Sponsorship on Quality The final report

1. Sponsorship on QualityThe final report Zsuzsanna Kovács Expert Group Meeting on National Quality Assurance Frameworks UNSD, New York, 28-30 September 2011

2. Introduction • Created in 2009 under the co-chairmanship of Statistics Norway and Eurostat • 3 working areas • Theme I. Quality framework and the Code of Practice • Theme II. Quality assurance framework • Theme III. Communicating quality • Final report presented at the meeting of the European Statistical System Committee on 28 September 2011 by Hans Viggo Sæbø, Director of Planning and Finance, Statistics Norway

3. Major European quality initiatives • Working Group on Quality set up in 1998 • Leadership Group (LEG) on Quality -> 2004 • The European Conferences on Quality 2001 – 2012 -> • European Statistics Code of Practice 2005 -> • Self assessments 2005 • Peer reviews 2007 – 2008 • Annual follow up by Eurostat and ESGAB • New European Statistical Law 2009 • Sponsorship on Quality 2009 – 2011 • Communication 211 “Towards robust quality management for European Statistics” in 2011, planned revision of the Law

4. ESS Sponsorship on Quality Mandate To promote a common view and understanding of ESS quality management To recommend possible modifications of the Code of Practice To provide recommendations on how to proceed with quality work in ESS Work programme Meetings with ECB, ESAC and ESGAB. Discussions in ESSC January and May 2011 Final report

5. Main conclusions Theme I. Quality framework and the Code of Practice (CoP) • Some modifications to CoP – but changes are limited • New quality declaration as a preamble to CoP Theme II. Quality assurance framework (QAF – draft working doc.) • Recommended methods/tools to implement the CoP indicators 4 and 7 - 15 • Reference documentation Theme III. Communicating quality • Review of ESS recommendations and requirements on quality reporting • Review of the content of quality reports, including quality indicators (separate task force) • Implementation of websites declaring compliance with the CoP New peer reviews have been considered, possibly from 2013, focusing on major statistical authorities and all principles in selected domains at an institutional level

6. Theme I. Proposed CoP modifications • Quality declaration as a preamble: Vision, mission and reference to general quality management principles • Better distinction between Eurostat, NSIs and other producers of statistics if applicable • Alignment with Reg. 223/2009 • Alignment with the ECB Statistical Quality Framework (separate Task Force) • Quality commitment: Principle 4 and its indicators • A few more indicators, in particular to reinforce professional independence, better cover statistics based on administrative data, to promote standardisation and communication of quality • Some editorial changes • New input from ESSC, ESAC and ESGAB since May 2011

7. Theme III. Communicating quality Main recommendations: • Distinction of producer and user oriented quality reports • Single metadata structure to be used to derive both • Methodological Manual to be prepared to support the structure and the template • Use of common ESS IT tools • User oriented reports to be disseminated to the wide audience while producer oriented ones to the producers • Regular interaction with the target groups • Compliance with the CoP should be widely communicated via specific web pages

8. Next steps • The European Statistical System Committee will discuss the Sponsorship on Quality Report and its recommendations. • The ESSC is invited to adopt the revised CoP and to give guidance on how the QAF and recommendations in the Report should be followed up • Once the revised CoP has been adopted, it will set the standard for future statistical development, including the planned revision of the Statistical Law and the development of Commitments on Confidence in Statistics with Member States