Transformation of the National Statistical System: Experience of the Czech Statistical Office

Change from centrally planned economies to market-oriented democracies in CEE Need for a complete transformation of national statistical systems Need for common standards (general criteria) Fundamental principles of official statistics adopted by the UN Statistical Commission (1994 ) European Statistics Code of Practice (adopted 2005)

Transformation process in statistics I Why so difficult ? The national statistics has to monitor and report on the overall process of transformation (economic and social) and transform itself at the same time.

Transformation process in statistics II Some of the main features: Shift from monitoring of the fulfilment of plans to the description of social and economic processes Increase of number of respondents (numbers by two orders higher) Use of new methods Harmonisation with EU standards

Transformation process in statistics III Different perspectives: Adjustment of individual sectoral statistics Development of common statistical tools, approaches, methodology … Development of common legislative and operational framework

Development of common statistical tools, approaches, methodology … much effort devoted to development of „common infrastructure“, e.g. improvements of registers and new classification building of internal capacities (special department of mathematical and statistical methods established) sampling methods and estimations confidence in respondents (no audits) statistics and quality -         users' demands on statistical data and statistical services are increasing - the concept of statistics is more and more associated with the concept of quality - statistical offices thus guarantee to be able to offer high quality products and services to their customers -         the strong point of official statistics, as generally acknowledged by politics and the scientific community, is a high quality of published data -         motto "as professionals we care about the quality of our work" is of primary importance not only for users of statistical data, but also for official statistics -         statistical system as part of public service is funded by taxpayers -         that's why effort to improve quality must be an integral part of statistical work -         it is in the interest of both statistical offices and users not only to take care of the quality but also to document the quality

using administrative data sources - need to be checked: learning from errors - access to these sources (e.g. tax records) - need to ensure protection of individual data issues of confidentiality, issues of quality (pilot surveys, quality reports, methodological audits in various statistical fields) focus on consistence and coherence of data unified dissemination policy (accessibility of statistics, release calendar) internal and external communication

Development of common legislative and operational framework External: overall legal and operational framework, national legislation (inspired by Fundamental principles) State Statistical Service Act guaranteeing - independence of statistics - individual data protection - timely publication of the survey programme gradual involvement in the ESS statistics and quality -         users' demands on statistical data and statistical services are increasing - the concept of statistics is more and more associated with the concept of quality - statistical offices thus guarantee to be able to offer high quality products and services to their customers -         the strong point of official statistics, as generally acknowledged by politics and the scientific community, is a high quality of published data -         motto "as professionals we care about the quality of our work" is of primary importance not only for users of statistical data, but also for official statistics -         statistical system as part of public service is funded by taxpayers -         that's why effort to improve quality must be an integral part of statistical work -         it is in the interest of both statistical offices and users not only to take care of the quality but also to document the quality

Internal: sufficient infrastructure, especially in ICT, to accommodate the needs of the developing statistical system strategic planning system (mission statement, vision, objectives, personal goals) application of TQM principles since 2003, self-assessment using EFQM model

Harmonisation with EU standards Consultations and study visits Participation in seminars and training organised by EU institutions and Member States Participation in working groups and task forces Assessment by the Commission statistics and quality -         users' demands on statistical data and statistical services are increasing - the concept of statistics is more and more associated with the concept of quality - statistical offices thus guarantee to be able to offer high quality products and services to their customers -         the strong point of official statistics, as generally acknowledged by politics and the scientific community, is a high quality of published data -         motto "as professionals we care about the quality of our work" is of primary importance not only for users of statistical data, but also for official statistics -         statistical system as part of public service is funded by taxpayers -         that's why effort to improve quality must be an integral part of statistical work -         it is in the interest of both statistical offices and users not only to take care of the quality but also to document the quality

Thank you. statistics and quality -         users' demands on statistical data and statistical services are increasing - the concept of statistics is more and more associated with the concept of quality - statistical offices thus guarantee to be able to offer high quality products and services to their customers -         the strong point of official statistics, as generally acknowledged by politics and the scientific community, is a high quality of published data -         motto "as professionals we care about the quality of our work" is of primary importance not only for users of statistical data, but also for official statistics -         statistical system as part of public service is funded by taxpayers -         that's why effort to improve quality must be an integral part of statistical work -         it is in the interest of both statistical offices and users not only to take care of the quality but also to document the quality