1. Statistics and cooperation: an essential link Technical cooperation is a “core business” of Istat Claudia Cingolani Director, Office for International Relations and Cooperation Istat-Aula Magna Rome, 24 November 2005

2. The development of technical cooperation in Istat Main steps 1992: creation of a technical unit for cooperation within the Directorate General 1996: participation in the European CESD network and framework agreement with Cesd-Rome 2004: decision of the Council of Istat on cooperation as a strategic goal 2004: set up of the “Office for international relations and cooperation” within the Presidency

3. Strategic goals of cooperation Contribute to building up of national statistical systems and to promoting the knowledge and the application of standards at international level Strengthen the international role of Istat in its sectors of excellence Participate more actively in technical contexts of international development policies Step up relations with national institutions for the formulation and implementation of development cooperation policies

4. Criteria in the selection of programmes Geographical areas: compliance with political strategies of institutional partners experience gained in the countries Thematic fields: acknowledged competence in the specific matters availability of high-quality and professional resources

5. Sources of financing Italian Government through ad-hoc agreements for complex projects European Union through the participation, individually or in consortium, in tenders (Cards, Tacis, Phare, Medstat programmes) International organisations (IMF, United Nations, World Bank etc.) for specific projects Other external sources Istat

6. Activities Technical assistance Tools Training Study visits Seminars, workshops and conferences

7. Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Georgia Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Andean Pact countries Mozambique, Cape Verde, Nigeria China Algeria Tunisia Morocco Egypt Syria Jordan Palestine Lebanon Israel Turkey Malta Cyprus Hungary, Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania Albania, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia (FYROM) Geographical areas of cooperation

8. Agriculture censuses Population and housing censuses National accounts Non-observed economy Servicestatistics Business registers Householdsconsumption Prices Prices Businessstatistics Research&Development Research&Development Agriculturestatistics Environment statistics Quality Dissemination and communication Institutionalbuilding Statisticallaw Fields of activity

9. The challenges of cooperation for Istat Maintain the balance between demand and supply Develop within Istat a ‘culture’ of cooperation and the required professionalism Foster full collaboration with the partner country and sharing of choices and of expected results Improve managerial capacity and internal instruments for financial and administrative management of projects

10. Conclusions 1.Technical cooperation in Istat is an institutional activity and is integral part of its planning 2.Participation of Istat in national and international programmes for development cooperation is reinforced and strengthened 3.Thematic fields and geographical areas respond to technical and political evaluation criteria 4.Technical cooperation is an opportunity for the professional growth of Istat staff Statistics and cooperation: an essential link Claudia Cingolani, 24 November 2005