1. Improving the Quality of National Statistical Systems
Vincenzo Lo Moro, Istat, Italy,
Session 6

2. OVERVIEW
The National Statistics System in Italy (SISTAN) was created in 1989, nearly thirty years ago. Perhaps it might be one of the largest in the world and comprises Statistical Offices (SOs) in all central and local Public Administrations and a few private entities as well. The Italian NSI - ISTAT - plays its coordination role on both central and local levels.
This paper is intended to draw the attention on the initiatives for increasing the quality of the central administrations (ministries and other agencies), some of which are identified as Other National Authorities (ONAs). Improving the quality of Sistan goes hand in hand with progresses of the ESS.

3. Summary
WHAT / WHEN
2018
EVALUATIONS AND AUDITS
Peer review
Test audit processes
Audit processes
Permanent quality check program
ONA’S COMPLIANCE
First list
Questionnaire to collect information about the EU processes
New list (by the end of 2017)
Assess each process and update the list if needed
TRAINING COURSES
Significant activity with territorial SOs. No initiatives with Central Administrations
Design and perform a high level training course
Second and third edition, enlarged and improved
Fine-tuning and customized initiatives
QUALITY GUIDELINES
Design a Quality Guidelines
Prepare and share the “Quality Guidelines” for Official Statistics
Use the Guidelines during audits
Update the Guidelines taking into account new statistical challenges

4. Initiatives in the 2012-2015 period
From 2012 to 2015 a specific task force consisting of about 200 experts from Istat and other SISTAN organizations was set up; this task force “visited” 147 statistical offices.
The scope of the peer review was to target strengths and weaknesses of the statistical offices in respect to their compliance with the principles of the Italian Code (similar to the European Code of Practice).
The peer reviews were conceived as assessment operations to find proposals for enhancing the quality of the statistics produced and as a way to forge collaboration among the members of SISTAN.
In concrete terms, at the end of each visit, a report provided recommendations for the office in order to reinforce and increase the quality of their statistical activities.

5. Poor information about processes
Results in the period
Good results in terms of cooperation, awareness, common culture
Get a general overview of the situation
BUT
Poor information about processes
THEN
To deal with quality of statistical processes, a different approach is needed

6. Initiatives in the 2016-2017 period
In 2017 we changed our approach, by focusing our attention on Central Statistics Offices (SOs) and proposing three initiatives:
Assess the compliance of the National Statistical Authorities (ONAs) with the European Code of Practice and the transmission of data to Eurostat on a regular basis.
Release of Quality Guidelines which were fine-tuned through consultations with the SO. Following this release, we initiated the auditing of single statistical processes
Perform a high-level training course on statistical quality for statistical officers in the Central Public Administration.

7. 2016-2017 period – about ONAs Results obtained
The update of the list of ONAs and the collection of information about the data flows to Eurostat.
The ONAs list is now composed by 15 entities and the number of data set sent to Eurostat is about 150, considering 95 European Regulations requesting statistics.

8. AGRICOLE: Ministero Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali
AMB: Ministero Ambiente, tutela del Territorio e del Mare
CREA: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria
GSE: Gestore Servizi Energetici
INAIL: Istituto nazionale per l'assicurazione contro gli infortuni sul lavoro
INTERNO: Ministero dell'Interno
ISPRA: Istituto Superiore per la protezione e la ricerca ambientale
MISE: Ministero sviluppo economico
MIT: Ministero Infrastrutture e Trasporti
MIUR: Ministero dell'Istruzione, Università e Ricerca
SAL: Ministero della Salute
TERNA: Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale
DCPS/PSA

9. DCPS/PSA Mipaaf: Ministero Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali
Min Ambiente: Ministero Ambiente, tutela del Territorio e del Mare
Crea: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria
Gse: Gestore Servizi Energetici
Inail: Istituto nazionale per l'assicurazione contro gli infortuni sul lavoro
Min Interno: Ministero dell'Interno
Ispra: Istituto Superiore per la protezione e la ricerca ambientale
Mise: Ministero sviluppo economico
Min Trasporti: Ministero Infrastrutture e Trasporti
Miur: Ministero dell'Istruzione, Università e Ricerca
Min Salute: Ministero della Salute
Terna: Terna Rete Elettrica Nazionale
DCPS/PSA

10. DG AGRI: Direzione generale per l'agricoltura e lo sviluppo rurale
DG BUDGET: Direzione generale per il bilancio
DG CLIMA: Direzione generale per l'azione per il clima
DG EMPL: Direzione generale per l'occupazione, gli affari sociali e le pari opportunità
DG ENV: Direzione generale per l'ambiente
DG JRC: Direzione generale per il Centro comune di ricerca
DG MOVE: Direzione generale per la mobilità e i trasporti
DG TAXUD: Direzione generale per la fiscalità e l'unione doganale
DCPS/PSA

11. 2016-2017 period – about Guidelines
The main objective of the Guidelines is to give a support structure for the evalutation of the quality of the statistics produced by the Sistan organizations.
The Guidelines provide for principles to comply with for the production of statistics according to the most established methodological standards.
It also provides practical suggestions to guarantee compliance with the principles stated.
The Guidelines,along with an evaluation questionnaire, will be used by a team of Istat experts to audit the various organizations .

