1. The OECD initiative on measuring trust

2. Trust is the foundation of most personal relationships, which in turn are key determinants of human well-being and economic development. Indicators of trust inform about the quality of people’s interactions with others, hence on their assessment of the extent to which other people in the community are perceived as potential partners rather than as rivals. Trust is commonly viewed as a proxy indicator of social capital. A high level of trust is considered a factor that can enhance economic growth and social well-being. Why Measure Trust

3. Trust and Official Statistics In 2007, the OECD secretariat contributed to exploring the relationship between trust and official statistics in a number of working papers. One study was based on data from the ISAE survey for Italy and a second study on data from the 2007 Eurobarometer survey The studies underlined that: –People’s trust in statistics matters for the functioning of democracy; and, –Trust in statistics affects (and is affected by) trust in public institutions.

4. Electronic Discussion Group In June 2008, the OECD Committee for Statistics (CSTAT) organised a session on the topic “How to monitor trust in Official Statistics?”. Following that discussion, it was agreed to establish an electronic discussion group (EDG) that would report to CSTAT. The group is lead by Ivan Fellegi (former Chief Statistician, Statistics Canada) and includes 14 OECD members countries, 2 OECD accession countries, ECB, Eurostat, and the World Bank.

5. OECD EDG Progress Several countries carry out (by commissioning) regular surveys designed to measure trust in official statistics. The EDG agreed that it could be feasible to develop a model survey of trust. No formal recommendation yet, but the questionnaire should be made available to NSOs. Basic boundaries agreed and a conceptual framework. While no clear definition of ‘Trust’, trust in official statistics can be seen as a combination of: outside factors (cultural norms, awareness…), trust in statistical products (accuracy, timeliness…), and trust in statistics institutions (confidentiality protected, integrity..)

6. OECD EDG Progress… After discussion and agreement by the EDG a ‘Proposed Questionnaire for the Measurement of Trust in Official Statistics’ was finalised. Cognitive testing was carried out by a few NSOs with positive results and useful feedback on the questionnaire. A report including the questionnaire will be presented to the CSTAT meeting in June 2010. It will ask that further cognitive testing be carried out to provide countries with a view to providing a ‘recommended’ questionnaire on measuring trust in official statistics to countries.

7. How good is trust? The OECD secretariat in 2009 released a working paper which explores: –The notion and measures of trust, both towards other people and in respect of institutions –The measures currently used to assess trust, discussing their advantages and disadvantages –The systematic relations between trust and various dimensions of economic and social well-being The paper concludes by noting the limits of available evidence and the scope for improvements.