1. Identifying Data Needs:
User-Producer Collaboration
Workshop on Household Surveys and Measurement of Labour Force with Focus on Informal Economy
Maseru, Lesotho, April 2008

2. Overview Introduction Benefits of user-producer collaboration
Scope of user-producer collaboration
Identifying key users
Bringing producers to the table
Collaboration arrangements
Challenges
Current practices among SADC countries
Concluding remarks
Discussion points

3. Introduction Common problems faced by data producers
Scope of data collection often pre-determined with limited data needs assessment
Wealth of data collected but relevance is limited or little understood by users
Data collected but not tabulated to address specific needs
Limited resources to conduct extensive data analysis
Dissemination strategies reach selected audiences
Lack of awareness by users about data availability
Data collected not fully utilized

4. Benefits of user-producer collaboration
Identify and prioritize key issues and data needs
Identify relevant policy documents
Improve relevance of data collected
Identify strengths and weaknesses of data
Improve quality of data collected
Improve relevance and quality of statistical publications and other products
Improve users’ understanding of data collected
Develop more realistic expectations among users
Improve use of data in the design, monitoring and assessment of policies and programmes
Promote partnerships for data analysis

5. Scope of user-producer collaboration
Effective user-producer collaboration requires
Continuous two-way collaboration throughout data production process
Understand users’ needs
Learn to communicate in the language of users
Bring statistics to different technical levels
Make producers’ constraints known
Respond to and appreciate feedback

6. Scope of user-producer collaboration
Data production process
Define
issues
Identify
statistical
needs
gaps
Support
analysis
Feedback on
products
Questionnaire
design
Concepts and
methods
User-producer
dialogue

7. Identify key users Who Where Planners Managers Researchers Legislators
Workers’ advocates
Women’s advocates
Programme designers
Policy and decision makers
Media
International organizations, development partners, bilateral aid agencies
Ministries
Women’s machineries
Universities
Research centers
Non-governmental organizations
National, sub-national associations
Regional networks
Private corporations
Regional and international organizations
Trainings, conferences

8. Not aware of gender issues
Know your users
Understand their needs and requirements
Appreciate their special skills and potentials
Determine how best to capitalize on those skills
Users
Aware of gender issues
Not aware of gender issues
Trained in
statistics
Not trained in

9. Develop a strong user network
Develop and maintain list of data users and organize them by:
Geographic location, organization type, main interests, strengths
Keep users abreast of developments
Keep log of user requests
Set up clear and efficient system for users to contact your office

10. Bringing producers to the table
Maximize in-house knowledge and resources
Strengthen collaboration across units and institutions involved in production of official statistics
Increase synergies between work-plans and programmes
Increase awareness of strengths, resources available, and constraints
Develop coherent information infrastructure

11. Bringing producers to the table
Who
Where
Statisticians
Labour
Gender
National accounts
Economics
Education
Accountants
National accountants
Information custodians
Administrative data
Business registers
National statistical offices
Ministries
Enterprises
Interaction with the various domains of statistics within the National Statistical Office and with the various institutions composing the National Statistical System is crucial to develop an integrated information system. It also promotes better understanding of key issues, and the degree of interaction and relevance across domains, hence, promoting better statistical analysis.
Consider those inside and outside your unit within your institution and in other institutions

12. Collaboration arrangements
Informal discussions
Individual consultations
Request for comments, feedback on draft materials
Technical workshops, seminars
Data analysis
Report Drafting
Meetings of consultative/advisory committees
Dissemination workshops
Establishment of a statistics user-producer association
Key: keep continuous communication with a diverse user base through multiple channels

13. Challenges Managing the wide range of users
Reconciling different interests and purposes
Responding to varying levels of understanding of technical issues and gender awareness
Meeting diversity of needs
Time/scheduling conflicts
Institutionalizing the process

14. Current practices among SADC countries
Has your NSO identified key labour issues and gender issues in the labour market for which statistics are needed that you are currently working on?
Labour issues
Gender issues in labour market
Yes 11 5 No 2 8 NR 1

15. Current practices among SADC countries
Is there a focal point, unit, desk, or advisory, steering, or working group on gender statistics in your NSO?
Gender statistics
focal point/group
Yes 7 No 6 NR 1
If yes, areas of collaboration
Little, ad-hoc
Questionnaire design
Publications
Tabulation
Data analysis
Staff training
Assess availability of gender statistics
Recommend improvements

16. Current practices among SADC countries
User-producer collaboration to identify key issues in labour market or gender issues in labour market for which data are needed.
If yes, format
Project/survey oriented
Consultative meetings
User workshops
Consensus building
Dissemination
Regular symposium
Regular communication
Review of data requests
User-producer
collaboration
Yes 7 No 6 NR 1

17. Current practices among SADC countries
User-producer collaboration
If yes, purpose
Questionnaire review
Gender analysis and report writing
Help stakeholders understand data
Strategic planning for data collection
Mobilize funds
Promote dialogue
Assessment of data relevance
Identify priority areas, data needs, and government programmes needing monitoring

18. Current practices among SADC countries
User-producer collaboration
If yes, members
Various data producers
Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs
Planners
Business institutions
Political authorities
Researchers, academic Staff
NGOs, advocacy groups
Development partners

19. Current practices among SADC countries
Degree of interaction with National Women’s Machinery
National Women’s
Machinery
Yes, regularly 2
Yes, occasionally 4 No 6 NR 1
If yes, areas of collaboration
Input in questionnaire
Data collection
Analysis
Stakeholder meetings

20. Current practices among SADC countries
Collaboration with other institutions
Yes
Regularly
Occasionally No
N/A
Ministry of Labour/NSO 8 5
Ministry of Planning 6 4 3
Business Chamber 1 11
Research Institutions 2 7
Academic Institutions
Other: National workers association, Treasury, Reserve Bank, Development partners, International org.

21. Current practices among SADC countries
Summary
Some degree of collaboration with users, but
Scope of interaction is limited to specific activities
Focuses primarily in questionnaire review, data dissemination and data requests
Limited on-going communication to identify issues and improve overall production process
Interaction is primarily with key producers of statistics and planners, but
Limited interaction with researchers and academic institutions
Poor interaction with main gender stakeholders
Gender statistics units/group in-house
National Women’s Machineries

22. Concluding Remarks
Institutionalizing user-producer collaboration is central to improve the relevance and quality of official statistics
Engaging gender stakeholders in-house and externally is central to improving understanding of gender issues and quality of data
Collaboration needs to be bi-directional, we all have something to give and learn
It is part of the planning process to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the national statistical infrastructure

23. Reflection Points How can we improve user-producer dialogue?
How can we extend our network of producers and users? Who are we not yet talking to?
How can we reach out and establish contact?
What can we learn from users?
What challenges do we expect?

24. Thank you !