12. 2016-2017 period – about Training course
The training course is organized through three modules, according to the Italian Code of Practice, Institutional Framework, Statistical Processes, Statistical Products and Communication.
The Course lasts for 15 training days of 5 hours each, with a final test at the end of each module.
The two courses carried out in autumn 2017 and spring 2018 had a large and positive evaluation and we are going to prepare the autumn edition, improving its quality.

13.
Our road map for the coming years includes:
Assessing the compliance of all ONAs (eventually updating the list);
Auditing statistical processes carried out by the Ministries and Agencies identified as ONAs (as many as possible);
Conducting additional training course sessions (more customized).

14. From «specialistic» initiatives…
WHAT / WHEN
2018
EVALUATIONS AND AUDITS
Peer review
Test audit processes
Audit processes
Permanent quality check program
ONA’S COMPLIANCE
First list
Questionnaire to collect information about the EU processes
New list (by the end of 2017)
Assess each process and update the list if needed
TRAINING COURSES
Significant activity with territorial SOs. No initiatives with Central Administrations
Design and perform a high level training course
Second and third edition, enlarged and improved
Fine-tuning and customized initiatives
QUALITY GUIDELINES
Design a Quality Guidelines
Prepare and test the “Quality Guidelines” for Official Statistics
Use the Guidelines during audits
Update the Guidelines taking into account new statistical challenges

15. …to a coordinated strategy
WHAT / WHEN
2018
EVALUATIONS AND AUDITS
Peer review
Test audit processes
Audit processes
Permanent quality check program
ONA’S COMPLIANCE
First list
Questionnaire to collect information about the EU processes
New list (by the end of 2017)
Assess each process and update the list if needed
TRAINING COURSES
Significant activity with territorial SOs. No initiatives with Central Administrations
Design and perform a high level training course
Second and third edition, enlarged and improved
Fine-tuning and customized initiatives
QUALITY GUIDELINES
Design a Quality Guidelines
Prepare and test the “Quality Guidelines” for Official Statistics
Use the Guidelines during audits
Update the Guidelines taking into account new statistical challenges

16. RESULTS
This table shows that starting from various non-coordinated initiatives, all of them have paved the way to a common strategy in 2018.
The Quality Guidelines are the basis for training courses, for auditing and for compliance assessment of the ONAs performance.
Audit results can also be used for improving training courses and updating the new version of the Guidelines.
The training course is also a way to gain knowledge from statistical offices and allow to fill the quality gaps.
Finally, Istat staff involved in this project, coming from different professional backgrounds (methodological, thematic, quality, organizational) and different Istat sectors, works in a coordinated fashion and towards a common goal.

17. June
Until now,
Three public administrations (two ministries and one agency) have been selected for the first AUDIT
Even though the audit in these administrations is in progress, it might be reasonable to assert that scenarios are highly different: while in one administration the audit has revealed high standards of skills, reliability, timeliness and active participation to the devoted EU meetings, in another there are still unsolved issues regarding bureaucratic aspects on relations between the administration providing data and the one responsible for their transmission to Eurostat. This unclearness may result in weakening the focus and creating difficulties.

18. THE CONTEXT
The context in which statistical offices operate is difficult.
Statistics is not the core mission.
The SO are not stable structures (because of budget or staff constraints…).
The SO could be run by an acting officer, who might not be a statistician.
The staff could vary from two to twenty people.
Statistics are always gathered by the SO, but often produced by other offices within the organizations.
All these factors contribute to weaken the overall statistical output.
To summarize, we are often facing a lack of responsibility by the Ministries and top managers in the central administrations on the statistical theme. Or, at least, an inconstant attention (stop and go).

19. SOME CONCLUSIONS
Education, Trust, Reputation, Confidence, “Coordination and Cooperation”, Value for data
are useful concept in the area of “soft skill”, but we are facing a lack of
RESPONSABILITY
Responsibility is a clear concept for the NSI but not for ONAs. We need to actively clarify that Ministries and other Agencies have to be responsible for the organization and qualification for the data they are requested to provide and use (both at National and European level).
The Statistical Office is the “technical support” for the administration which should take the responsibility of statistical processes as a whole, in the same way it does when dealing with “privacy”, “health and safety protection”, “anti-corruption”, “transparency” etc.

20. Improving the Quality of National Statistical Systems
Vincenzo Lo Moro, Istat, Italy,