METIS 2004 (Geneva, 9-11 February 2004)

1. METIS 2004(Geneva, 9-11 February 2004) Inter-agency cooperation for the dissemination and exchangeof standard metadata Invited Paper Submitted by Eurostat, IMF, and OECD

2. Overview • Growth of Internet-based modes of data and metadata dissemination • Widespread recognition of the need for precise and robust tools to: • promote information access • improve the quality (and quantity) of the information retrieved • enhance comparability of data from multiple sources

3. The DSBB & Interagency Cooperation • The IMF, in collaboration with the ECB and Eurostat, disseminate harmonized statistical metadata in SDDS format on the Internet. • The ECB’s Euro area metadata (http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/euronote/) • Financial and external sector metadata covering 7 statistical domains for the 12 participating Member States • Eurostat’s Indicators (http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/eurostatnote/) • Euro and structural indicators covering 14 statistical domains for the 15 participating Member States

4. The ECB’s Euro area metadata (accessible on the DSBB) • Financial sector • Euro area banking sector • Eurosystem: ECB and national central banks (NCBs) of the 12 participating Member States • Euro area interest rates • External sector • Euro area balance of payments • Euro area international reserves and foreign currency liquidity • Euro area international investment position • Euro area exchange rates

5. Eurostat’s Euro Indicators(accessible from the DSBB) • Access to Euro indicators metadata by domain • National accounts • Industry, Commerce, Services and Energy • Harmonized Indices of Consumer Prices • Labour market • Monetary and financial indicators • Balance of payments • External trade • Business and Consumer surveys • Access to metadata is also provided to Eurostat’s Structural Indicators: General economic background; Employment; Innovation and Research; Economic reform; Social cohesion; Environment • On May 1, 2004 the number of countries will increase: from EU15 to EU25, thereby dramatically increasing access to metadata in SDDS format

6. Metadata within the OECD • A decentralised system of collection, storage and dissemination for 30 Member countries (plus a limited number of non-member states) • Only limited metadata are stored in databases actually linked to the statistics they describe • A corporate metadata facility and metadata model are under development: METASTORE

7. OECD Metastore • Allows metadata stored by different Directorates to be linked to various outputs • Includes links to metadata maintained by other international organizations and national agencies • Permits search and query • Will be linked to other elements of the OECD’s corporate data environment • OECD.STAT and the OECD Glossary of Statistical Terms • Goal: develop governance practices for accessing the repositories of other organizations

8. DSBB Content: 3 types of metadata • Subscription to the SDDS has grown to 55 countries • Participation in the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS): Metadata for 68 countries • Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes: Data Modules prepared using the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) for 29 countries—including 20 SDDS subscribers and 7 GDDS participants—on the Data Quality Reference Site (DQRS)

9. SDDS/GDDS/DQRS: the IMF’s main metadata repositories • SDDS and GDDS metadata (18 data categories), which cover many of the same statistical domains as the metadata maintained by ECB and Eurostat • SDDS and GDDS metadata may be queried—separately now—but soon as a common repository • DQRS based metadata (ROSC reports) will soon become queryable—and mapped to the SDDS/GDDS metadata repositoryPROBLEM: These three repositories are not harmonized against a common metadata model nor are they linked to other organizations’ repositories

10. SDDS Metadata Query Facility The DSBB allows users to tap into SDDS information in four ways: • by Metadata Dimension(s) and Element(s) for one or more Countries and Data Categories • by Key Concepts within Metadata Element(s) for one or more Countries and Data Categories • View Advance Release Calendar information for one or more data categories and countries • View Summary of Observance information: cross-country practices vis-à-vis the SDDS However, the metadata cannot be interrogated and repurposed to meet specific users’ needs.

11. Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX: www.sdmx.org) • ISSUE: How to achieve the open exchange of metadata within the IMF and among institutions? • FOCUS: business practices in the field of statistical information that promote efficient processes for exchange and sharing of data and metadata • GOAL: to establish common e-standards and standardization activities that result in: • gains in efficiency • avoiding duplication of effort in our own work and the work of others in the field of statistical information.

12. SDMX Metadata Projects • Metadata Common Vocabulary • Development of a metadata terminology standard focusing on descriptions of statistical concepts and methodologies used in the collection, processing, and dissemination of statistical data • Improves consistency in the metadata compiled • Can be used independently from any specific metadata model • Facilitates information interchange

13. Metadata Common Vocabulary • An example: Timeliness • Definition: Timeliness refers to the speed of dissemination of the data - i.e., the lapse of time between the end of a reference period (or a reference date) and dissemination of the data. It reflects many factors, including some that are related to institutional arrangements, such as the preparation of accompanying commentary and printing. • Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF), "Guide to the Data Dissemination Standards, Module 1: The Special Data Dissemination Standard", Washington, May 1996 • Hyperlinks:http://dsbb.imf.org/Applications/web/sddshome/ • Context: The third quality component in the Eurostat Definition is "timeliness and punctuality". • Related term: Data, Quality, Punctuality

14. SDMX Metadata Projects • Metadata Repositories • Development of a platform-independent metadata exchange system providing fluid and unobstructed access to information from a large number of content providers • Improved metadata access, analysis, and repurposing • A common model or structure for describing all metadata elements • Expressed in UML (Unified Modeling Language) • Rendered using XML • Linked to the MCV

15. Metadata RepositoriesSDMX Model – An Application to the SDDS • SDDS – As it stands

16. Metadata RepositoriesSDMX Model – An Application to the SDDS • SDDS – Revisions related to SDMX

17. Toward an “SDMX” SDDS model • Describes SDDS metadata concept families, building on the four dimensions of data characteristics, quality, access, and integrity, plus methodology and dissemination formats • Prescribes—in four levels—greater detail and specificity in the metadata provided • Promotes comparability and the sharing of content among providers and users • Can be linked to other metadata systems and extended, using XML and a common terminology • Serves as an input for the XML tagging of metadata across SDMX organizations • Facilitates information management across diverse systems • Enables full or partial metadata sharing

18. Issues for discussion • Next phase: Combining outputs from all SDMX activities to refine and extend data/metadata exchange for selected “pilot” domains • Strategies for migrating metadata from the “old” to the “new” system • Does the SDMX approach parallel initiatives underway in national agencies? How can these efforts be harmonized?