Building capacity for data revolution

1. Building capacity for data revolution Irena Križman Vice-President International Statistical Institute (ISI)

2. Content Building capacity for Data Revolution • Institutional capacity • Organisational capacity • Professional capacity • Building on existing good practices of national statistical systems • Innovation, leadership and partnership

3. How the Data Revolution (DR) will shape the production and dissemination of statistics? • The Data Revolution has been around us for sometime • Africa has developed excellent strategies ( SHaSA, African Charter on Statistics, NSDS, African Data Consensus) • What impact the DR can have on the current institutional and organisational settings of official statistics? • In which directions the current strategies, legislation, rules and practices have to be updated? • We have to work in partnership and each partner has the role to play i.e. political leaders, decision makers, researchers, scientists (innovations and technologies)  

4. What are the issues to be addressed in the Data Revolution context? • Need to be innovative, inclusive and to provide a leadership • Need to coordinate across different data communities in the data ecosystem • Need to improve international comparability of data but also respond to national and subnational needs • Need to implement ethical and quality principles in the production of all statistics, not only official statistics • Need to reconsider the role of the NSOs and the other producers of official statistics • Need to consider the public statistics produced by others outside the official statistics • Need to think broadly that statistical information should also respond  to results rather than only informing decision making and policy formulation?

5. Why the “institutionalisation of Data Revolution„is important? • To set out the producers of statistics, content (users needs), data sources, publication of results • To define the role of the coordinator of official statistical data production (which statistics will be considered official?) • To define the responsibility and accountability of those producing and publishing data and statistics for SDGs as well as for other users • To guarantee that the data laid down in the national statistical programme will be produced in accordance with the ethical and quality standards (FPOS, African Charter on Statistics)

6. African Data Consensus – NSOs in the centre of expanding data ecosystems • What does it mean? • How the current role of the NSOs is expected to change? • How will other producers of data e.g. private firms or governmental sectors align their outputs with the international and national statistical standards, quality requirements and ethical principles? • Will NSOs stay the custodians of application of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics across the “expanded data ecosystem”?

7. Why NSOs could continuously play a leading role in the country data ecosystem? • Their primary role is production and dissemination of statistics • They are governed by statistical legislation and FPOS • They are authorised and required to report to international community and to set statistical standards • They represent countries in the international environment (e.g. United Nations Statistical Commission) • They have experience in coordinating national statistical systems • They have experience in engaging users and data providers • They are meant to provide the sustainable outputs (comparable over time, space and internationally)

8. The results of poor coordination in production and dissemination of statistics • Lack of priotities • Different estimates for the same indicator leading to loss of credibility • The risk of duplicating activities and hence using limited resources ineffectively/inefficiently • Absence or poor quality of data • Ethical concerns • Is the Data Revolution an opportunity or a threat? It depends very much on us! • Is it possible to harness the data revolution by a weak NSOs’ institutional, organisational and professional capacity?

9. How the ISI can contribute to capacity building? International Statistical Institute (ISI) at http://www.isi-web.org/ • World Statistics Congress (Morocco 2017) • Regional Statistics Conferences, Association conferences • Workshops and training courses • Yearly ISI side event at UNSC for the DG of NSOs and ISOs • Governance workshops (Tanzania 2015, Cameroon 2016) • International Statistical Literacy Project (ISLP) • Regional networks and mentoring • Publications

10. What the ISI needs to know? • ISI can provide technical expertise (voluntary contribution by the ISI members) • Funds (AfDB, WB Trust fund, other sponsors) • What is the demand in the region? • With whom we can partner in organising the activities? • Capacity building plans of the NSOs and other producers of statistics

11. Conclusions • “Obtaining data is not a technocratic exercise but rather one of building institutions” • The institutional, organisational and professional capacity of NSOs need to be strengthened to harness the DR and to keep official statistical information free of political or private conflicts of interest. • Can  NSO's  work themselves without involving others in the system ?       • As such Change Management for data production has to be reflected in the NSS.

12. Thank you for your attention. Questions? iren.krizman@gmail.com