Stretching the limits – Keeping the principles

1. Stretching the limits – Keeping the principles High Level Forum on Official Statistics NY, 27 February 2012 HeliJeskanen-Sundström Director General

2. Structure • Short introduction • Elements of statistical systems • Is it our business? • Where are the limits? • About the future • Some useful lessons learnt • Final remarks

3. A short introduction • As a background to this presentation I was thinking three big challenges: • Measuring problems relating to the globalisation of economies • Measuring sustainable development • Measuring well-being

4. Elements of statistical systems I • WHAT ? • purpose of measurement, user needs • HOW IN THEORY? • Measurement framework (preferably supported by scientific theory/evidence) • concepts, definitions, statistical units, classifications, methodologies, assumptions, counting rules • Etc.

5. Elements of statistical systems II • HOW IN PRACTICE? • Rules and guidelines for practical implementation • Data sources, reporting units • Technical tools and information systems • Methodologies and assumptions (incl. use of proxies, modelling techniques, imputing, valuation and monetizing) • Etc.

6. Elements of statistical systems III • HOW DOES IT WORK? • Evaluation of the chosen solutions • Quality assurance framework • Coherence vis-à-vis existing other systems • Is the output meaningful • Cost-effictiveness of the measurement system • Etc.

7. Is it “our business”? • A wrong argument: “If we are not doing it, someone else will do” • User needs: “need to know” and “nice to know” • Direct national and international decision making (e.g. government programs, Member States’ contributions to international organisations, follow-up of international agreements) • Monitoring important national and international strategies and policies • Other

8. Is it “our business”? • Implications to the credibility of official statistics • Are our measurement systems commonly/largely acceptable? among users, data providers, other stakeholders, among those who’s conditions we are describing? • Can we maintain the fundamental principles of official statistics: impartiality, professionalism, scientific principles and standards, transparency, statistical confidentiality, relevance, reliability, quality

9. Where are the limits? • Current conditions.....forecasting the future • Material...........nonmaterial/immaterial • Observable.............non-observable • Objective conditions.....subjective opinions/feelings • National..............transnational/global • Statistics............research • Public statistics.......only for administrative use

10. About the future: what is unmeasurable today, might be measurable tomorrow (and vice versa) • A lot of new data sources, new tools, new research, new methods, new innovations will help to remove the current limits • Some promising new examples • European Statistical System’s work on MNE’s • UNECE/OECD/Eurostat: impact of globalisation on national accounts and related work • UN work on measuring ecosystems and services • OECD work on measuring subjective well-being

11. Some useful lessons learnt • Better to eat an elephant one bite at a time • More analytical work and prioritisation • Broader co-operation and partnership • Scientific community, multidisciplinary approach,..... • The role and meaning of co-ordination is changing • More experimental frameworks and statistics? • certainly more piloting and testing needed • The devil is in the details

12. Final remarks • Statistical measuring is not only a technical issue, but a lot more than that • Everything which is measurable in technical terms, is not necessarily “our business” • After all, a statistical system is an international convention of the statistical community based on justified needs. Our way of describing the societies must be accepted by ourselves and considered legitimate also by our stakeholders