Coordination mechanisms in the area of statistics

1. Coordination mechanismsin the area of statistics Henri LaurencinUNCTAD, co-chairman of the Committee for Coordination of Statistical Activities World Statistics Day, Geneva, 20 October 2010

2. Areas for international coordination in statistics Standards and methods • Classifications • Product, activity, occupation, education, etc. • Methodology • Consumer price indices, unemployment measure, surveys, census, quality, etc. • Statistical frameworks • National accounts, balance of payments, etc. • Data exchange • Norms for data and metadata

3. Areas for international coordination in statistics Capacity building activities • National legal framework for statistics • National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) • Data collection, processing and dissemination • Household and business surveys • Population censuses • Business registers • Administrative sources, etc

4. Benefits from international coordination in statistics • More reliable statistics available for evidence based policy-making • Quality of statistics: comparability, transparency etc • Resources sharing • Data exchange & reduced burden on the statistical producers • Efficient use of resources

5. Coordination mechanism in statistics Governing bodies Regional & International Organizationss National Statistical Offices City groups Inter-secretariat working groups

6. Governing bodies - World wide • United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) - Regional • Conference of European Statisticians (UNECE) • … - Specialized agencies • International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ILO) • …

7. United NationsStatistical Commission • Highest decision making body for international statistical activities • Attended by the Chief Statisticians from the member states • Development of concepts and methods and setting of statistical standards • Implementation at the national and international levels First meeting of the Statistical Commission - 1947 -

8. Fundamental Principles of Official statistics Adopted by the UN Statistical Commission (special session April 1994) • Professional standards and ethics • Accountability and transparency • Prevention of misuse • Sources of official statistics • Confidentiality • Legislation • National coordination • Use of international standards • International cooperation

9. Expert groups City groups • Groups of experts primarily from national statistical system and form international organizations • Since 1997, UNSC meets regularly to discuss the work of the city groups • To the large extent, work of these groups results in proposed and implemented international standards

10. City groups - Delhi Group on Informal Sector Statistics • Participation of ILO • Eleventh Meeting Geneva 27-29 January, 2010 • Manual on Surveys of Informal Employment and Informal Sector - Ottawa Group on Price Indexes • Participation of ILO and UNECE • Topics: • Weighting: quality , frequency of updating, reference period, and price-updating • New developments in calculation methods • Core inflation: from calculation to interpretation • Globalization and specialization

11. Expert groups Inter-secretariat working groups Groups of experts from international organizations and eventually from national statistical system Inter-agency Task Force on International Merchandise Trade Statistics • To improve data quality, timeliness, coverage and consistency amongst various international data providers (WTO, UNCTAD…) • Common Data Set Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development • To improve the availability and quality of ICT data and indicators (ITU, UNCTAD…)

12. Statistical data and metadata exchange International Organization International organization Data share Data reporting Data reporting Data reporting National Statistical Office National Statistical Office

13. Data exchange • International organizations define standards and guidelines in the SDMX project for the efficient sharing of statistical data and metadata. • Current SDMX developments: • Labor Statistics • Health Statistics • External Debt Statistics • Commodity Trade Statistics • National Accounts • Millennium Development Goals indicators

14. Reinforcement of statistical capacities • PARIS21 • Partnership in Statistics for Development • in the 21st Century • Assist low-income countries to design, implement, and monitor National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) • Build capacity within National Statistical Systems in developing countries • Global partnership of national, regional and international statisticians, analysts, policy-makers, and users of statistics • Forum and network to promote statistical capacity development and the better use of statistics

15. Reinforcement of statistical capacities • Partner Report on Support to Statistics • (PRESS) • A snapshot of ongoing statistical support in the developing world: • Who • What • Where • How much • A valuable tool to limit overlaps

16. Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA) • Coordination of statistical activities of international and supranational organizations • Representation at the level of a Director of the statistical service

17. Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities • Fosters good practices in accordance with the Principles Governing International Statistical Activities: • Efficient functioning of the statistical system • Common standards and platforms • Development of methodologies • Inter-institutional support • Outreach • Advocacy for statistics

18. Thank you for attention