The Italian Statistical System 88 th DGINS The future of the European Statistical System Palermo, Italy Palazzo dei Normanni 19 th -20 th September 2002

88 th DGINS The future of the European Statistical System First part: The National Statistical System SISTAN

Milestones in Official Statistics Central Institute for Statistics of the Kingdom of Italy Division of General Statistics within the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Internal Trade Legislative Decree 322 (Statistical Act): National Statistical System - Sistan National Institute of Statistics - Istat

To ensure uniform policy, homogeneous organisation and rationalised information flows at central and local levels To provide Italian and international bodies with official statistical information Mission To regulate the activities carried out by public statistical bodies and agencies for the collection, compilation, analysis, dissemination and storage of data L.D. 322/1989 objective Sistan

A decentralised system National Statistical Institute – Istat Statistical offices of central and local government administrations Other bodies and organisations dealing with statistical information Structure Main Actors Focus on:

Commission for Guaranteeing Statistical Information (CGIS) Committee for Directing and Co–ordinating Statistical Information (COMSTAT) Organisational structure

Addresses and co–ordinates central and local statistical offices Deliberates on the National Statistical Programme Ruling bodies COMMITTEE FOR DIRECTING AND CO-ORDINATING STATISTICAL INFORMATION - COMSTAT

Is a three–year programme, annually updated Defines the statistical surveys of public interest to be assigned to the National Statistical System and identifies their objectives Drawn up by Istat upon decision of the Committee for Directing and Co-ordinating Statistical Information; supervised by the Commission for Guaranteeing Statistical Information and Authority for Privacy; comes into force with a Prime Minister’s Decree The National Statistical Programme

Supervises impartiality and completeness of statistical information Safeguards confidentiality of the data collected Controls the quality of statistical methodologies and techniques Supervises compliance of data collections with EU and international recommendations Ruling bodies COMMISSION FOR GUARANTEEING STATISTICAL INFORMATION - CGIS

Strengths (set) Coherency Non-state-run national system Statistical culture inside the Public Administration Functionality with reference to National Statistical Programme Network of operators, Quality Groups, cohesion-oriented initiatives

Weaknesses (assessed) Not complete exploitation of administrative sources Difficulty of interaction between statistical and other offices Not well-rooted network attitude Uneven development of Information Systems Weak production of statistics for territorial needs

Strengthening of the system identity Development of statistical culture and consent Quality improvement Internal and external authoritativeness Economies of scale A vision for the future

88 th DGINS The future of the European Statistical System Second part: National Statistical Institute Istat

Istat is the core of public statistical information supply Its role is supported by: long-term strategic vision ability to integrate information into a system Istat

The mission To supply quality information to interpret social, economic, environmental phenomena and their dynamics, and to guarantee the compliance with the principles of independence, impartiality, reliability and transparency

The vision Improving user-oriented quality Promoting information systems Growing the statistical function at the international level Growing the statistical function at the national level Improving Istat’s organisation

Organisational structure

Regional Offices Number of Regional Offices: 18 Total staff: 313 ISTAT

Basic principles of organisation Separation between ruling and managing responsibilities Departments autonomy and decentralised functions (administrative, IT, methodological, dissemination) Integration between departments and promotion of technical standards Strategic planning and control

Ruling bodies COUNCIL Plans, directs and evaluates Istat’s activity Checks the validity of administrative and accounting activities BOARD OF AUDITORS PRESIDENT Is Istat’s legal representative, is responsible for technical and scientific co-ordination and for institutional relationships at national and international level

Presidency President Direct Collaboration Offices Evaluation and Strategic Control Cabinet International Relations Communication and Press

Organisational Innovation and Internal Auditing Administrative Co-ordination Directorate for Budget, Accounting and Treasury Directorate General Director General

Personnel and Administration Department Directorate for Personnel and General Services Directorate for Contracts and Assets Personnel and Administration Department

National Statistical System Development National Statistical Programme Directorate for Regional Offices Co–ordination Sistan Central Secretariat Department

Economic Statistics Department Directorate for Structural Statistics Directorate for Short–Term Statistic Directorate for Archives and Censuses of Economic Units Economic Statistics Department

Social Statistics Department Directorate for Population Censuses and Territory Directorate for Surveys on Living Conditions and Quality of Life Co–ordination and Integration Social Statistics Department Directorate for Surveys on Social Institutions

Integration and Technical Standards Department Methodology for Statistical Production Integration and Technical Standards Department Directorate for Dissemination of Statistical Information and Culture Co–ordination, Integration and Quality Directorate for Information Technology and Telecommunication Directorate for National Accounts

Educational level Gender Key figures on personnel Total staff: 2663

Vocational profile Type of employment Key figures on personnel Total staff: 2663 Level I Level II Level III

Training Policy USERS Istat’s and Sistan’s employees (Directors, Executives and other Civil Servants) MAIN TOPICS Statistics Technology for statistics Management AIMS To learn how to use statistical data for decision-making purposes To correctly understand and analyse data To collect, enter and process data METHODS To identify needs through highlighting the professional identity

Funding sources State funds (92%) Grants by European Commission, other national or international entities (4,5%) Revenue from selling data and publications (3,5%) Financial and operational management

Expenditure (year 2001)

Expenditure ( ) Censuses included

Istat’s activity Almost half of the production deals with economic information The importance of social statistics is growing: new surveys on households, citizens and institutions are foreseen The value of integration is recognised and pursued Innovation in survey techniques is promoted Growth of Istat’s role as supplier of statistical information for public institutions Planned projects per area Year 2002

Planning Guidelines defined by the Council Strategic objectives Internal auditing Evaluation and strategic control Operational programme and budgeting Projects and activities

Future perspectives for Istat and Sistan Integration of Information Systems Dissemination of statistical culture, especially for Public Administration’s staff, through ad-hoc widespread tools and training Enhancement of e-statistics: a growing use of Internet for data collection and dissemination Users’ empowerment: development of greater access to data, particularly inside Sistan and for research purposes Increase in territorial statistics for regional and local policy