1. www.statistik.atWe process information Coordination of National Statistical Systems Seminar on the Implementation of Fundamental Principles Konrad Pesendorfer Director General CES, Paris 7th June 2012

2. www.statistik.atSlide 2 | 07.06.2012 Outline Objectives and implementation of the Coordination Principle Common features to the coordination issue in statistical systems (contributions by LT, MEX, PT, SE, SF)  Legal framework  Coordination content  Coordination tools and instruments Coordination provisions of international organisations Questions for discussion

3. www.statistik.atSlide 3 | 07.06.2012 Fundamental Principle Nr. 8 Principle 8: ”Coordination among statistical agencies within countries is essential to achieve consistency and efficiency in the statistical system.“ Objectives: Avoid duplication of work – efficiency Minimize response burden – negative externalities Integration of data through statistical standards – harmonisation/standardisation Participate in international initiatives – speak with one voice

4. www.statistik.atSlide 4 | 07.06.2012 UN Survey on FP 2004

5. www.statistik.atSlide 5 | 07.06.2012 UN Survey on FP 2004 Coordination Principle: 90% of reporting NSIs stated that there are other producers of official statistics NSIs are the dominant producer in most countries Main concern of coordination:  Data collection  Avoid duplication

6. www.statistik.atSlide 6 | 07.06.2012 UN FP Survey (2004) Results

7. www.statistik.atSlide 7 | 07.06.2012 Common features NSI Institutional Setup Legal Framework Coordination content Coordination tools

8. www.statistik.atSlide 8 | 07.06.2012 Need for coordination Soft Coordination Institutional Setup centralized Institutional Setup decentralized Strong Coordination SE SF PT LT MEX AT

9. www.statistik.atSlide 9 | 07.06.2012 Legal framework Soft Coordination Strong Coordination Strong coordination - NSI can: Select other entities to become producers Request the respect of standards from other producers Request the separation of tasks (Firewalls: user tasks vs producer tasks of statistics) Assess the commitment to those standards through statistical audits Soft coordination: Cooperation instead of coordination Non-binding common standards Consensus based decision making Other producers maintain full decision making power (collection modes, methods, content) over their statistics

10. www.statistik.atSlide 10 | 07.06.2012 Coordination content PlanningProductionProcessesQuality

11. www.statistik.atSlide 11 | 07.06.2012 Coordination content: Planning Define joint direction of the national statistical system  Main lines of Policy - every 5 years (SF)  Availability of official statistics (SE) Different time horizons of planning (e.g. Mex e.a.)  Strategic Program: direction of system next 24 y  National Program: government cycle  Annual Program: defines specific activities according to the National Program

12. www.statistik.atSlide 12 | 07.06.2012 Coordination content: Production Methods Data collection (e.g. Collection modes, standardisation of questionnaires) Processing Storage Analysis Dissemination

13. www.statistik.atSlide 13 | 07.06.2012 Coordination content: Processes Standardisation activities Common Classifications Harmonisation of definitions and statistical indicators

14. www.statistik.atSlide 14 | 07.06.2012 Coordination content: Quality Safeguarding (European) Quality Criteria Relevance Accuracy and Reliability Timeliness and Punctuality Coherence and Comparability Accessibility and Clarity

15. www.statistik.atSlide 15 | 07.06.2012 Coordination tools + instruments Coordination tools/instruments Common institutions Coordination Councils Subject Committees Technical Committees Common System Programming Formal instruments MoU Quality declarations + reporting Peer reviews CoP self assessments Data transmission through NSI Statistical audits Standardisation tools guidelines Standards common classifications Common definitions Communication + other tools Common publication calendar Common annual report Common internet platform Professional training consulting

16. www.statistik.atSlide 16 | 07.06.2012 International coordination provisions UN Fundamental Principles Regulation on European Statistics (223/2009) Article 5 (1): The national statistical authority designated by each Member State as the body having the responsibility for coordinating all activities at national level for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics (the NSI) shall act as the contact point for the Commission (Eurostat) on statistical matters. The Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure the application of this provision.

17. www.statistik.atSlide 17 | 07.06.2012 Questions for discussion (1) 1.Are strong coordination systems preferable to soft coordination systems or vice versa? 2.What are appropriate tools and instruments of coordination given the resource constraints and the absence of enforcement powers of NSIs? 3.There is often a reluctance of other national producers of statistics “to be coordinated” by the NSI. What are incentives for them to accept coordination? What are the costs of non-coordination to the system and its stakeholders?

18. www.statistik.atSlide 18 | 07.06.2012 Questions for discussion (2) 1.Should the coordinating role of NSIs be extended to standardisation activities in the area of administrative data collection? 2.What can international organisations do to assist NSIs in exercising their coordinating role of national statistical systems, while at the same time respecting the subsidiarity principle? 3.Is there scope to further develop Fundamental Principle 8 in order to better achieve the objective of consistency through coordination?

19. www.statistik.atSlide 19 | 07.06.2012 Conclusions Almost all NSIs have a national coordination task Decentralized systems do not always correspond with stronger coordination roles of NSIs Coordination content includes planning, production, processes and quality Coordination tools vary a lot – most of them can be applied irrespective of strong or soft coordination International institutions have an important role in supporting the NSIs‘ coordination function.

20. www.statistik.atWe process information Coordination of National Statistical Systems Seminar on the Implementation of Fundamental Principles Konrad Pesendorfer Director General CES, Paris 7th June 2012