1. Monitoring public satisfaction through user satisfaction surveys Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities Helsinki 6-7 May 2010 Steve. Clarke @ ec. europa. eu

2. 6 May 2010 2 Structure of the presentation Introduction Background information on user satisfaction surveys in the ESS Summary of information on user satisfaction surveys Eurostat’s experience Issues for international statistical organisations

3. 6 May 2010 3 Introduction How are international organisations ensuring public satisfaction? Satisfaction with what? What public? What level of aggregation?

4. 6 May 2010 4 Introduction Satisfaction with what? Published statistics? Development and use of statistics for policy purposes? The way data are collected and compiled? The way data are kept secure? The integrity of the official statistical institutions?

5. 6 May 2010 5 Introduction What public? All citizens? All users? Key users? Stakeholders?

6. 6 May 2010 6 Introduction What level of aggregation? Individual Local communities Specific interest groups (culture, lifestyle) Regional National / International

7. 6 May 2010 7 Introduction Eurostat experience with user satisfaction surveys to measure public satisfaction, in the following sense: Published statistics Users Regional / National Follows the Code of Practice (Principle 11)

8. 6 May 2010 8 Introduction Code of Practice Principle 11: Relevance European Statistics must meet the needs of users Users are consulted about their needs Users are asked for feedback

9. 6 May 2010 9 Background Eurostat user satisfaction surveys General surveys in 2007 and 2009 Domain specific surveys from 2007 onwards Member State user satisfaction surveys Eurostat overview in 2008

10. 6 May 2010 10 Eurostat general user satisfaction survey 2009 Based on an agreed model questionnaire for the ESS Users views on the quality of the statistics and on the way they are published Carried out via the Internet, open to Eurostat web site users

11. 6 May 2010 11 Eurostat general user satisfaction survey 2009 Over 1400 replies: 37% from students, academic and private users Identified areas for improvement (metadata, comparability, quality control, easier data access) Full report on Eurostat web site (quality pages)

12. 6 May 2010 12 Eurostat domain specific surveys Component of the Eurostat Quality Assurance Framework To assess broader statistical production processes Prices, Public Health, Transport,.. User satisfaction survey customised to the particular process Provide valuable input for evaluating a statistical process

13. 6 May 2010 13 National user satisfaction surveys Summary information (Quality in Statistics Working Group 2009) Timing, frequency and regularity Target population Type of satisfaction survey Data collection modes Themes and domains covered

14. 6 May 2010 14 National user satisfaction surveys Timing, frequency and regularity Prompted by the Peer Reviews Implemented regularly in a number of countries Typically every 2 years

15. 6 May 2010 15 National user satisfaction surveys Target population Expert users Internet users Registered users Official statistics users Varying response rates

16. 6 May 2010 16 National user satisfaction surveys Type of satisfaction survey General user satisfaction surveys Web-user surveys Image surveys Domain-specific More focused / specialised user surveys (business community)

17. 6 May 2010 17 National user satisfaction surveys Data collection modes Computer-assisted web questionnaire Emails / paper questionnaires Telephone / face-to-face

18. 6 May 2010 18 National user satisfaction surveys Themes and domains covered Quality of the data Quality of the products and services User characteristics Variety of question styles

19. 6 May 2010 19 Conclusions (1) How are international organisations ensuring public satisfaction? By promoting user satisfaction surveys in countries (Code of Practice) By doing own their own international user satisfaction surveys By regularly monitoring the implementation of national user satisfaction surveys

20. 6 May 2010 20 Conclusions (2) How are international organisations ensuring public satisfaction? Providing a forum for developing and exchanging good practices Contacting user representatives (e.g. ESAC) Identifying common themes relating to data quality and service quality

21. 6 May 2010 21 Conclusions (3) By engaging in a dialogue for further development… questionnaire design move from “users” to the “public”? extend consideration of specialised / minority groups?

22. 6 May 2010 22 Conclusions (4) Going beyond satisfaction with “published statistics”? Satisfaction with … - Availability of statistics within and across the different policy domains? -The way data are collected (burden) and used (confidentiality)? -The official statistical authorities (independent, honest, accountable)?

23. 6 May 2010 23 Conclusions (5) By showing they add value to national data… Presenting national data together for comparison Respecting the different quality dimensions Highlighting data differences and their implications The End Steve. Clarke @ ec. Europa. eu