The role of the international department of TurkStat Fourteenth Meeting of the Management Group on Statistical Cooperation 22-23 March 2012, Luxembourg Alper GÜCÜMENGİL Head of Projects Group 02.05.2019 1

Presentation in brief Background Information Organization of the Department Key Tasks Role of Department during accession process Conclusions/Remarks 02.05.2019 2

Background Information International relations has long tradition in TurkStat. International relations policy is in line with the foreign policy priorities of government. Bilateral cooperation with the other countries’ statistical offices constitutes an important portion of the relations. Data demands from partner organizations; UN, OECD, EU; World Bank, SESRIC, BSEC, OIC, ECO 02.05.2019 02.05.2019 3

Organization of Foreign Relations Department 02.05.2019 02.05.2019 4

Organization of Foreign Relations Department Projects Group: Preparation, implementation and coordination of projects financed by EU and other international organizations. International Cooperation Group: Cooperation with international and regional organizations (except EU), bilateral relations with Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Caucasian, Balkan and African Countries. EU Coordination Group: Coordination of the works concerning the “Statistics” chapter within the TurkStat and at the national and international organisations level as well. Current tasks include coordination of multi-beneficiary programmes launched by Eurostat (IPA MBP 2009) and national programmes (USST Phase III). 02.05.2019 02.05.2019 5

Organization of Foreign Relations Department Human Resources TITLE Number Head of the Department 1 Expert (including 3 Heads of Group) 14 Statistician 2 Engineer Economist Data-Preparation Controlling Operator 3 Temporary Personnel 4 TOTAL 26 02.05.2019

Key Tasks of Foreign Relations Department Implementation of EU Projects Multi-Beneficiary Programmes: Medstat II, PHARE 2005, MBP 2006, IPA MBP 2007, IPA MBP 2008 and IPA MBP 2009. National Programmes: USST Programme Phase I (2003-2007) USST Programme Phase II (2007-2009) USST Programme Phase III (2011-2013) 02.05.2019

Key Tasks of Foreign Relations Department Coordination of Other International Projects Small projects both in terms of coverage and budget; UN, World Bank, IMF, EFTA and UN/ESCAP 02.05.2019

Key Tasks of Foreign Relations Department EU Compliance Works Following the studies to meet Closing Criteria of Chapter 18: Statistics in EU Negotiations Process Coordination of the Light Peer Review Activity Contribution of TurkStat in critical documents like Country Progress Reports; Accession Partnership Agreement; National Programme Annual updating of the Statistical Management Information System (SMIS) Participation in TAIEX activities 02.05.2019

Key Tasks of Foreign Relations Department Technical Cooperation Turkish International Cooperation Agency–TIKA activities Cooperation activities with Caucasian Countries Projects are run by dispatching TurkStat’s experts to these countries or through training programs/seminars held in Turkey Bi-lateral cooperation Financed from national budget and occasionally partner countries’ budget 02.05.2019

Key Tasks of Foreign Relations Department Technical Cooperation Relations with official international organisations UN Statistics Division (Statistical Commission and subject-related working bodies) Economic Commission for Europe (Conference of European Statisticians (CES) and subject-related working bodies) OECD (Statistics Directorate and subject-related working bodies) IMF, ILO, WHO, UNESCO, WTO etc. non-official international organisations (International Statistical Institute-ISI) 02.05.2019

Key Tasks of Foreign Relations Department Technical Cooperation Relations with regional statistical organizations Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) Statistical Directorate of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) 02.05.2019

Role of Foreign Relations Department during accession process Foreign Relations Department (FRD) deals with the accession process in “Statistics” chapter within TurkStat. Negotiations; The role of FRD in the negotiation process is ensuring the coordination among technical departments of TurkStat and other statistical providers as well. One of the roles of FRD is monitoring the progress made within the context of the closing benchmarks. 02.05.2019

Role of Foreign Relations Department during accession process Progress reports: FRD ensures the coordination of the activities regarding the Progress Reports, published by the European Commission annually. The contributions of TurkStat in “administrative capacity”, “legislative amendments”, “progress in statistical sectors” and “updated economic data list” are sent to Ministry of EU Affairs . Statistical Management Information System (SMIS+): The studies are carried out within the coordination of FRD. FRD coordinates the studies regarding the EU-Turkey Sub-Committees 02.05.2019

Role of Foreign Relations Department during accession process Projects; FRD is responsible for application, implementation, financial management, coordination, monitoring and reporting of statistical projects those aim to harmonize with EU Acquis. IPA Multi Beneficiary Programmes and National Programmes preparation of project proposals preparation of grant applications managing the tender processes coordination of consultancy and data collection activities monitoring of the projects financial management of grants organisation of local and international training activities organisation of participation to Eurostat meetings and traineeship programmes etc. 02.05.2019

Conclusion/Remarks International cooperation policy of a statistical office should be in line with the foreign policy of the government International relations department acts as a focal point to reflect government’s intentions to other departments and also the Statistical System as a whole International relations department: a bridge between national stakeholders and international organizations The coordination function of the office is also crucial to avoid duplications of funding from several donors. 02.05.2019

Conclusion/Remarks Regarding EU accession process, while technical departments deal with studies in order to be compliant with the EU Acquis, FRD should ensure the coordination among themselves, other stakeholders and EU bodies. TurkStat’s double role: not only at adopting the best practices from other countries but also sharing that of her own. Technical assistance is provided to the other countries for their capacity building efforts. 02.05.2019

Conclusion/Remarks Statistical Offices should establish a Policy on international cooperation. The policy should cover: aims of international relations, what kind of activities to be involved in, which international organizations, regions and countries to cooperate with, the funding opportunities, tools for dissemination of activity results within the office and country. Mandate for international departments. Core functions of statistical offices: national accounts, social statistics, business statistics, agricultural statistics etc. Strategic planning, human resources, international relations are side functions Attitude of technical departments towards international cooperation works International Cooperation = An expertise area? Procedural and legal differences between the national and international practices Eurostat rules, UN and EU procedures differ from and occasionally conflict with national dealings Financial management of the grants: international relations staff are not accountants Contribution of other data provider organizations in cooperation activities Statistical Office can not intervene who will participate from these organizations 02.05.2019

Conclusion/Remarks Key issue: to strengthen the flow of information both inside and outside the organization. 02.05.2019

Thank you… 02.05.2019 20