Planning and Priority Setting for NSIs: Managing Demand and Maximizing Resources

1. 8 Hallgrímur Snorrason Management seminar on global assessment Session 8: Planning, programming and priority setting under budgetary restraints; human resource policy Yalta 23-25 September 2009

2. Managing demand – priority setting • NSI’s normally face larger demands than they can cope with comfortably – internally from government, businesses, educational and research institutions, externally from international institutions • Demand for statistics is characterized by: • Large number of subject matters – hence surveys • Large and costly sample surveys • Demand for a high frequency of surveys • Requests for a high level of detail and data on small areas • Special problem: Erratic demand from government for special services • Another problem: Demand from international organisations for special surveys

3. How to prioritize? What to prioritize? • Need to meet the large demand by prioritizing – selecting which statistics we shall produce, their frequency and level of detail • Prioritization has to be done in consultation with users, domestic and international • Need to observe basic statistical requirements such as national accounts • NSI’s must also observe the balance in their statistical production – balance between different users (government, businesses, education and research) and between different types of statistics (economic, social, environment) • NSI have or should have the best overview to prioritize

4. Consultation and cooperation on priority setting • Continuous dialogue with users (user groups, councils etc.) • Explain scarce capacity and other limitations • Seek cooperation in setting priorities • Coordinate demand from different users and align it with international requirements • Gain acceptance of the use of international definitions, classifications and practices and abandon special domestic standards • Seek cooperation with international agencies on demand and priorities

5. Need for planning • Planning is needed in order to • ensure that we use our scarce resources efficiently • ensure that we follow our priorities and meet our most important demand in a systematic way • ensure the smooth running of the statistical production and the NSI • Planning is an important tool for internal coordination and cooperation • For involvement of staff in the statistical activities • For communications between the different levels and across departments, divisions and boundaries

6. How to plan and coordinate • All NSIs have some kind of planning mechanism • The process of planning and coordination is often found or perceived to be inadequate –common complaints are e.g. • Lack of participation in the planning process • Lack of coordination in the planning • Lack of internal coordination within individual units • Lack of coordination between units • Unsatisfactory communication across boundaries (between units, between departments) • Little coordination in decision making • Bad distribution of financial and human resources

7. The process of planning • The planning process may depend on the size of the NSI but irrespective of size it is important to involve all professional staff in one way or another • Main priorities are set a top level but the planning of how to reach them must be based on a bottom-up approach • Practice for many years at Statistics Iceland – annual planning • first stage: involving all experts responsible for a given subject matter • second stage: heads of departments are obliged to consult their staff before submitting proposals to their directors • Annual planning reports from the experts and then heads of units • A brief report on the progress over the year • Plans for continued practices and production • Suggestions for changes, new statistics and abolition of outdated statistics and practices

8. Possible planning phase • Heads of units consult with their staff on the activities and plans of the unit • Heads of units submit plans for their activities to their divison directors (heads of departments) • Activities should be broken down into actions with quantifications for resources used • time in weeks or months • human resources (quantity, kind) • claims on IT • demand on effort from other departments • The plans should make it possible to quantify the total activities

9. Possible planning phase cont. • The planning should be supervised by division directors (heads of departments) and submitted by them to the DG and central management • The plans should be discussed by central management with feedback to/consultations with heads of units • After discussion the plans should be adopted by the DG and central management • The plans should be presented to the staff (through meetings, presentation on the internal website (intranet) • The plans should be published on the website of the NSI • The plans should be monitored and reported on on the website (e.g. quarterly, twice a year)

10. Staff involvement • Staff involvement in planning is important • For helping to ensure that we follow our plans and priorities and reach the objective for the statistical production at the required level of quality • To motivate staff and support job satisfaction • Staff involvement should be mobilized • For regular follow-up of the activity plans • By regular meetings of all relevant staff in each unit and meetings between division/department director and heads of units • Need for applying project management across boundaries • Central management must be responsive • By regular meetings (weekly, bi-weekly) with formal agenda based on proposals from division directors, formal decisions on actions and on follow-up, formal reporting to staff (also involving regional offices)

11. Human resource developments – some factors • Staff involvement in planning and coordination • Effective communication, e.g. by regular consultation, regular meetings (divisions, central management) and reporting • Effective information about the objectives and workings of the institution (about goals and norms, about activities in other parts of the institution and the statistical activity as a whole) • Recruitment policies (recruiting well educated and qualified staff) • Redefining and upgrading jobs from low skilled to high skilled ones, abolishing assistant and secretarial functions • Conducting regular staff and labour relations policies • Training

12. Training – a key factor in HR policies • Establishing/running a comprehensive training programme involving • Continuous training events • Regular courses and ad-hoc courses • Regular information sessions on developments and progress • Provisions for participation in extra-mural courses • Provisions for participation in general education • Provisions for participation in higher education • Provisions for participating in conferences etc. • Training program should be administered by a specific manager (unit) in consultation with managerial and staff representatives (training committee, “school board”)

13. Internal and external training - examples • Content of courses, examples • Specific technical courses (IT, databases, office tools, communication tools, website/tabulation tools) • Specific methodological courses (sampling, variance, editing, seasonal adjustment) • Courses in combined project management and subject matter • Internal or external, internal with external inputs – courses with heavy internal content found to work best at Statistics Iceland • Courses on statistical laws and codes of practice • Ideas for internal information sessions • Should be regular – e.g. monthly, bi-monthly • Require a head of unit or department to give a structured lecture on specific new developments, new methodologies, new data or data collection processes

14. Hallgrímur Snorrason – session 8 Thank you for your attention