowering Users
User-producer dialogue
The monitoring of users’ preferences / satisfaction with appropriate intervention
The aim is to strengthen the level of cooperation among users and producers of official statistics in each country
Each working group for the priority sectors sets a vision for establishing user-producer dialogue within official statistics
Standards for Measuring User Satisfaction /identify common trends in the needs and the attitudes of users in the MED region
Emphasizing the need for implementing satisfaction and level of confidence surveys of the data users by the NSOs.
Amman Declaration, July 2011
Areas of priority include employment statistics, migration, the relation with media, statistics for democracy and the role of civil society as well as economic and social development

8. Objective One: Empowering Users
Joint analytical studies
Strengthen the professional cooperation among users and producers of statistics
Further validate quality and relevance of statistics (feedback)
Attention to content and design of joint studies (Harmonization)
Capacity building in data analysis
The focus areas: economic and social development, employment, democracy and migration

9. Amman Declaration, July 2011
Objective One: Empowering Users
Statistical literacy
To bridge the gap between users and producers of statistics
Variety of communication medias especially Data Visualization (DV), e-learning medias and interactive ones
Advocacy materials to maintain reputable corporate image
Develop trust with stakeholders especially the media, decision makers and the public at large
Emphasizing that the process of propagating statistical awareness is the responsibility of the NSOs.
Amman Declaration, July 2011
Training and seminars; regional activities through e-learning
Initiating such activities under MEDSTAT III

10. Objective One: Empowering Users
User-tailored data sets
There are different international initiatives that focus on collection of data sets (PUF-Public Use Files) in certain areas such as data from censuses.
Users obtain data sets with proper documentation that would allow them to perform their own data analysis.
Digital data files reflect the essence of user empowerment.
Discussions on access to data files versus confidentiality and the related policies applied in certain countries were of particular interest .
Helsinki Meeting, 6-7 May 2010
Standards need to be developed to define boundaries of data confidentiality.
Procedures for data access (licenses, agreements)
Work will be initiated in this area under MEDSTAT III.

11. Objective One: Empowering Users
Statistical Calendar
Enable users to better map their own calendar of activities (research/development/monitoring) with the release dates of official statistics
Focus on standards and procedures
Opportunity for regional calendar
Considering transparency in all stages of the statistical process, thus facilitating acceptance and perception of the statistical data by the users
Amman Declaration, 2011

12. By 2014, modernize statistical tools and technologies
Objective One: Empowering Users
Usability Techniques
To provide the users with what they need in a suitable way.
What we see is “suitable” is not necessary SO in the eyes of users
Usability techniques refers to how well users can learn and use a product to achieve their goals and how satisfied they are with that process
By 2014, modernize statistical tools and technologies
Dakar Declaration, 2009

13. HOW Objective Two: Improving the production Facts:
Previous MEDSTAT programs: harmonization in various sectors: The challenge is on how to keep the momentum with focus on priorities!
Quality is of concern for both producers and users EVERYWHERE
Regional approach is instrumental for better and effective National coordination within the official producers of statistics
The utilization of IT: Quantifiable benefits to data processing, especially in the form of direct cost savings and improved timeliness of statistics
HOW
Quality Framework
Code of Practices
National Coordination
Harmonization: Priority Areas
Technology-4-Statistics
Capacity Building

14. Objective Two: Improving the production
Quality
Recognised professional standards (Trust & Credibility Enablers)
Quality must thus be addressed for both the data and the processes
Specificities of the MED countries (current practices, resources, challenges)
Regional quality working group (First Forum of EU_MED statisticians -end of 2012)
Model of Quality Framework for countries to adapt, opportunity for regional quality framework (ESCWA’s Strategic vision, 2011)
A Quality approach has been introduced in some countries but without a conceptual framework and methodological approach
Helsinki Meeting, 6-7 May 2010
Pilot quality framework in two countries
Technical support
Self assessment, Peer Review (support of MEDSTAT III)
Focus on documentation of experiences/lessons learned
Stressing upon the necessity to produce high quality data for increasing the data users’ confidence, particularly the media in order to preserve the credibility of the NSOs and to avoid any mistrust
Amman Declaration, 2011

15. Objective Two: Improving the production
Code of Practice
Move public debate from “About statistics” to the issues raised by statistics
Better place official statistics within the public debate and the decision making on social and economic development
Opportunity to Benchmark European Code of Practice
Seminar to promote statistical governance/quality
The importance of the European code of practice as a foundation for quality was recognised …comparison between different standards applied in the MPCs could be useful.
Helsinki Meeting, 6-7 May 2010
Model of MED Code of Practice
Regional working group
3 test countries for the implementation of the code of practice (support of MEDSTAT III)

16. Objective Two: Improving the production
Capacity Building
Training is one of the pillars of the EU-MED cooperation in statistics
Stronger relation through sharing existing materials, pooling trainers and sharing the cost of development
Consolidated regional training plan; knowledge platform
Capacity building of young statisticians on Policy apprehension & EU standards
National training centres/programs, regional training strategy, Training of trainers
Stressing upon the Arab, regional and international organizations to promote capacity building and to construct the national statistical systems from the financial as well as the technical aspects
Amman Declaration, 2011
Mobilize all available training resources and opportunities which have emerged in the MED countries in the past years, to facilitate the sharing of investments between the MED countries

17. Objective Two: Improving the production
National Coordination
Under MEDSTAT II and III, coordination mechanisms were sectoral (energy, transport, migration, tourism and environment)
Easier and larger circulation of data among national services
Progress in the production of statistics

18. Each of the countries could take the lead for one theme.
Objective Two: Improving the production
Harmonization: Priority Areas
Increasing reliance on administrative records available in the ministries and institutions as a substitute source to the data produced by the NSOs
Amman Declaration, 2011
Efforts already made in the sectors covered by the MEDSTAT programmes need to be strengthened and extended to other sectors.
Priority areas: Employment, energy, Migration, Business Register (Statistics).
The priority topics will be regularly revised during the successive EU-MED Forums of Statisticians (Adaptability)
New EU-MED political agenda (new topics, new approaches generated by the recent events)
Ambition of partners / Resources to allocate
Four thematic working groups (first Forum of the EU-MED statisticians planned for the end of 2012)
Know-How/Practices/Technical assistance: EUROSTAT and from some EU/EFTA countries
MED Country Led approach
Output: Harmonized indicators/tools/methods
ESCWA’s Strategic vision: Population estimates, Informal sector, employment
There is a need for a technological ‘push’ to allow administrative records to be used for statistical purposes
Each of the countries could take the lead for one theme.
Helsinki Meeting, 6-7 May 2010

19. Objective Two: Improving the production
Technology-4-Statistics
Utilize IT tools into the production cycle of official statistics (data collection, processing, and dissemination).
Technological tools could be utilized for employment survey, data visualization, sharing of management practices,
NSI visibility , e-learning (training programs) and data documentation
Keep pace with modern developments in employing technology in statistical work
Amman Declaration, 2011

20. Specific Objectives: 1 & 2
Technical Content
Specific Objectives: 1 & 2
The What Part