ssb.no (the most effective would have been to be online here) ssb.no is our most important external .... It has been a deliberate strategy to choose this as our main medium to reach the public and the outside world. All our statistics and analyses are published here (as many as possible). Published for everyone simultaneously. Everything on the web site can be used free of charge, and anyone can use our statistics by citing SSB as the source. The number of web enquiries has more than doubled over the past 5 years, from 20 million in 2000 up to 43 million in 2004. The front page is set up as a news page in order to capture the interest of the media and the public. Specialists looking for something specific know what they want and where to find it. There are many search options and different classifications of topics and themes. Users can choose between detailed tables or written articles. (ref. headings). The web site celebrates its ten-year anniversary this year. We launched our web site in the early days of the Internet and are near the top of ranking lists, an achievement we are proud of. Publishing on demand. Our publications are published on ssb.no, and we don’t print publications for storage. Subscriptions are terminated. We offer daily newsletters via e-mail with news from ssb.no and information about our publications. The public must then place an order on the publication if they want a hard copy. This is sent after a few days – free of charge – as it costs more to invoice. There will be some exceptions to these general rules. Our aim is to create a system whereby a publisher or bookseller will be responsible for the sales and turnover of our paper publications.

THEME (find gender equality theme page in English) The theme pages assemble articles, statistics and links on chosen topics. Introductions in theme pages are based on what the user requests. The theme pages are structured with simple information on top (suitable for 16-18 year-olds), then more advanced and more detailed information as the page goes on. The theme pages always have key figures and explanations of words. We currently have 21 different themes. By the end of 2005, we will have 30-35 different theme pages. The pages are well received by the users.

WHERE DO PEOPLE GET THEIR ANSWERS? ssb.no e-mail chat WAP telephone contact people in the different departments coordinate reply services We have different channels for answering our users; Internet, e-mail, chat, wap, you can call us on the general reply service or make direct contact with the specialists in the departments. Wap: little used, mostly for gaining technological experience. We wish to avoid answering the same questions over and over, and to procure information to the public that can be easily found on ssb.no. We must therefore develop ssb.no further so that our users can easily find the information they are looking for. We must double check the answers we give in order to ensure that the public will be given the same answer regardless of who is answering.

COORDINATING OFFICIAL STATISTICS Several agencies produce official statistics The statistics council – 20 members Coordinate production and procurement of statistics Define requirements for official statistics Common portal calendar news subscription services SSB produces 85–90 per cent of all Norwegian official statistics. According to The Statistics Act of Norway, SSB has a responsibility to coordinate and supervise official norwegian statistics. The Statistics Act of Norway gives us wide authorisation to do this. SSB shall be in the front seat in ensuring the quality of and the compiling of official statistics. The statistics council was therefore created in 2004. The collaboration is a positive thing.

OTHER CHALLENGES Develop the seminar and conference activity Coordinate with business and industry – for mutual advantage Better overview and availability of register data for researchers The education sector Courses and conferences: We want to reach as many users as possible, and believe that this is one of several routes to take. We would like the business community to use us more. If we can provide accurate figures from their correct returns it will benefit both. If school pupils and students learn to use us early on, we believe that they will also remember us later.