Chair: Mariana Kotzeva
Room: S2 Wawel
Time: 14:30 - 16:00
Date: 27 June
Session 39 - papers & presentations
| Presenting Author | Abstract |
|---|---|
| Eduardo Barredo Capelot e-mail: eduardo.barredo-capelot@ec.europa.eu | Title: <<< Special session: The revised European statistics Code of Practice – challenges and opportunities >>> The recent revision of the European statistics Code of Practice presented a challenge insofar that a good balance of two objectives had to be found: the objective to keep it as stable as possible over time, so that comparison is possible for measuring its implementation, on the one hand and to adjust it to new realities and challenges in developing, producing and disseminating European statistics, on the other hand. The paper will describe main elements of the revision process, such as the analysis of shortcomings of the Code of Practice adopted in 2011, basic considerations behind the changes, the consultation rounds and adoption. The main reasons for changing the Code will be described, including the need to emphasise a principle of and ways of coordinating the national statistical system, move away from a survey-based statistics production to a production based on multiple data sources and to reflect innovation in the Code. After the adoption of the revised Code of Practice, the way of measuring its implementation should be considered as well as the changes and opportunities that the revised Code of Practice may bring for other elements of the quality framework. |
| Giorgio Alleva e-mail: pres@istat.it | Title: <<< Innovation and modernisation in the revision of the European statistics Code of Practice >>> The external world is rapidly changing, producing dramatic shifts, both in the statistical process, the production model and in its output. The producers of official statistics face new challenges. The growing availability of data discloses new opportunities, in particular about the use of administrative archives, the adoption of increasingly accessible unstructured sources and integration of data from multiple data sources. But at the same time it becomes crucial for the NSIs to have access to administrative data and to rethink and to extent the role of sampling surveys in a different data environment. The coordination role of the NSIs represents a strategic key aspect in a modernization process which is advancing in the ESS as a whole, as well as the cooperation within the European and National statistical system and beyond finding new ways of working together in order to fulfil both European and national statistical needs. New data sources, as Big data, require that we rethink our traditional statistical tools, review our IT architectural infrastructure, update our quality commitment looking at innovation, and enhance research and partnership among other NSIs and other producers. The ESS has long-term service capability to adapt fast enough to keep up with changes in the environment, but if National statistical institutes want to produce trustworthy data from new data sources, they must introduce concepts and tools for quality evaluation specifically devoted to a multisource environment. The European Code of practice has been revised including key aspects mirroring this new challenges. |
| Athanasios C. Thanopoulos e-mail: a.thanopoulos@statistics.gr | Title: <<< Working towards building a robust implementation technology for the revised Code of Practice >>> The recent revision of the CoP was the result of an effort aiming to adjust and/or fine-tune the existing text of the Code to new facts related to the data revolution and to the forthcoming challenges stemming thereof. This has to be coupled with a solid implementation and monitoring framework through tools that would measure implementation of the CoP in an objective, uniform, coordinated and transparent manner, in order to fully benefit from the momentum of the recent revision. The main channel used so far for the implementation of the CoP was the incorporation to the national legal order. Typically, this would take either (a) a direct form, i.e., mot-a-mot transposition of the text of the CoP into the national Statistical Law, or, (b) an indirect form, i.e., through legal instruments such as Commitments on Confidence in Statistics (CoC). There are advantages and disadvantages associated with either form. Most salient drawback of (a) is the fact the CoP is not meant to be directly used as stricto sensu legal text, while the most apparent shortcoming of (b) is the fact that it requires updating and adaptation, it may have become (partly) obsolete or irrelevant. Given the fact that neither legal texts regulating Official Statistics are meant to be altered with a high frequency, nor is it the case that the CoP gets revised in a pre-scheduled and linear manner (with respect to time and with respect to the importance of its revised text), this paper should address the following questions: (a) Is the above implementation (and monitoring) technology still relevant in light of the revised code? (b) Have there been identified inherent inconsistencies/ conflicts that weaken the effectiveness of this implementation framework? (c) What are the desired properties that an implementation / monitoring technology should have in order to be robust to future revisions of the CoP? |
| Christine Fluxa e-mail: christine.fluxa@insee.fr | Title: <<< Quality guidelines as a tool for ensuring the coordination of quality in the French statistical system >>> The revised code of practice includes a new principle relating to coordination and cooperation (principle 1bis); more particularly, according to the indicator 1bis.2, NSI have to produce national quality guidelines to ensure the coordination of quality in their national statistical system. In compliance with the amended European regulation 223/2009 the French Quality Unit established in early 2017 quality guidelines in collaboration with the ministerial statistical services. These guidelines ensure that the head of the French NSI has access to indicators enabling to monitor the quality of the most important statistics produced in the public statistical system. These guidelines formalize the framework for the co-ordination of the statistical system in terms of quality. They must be applied to European statistics, in accordance with the code of practice. But they also concern the national statistics that have been described as «structuring». These «structuring» statistics are defined as both highly expected by the users and extremely prejudicial to the services if they were to be of poor quality. Their production and dissemination need to be insured against risks. These guidelines are based on five orientations concerning governance, development of quality skills within the statistical services, the planning and realization of quality approaches to statistical processes; the fulfillment of European commitments and the systematic integration of users’ needs and satisfaction in the designing of statistical products and services. This article firstly describes the French quality guidelines and how they are initiating the management and the integration of quality in statistical processes. Then, it presents the procedure that has been followed in order to support each ministerial statistical services in the implementation of the guidelines. The article lastly shows how this implementation is monitored by the French NSI and how it will help to fulfill our commitments resulting from the 2014 peer review and to co-ordinate quality issues among the French statistical system. |
| Enrico Giovannini e-mail: enr.giovannini@gmail.com | Title: <<< The Revised European Code of Practice – a new opportunity for European statistics >>> The European Statistics Code of Practice was established in 2005 and sets the standards for developing, producing and disseminating European statistics. It aims to improve confidence in statistical authorities by proposing specific institutional and organisational arrangements which could be put in place. It also aims to reinforce the quality of European statistics by promoting the application of best international statistical principles, methods and practices. The Code is updated from time to time in order to keep up with changes in statistical legislation and statistical practices. The first update was in September 2011 and the second was in September 2017. The 2017 update takes into account new legal requirements concerning the coordination of statistical activities in national statistical systems, and issues such as access to new types of data, the use of multiple data sources, data protection, and the use of open data standards. This paper discusses the reasoning behind the key revisions to the Code and the opportunities they offer for improving statistical governance. The paper also considers the implications of the revisions with regard to the process of monitoring the implementation of the Code. |