Official Statistical Information - A key source for monitoring development and allocation of resources Consultation Mission on Promoting the activity and Creating a positive image of the Ukrainian State Statistical bodies Kiev, Ukraine 9 – 12 December 2014 Petteri Baer, Marketing Manager, Statistics Finland Courtesy to Mr Heinrich Bruengger, Director Emeritus, UNECE Statistical Division

Kiev 9-12 December 2014 The importance of good statistical information (1) Attracting investments, doing good business, developing economic activities needs evidence based decision making – reliable official statistics is a basic source for this Economic and social development should continuously be monitored. Without reliable statistical information about the past and present, no real analysis of the situation, and no inference for future developments, can be made 2Petteri Baer

Kiev 9-12 December 2014 The importance of good statistical information (2) How can resources be allocated if basic information on economic development, prices or population is based on guesses or (too) old information? If the denominators of Gross Domestic Product, the population or other basic indicators are wrong, indicators may be misleading, especially when compared across countries 3Petteri Baer

Kiev 9-12 December 2014 Statistical capacity is a combination of… A specific institutional framework for the national system of official statistics and the main producer, the National Statistical Office, based on a law that is based on the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics Know-how of staff in the field of producing, processing and dissemination of statistical information in the various subject areas of official statistics (a variety of complex scientific, professional and managerial tasks) Adequate ICT resources 4Petteri Baer

Kiev 9-12 December 2014 Trust and reliability Official Statistics are reliable and trusted only if Disseminated publicly in time and available to all users Based on internationally accepted norms and recommendations Methodology is transparent Respondents in surveys trust the pledge of confidentiality and exclusive use for statistics Accessibility for all users is ensured through a range of electronic and other products Users trust the producer to be free from interference Building trust is of utmost importance for Official Statistics 5Petteri Baer

Kiev 9-12 December 2014 The importance of statistical information becomes evident Imagine a situation in which statistical information for decision making is NOT available  we will easily have Wrong analysis of the situation Wrong allocation of resources Wrong investments of scarce resources Conclusion: Building statistical capacity is a primary infrastructure investment 6Petteri Baer

Kiev 9-12 December 2014 What are policy makers expected to do for statistics? Help creating and respecting a good legal basis for statistical system and censuses Make sure that NSO and other producers have the necessary resources in quantity and quality Avoid considering statistics as being too trivial or too elusive for attention; Statistics is a key information for many actors Enable staff to participate fully in international meetings and to follow training 7Petteri Baer

Kiev 9-12 December 2014 Support from policy makers Keep in mind that official statistics is a way to describe a complex reality in a condensed and quantitative form Do not shoot (or punish) the messenger, if you do not like the reality! 8Petteri Baer

Different user groups have needs for both ready made and customized statistical information Ministries and central administrative bodies Regional authorities Local authorities Research institutions Non-governmental organizations Libraries Educational institutions Businesses and economic actors Directors, “Big bosses” Market researchers Investment calculators Note: Differences according to sectors & industries Media Different scopes: national, regional, local, scandal, with a special target Kiev 9-12 December 2014 Petteri Baer 9

What is “ready made” statistical information? Easy to find Easy to use Focusing on relevant phenomena on which information is needed More demands for visual presentations, good graphs More demand for presentations using GIS Web site of the NSO Theme and topic web sites Good navigation structures Good search function Paths to deeper insight Need for user friendly databases User training Researchers’ need for microdata Kiev 9-12 December 2014 Petteri Baer 10

Some target groups need customized information – and are willingly paying for the additional service Businesses and economic actors Market researchers Note: Differences according to sectors & industries Media – deeper insight Different administrations and planning institutions NGOs, Advocacy organizations, lobbyists... Kiev 9-12 December 2014 Petteri Baer 11

Statistics Finland – a few basic figures (1) Data sources 96 % of the basic data are obtained from administrative registers Direct data collections from citizens or enterprises are used when data cannot be otherwise obtained Production of statistics 200 different statistics on 26 topics is produced 600 releases and 50 printed publications per year (majority of publications also available in electronic form) Releases comprehensively and free of charge on the Internet – BASIC statistical information Kiev 9-12 December Petteri Baer

Statistics Finland – a few basic figures (2) Services shortly Online services (> web pages), software products (geographical information, classifications etc.), special compilations, interview and research services, training in statistics, Business register, international consulting, Library of statistics and information services (by telephone or ) Basic services are free of charge Customized services are chargeable Kiev 9-12 December Petteri Baer

Organizational structure of Statistics Finland Kiev 9-12 December Standards and Methods Population and Social Statistics Economic and Environmental Statistics Business Statistics Communi- cation and Information Services Office of Director General AdministrationInformation Technology Data Collection Petteri Baer

15Petteri Baer Get user feed-back Analyse changes in society Define statistical info needed Build production process Research changes in legislation Publish basic publication Take care of internat. co-oper. Take care of other disseminat. Update dis- semination data base Descriptive data analysis Produce estimates Check, code & edit Merge data files File data & metadata Make sample Collect register data Update software solutions Plan & test data collection Prioritize process development Describe production process Define IT solutions Design measurment task Test pilot version Analyse process & q indicators Ensure user support Report product quality Compile process assesment Make re- commend. for devel. File data and metadata Guarantee informer contacts Promote Define metadata Plan and budget LEVEL 2 Update base data Make tables & graphics Check data security Analyse File tables & metadata Ensure archiving Identify quality indicators Check data sources Check data quality Collect data Inspect data Create new variables Produce basic publication Create metadata repository LEVEL 1 Statistics Production Process BuildCollectProcessDesignAnalyseDis- seminate EvaluateSpecify needs Kiev 9-12 December 2014

The importance of metadata in statistical production and dissemination The relationship between the producer and an user of statistical data: The user has general knowledge on the phenomenon the data describe The data producer provides supplementary information on how to interpret the data It’s in the interest of both parties that there are no misunderstandings or lack of information concerning the data Kiev 9-12 December Petteri Baer

Kiev 9-12 December 2014 And always remember... Only used statistical information is useful statistical information! Important for the archives But that is not the main point of statistics

Kiev 9-12 December 2014 Statistics is an issue for us all With good statistical information into evidence-based decision structures! Thank you for your attention!