Statistical Governance in the Latin American and the Caribbean Region: achievements and challenges P. Martin-Guzmán ( Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain) and M. Aguilera (Chile)

Some current traits of these countries A significant number of them are growing at rates next to or above 5% Most of them are consolidating stable democratic political systems A couple of them are already OECD members. A few more are applying for membership

A growing demand for credible statistics Enhancing governance in statistics: an on- going project launched by the Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA), a subsidiary body of ECLAC

Steps of the project Agreement of all countries in SCA to produce a Code of Good Practices Working group on Institutional Strenghthening created under the leadership of DANE, Colombia Workshop in Luxembourg for discussion of the Code with EUROSTAT experts Endorsement of the finalised Code by all countries in SCA

Steps II 2012 Launching of the first self-assessment questionnaires Workshop in Bogotá for dissemination of the Regional Code of Good Practices First round of peer reviews, involving six countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá, Paraguay, Dominican Republic and Uruguay,

The Regional Code of Good Practices in Statistics Very much inspired in the E.U. Code of Practice, but two additional principles: Coordination of the National Statistical System International cooperation and participation

Different levels of involvement in the project English speaking countries Cuba Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries except Cuba

Independence Legislation Appointment and dismissal of the chief statistician Government interferences

Legislation A thriving point : There are still countries without an Statistical Act Some countries have very old laws Most countries are now involved in developing a new good legislation adapted to the Code, but Parliaments not always helpful.

Appointment and dismissal of chief statistician Tradition not completely adjusted to the Code But some significant improvements have taken place recently

Government interferences Boards of experts for discussion of data before dissemination Eventual interferences in the dissemination of data

Mandate for data collection Access to administrative registers usually protected by legal acts Problems in practice, eventually solved through personal relations Now, bilateral agreements

Adequacy of resources I(Budget) Usually scarce, but considerable differences among countries Made worse by poor management in the public sector

Adequacy of resources II( Human resources) Low salaries. Strong turnover. Relevance of the capacitation and international cooperation program Transparency in staff recruitment could improve.

Confidentiality A very high culture of confidentiality in Statistical Offices Lower in the other producers of the national statistical system Some want of formalisation: lack of protocoles

Quality Some significant advances Most statistical offices have recently created a unit on quality Most of them are now publishing some quality indicators (standard errors…)

but Not all statistical operations documented (problems with turnover) No quality reports Introduction of some techniques (imputation, seasonal and calendar adjustments) not yet implemented

Impartiality and objectivity Calendar Simultaneous access to data

Calendar Practically all countries have established a calendar But in a few of them it is not made public

Simultaneous access to data Pre-releases not specified Eventual discretionary access for some users

Opportunity A new culture. The positive effect of calendars Reluctance to publish advanced indicators

Accesibility and clarity They all have websites (not always of friendly access) Most have (or are in the process of ) attaching metadata and methodologies An increasing number of them provide access to anonymized microdata. Some have safe centers

but Relations with users concentrate mostly in the academia Relations with the media often weak Users satisfaction surveys not implemented

Conclusions Considerable differences within the Region. A few countries have well advanced Statistical Offices But much remains to be done Wide room for optimism: remarkable progress is taking place The main current challenge: to ensure continuity of the project,i.e, a)to establish a permanent body and b)to secure some stable funding