21
Agencies responsible for the production and dissemination of official statistics (ct’d) Quality Element UN NQAF Element Link to existing policy, guidelines or practice How the quality element is assured and recommendation (if any) 2.10.4 Sample surveys are used instead of censuses when it is appropriate and possible.
11.4
SMSG and CDOS;
TSMP
This is a practice of the NBS
2.10.5
The costs of producing the statistics are well
documented at each stage of statistics production to
assess their effectiveness.
11.5
SMSG and CDOS;
TSMP
Documentation is needed
2.10.6
The costs of producing the statistics are regularly
reviewed
11.6
NBS and MDAs annual
budgets prepared under
the MTEF
Documentation is needed especially on budget evaluation 2.10.7 Efforts are made to improve the statistical potential of administrative data and to limit recourse to surveys
11.7
SMSG and CDOS;
TSMP
Efforts are being done to improve the routine data sources
2.10.8
Cost–benefit analyses are carried out to determine
the appropriate trade-offs in terms of data quality
11.9
SMSG and CDOS;
TSMP
This is only done for specific processes and is not done routinely
2.11: Managing the overall burden on respondents
2.11.1
The respondent burden is managed
11.10
SMSG and CDOS;
TSMP
Documentation is needed 2.11.2 The rights and responsibilities of respondents are spelled out
13.1 Statistics Act 2002 Documentation is needed 2.11.3 Mechanisms are in place to promote the value and use of statistics to respondents 13.2 June 2010 Dissemination and Pricing Policy
Documentation is needed
22
Agencies responsible for the production and dissemination of official statistics (ct’d) Quality Element UN NQAF Element Link to existing policy, guidelines or practice How the quality element is assured and recommendation (if any) 2.12: Making sure that official statistics are and remain relevant 2.12.1 Strategic goals and work plans are prepared to take into account competing user needs and these goals and plans are made public on a regular basis
14.2 TSMP and Strategic Plan Documentation and sharing strategy are needed 2.12.2 Agreements have been reached with the main users of the statistics about what will be produced and disseminated
14.3 Strategic Plan and TSMP More user participation is needed 2.12.3 There is a good understanding of the interdependencies between individual statistical products and processes
14.9 TSMP, Strategic Plan and Annual Budget of NBS and MDAs Documentation is needed 2.13: Making sure that official statistics are accurate and reliable
2.13.1 Systems and processes are in place to assess and validate source data, intermediate results and statistical outputs
15.1 SMSG and CDOS Documentation is needed 2.13.2 Procedures and guidelines are available on how to measure and reduce errors.
15.4 SMSG and CDOS Documentation is needed 2.13.3 A revision policy is in place that documents the principles and procedures and it is made public.
15.5 Not in place A revisions policy needs to be developed 2.13.4 Explanations about the timing, reasons for and nature of revisions are made available.
15.6 On an ad-hoc basis A revisions policy needs to be developed 2.14 Making sure that official statistics are produced punctually and with a minimal delay 2.14.1 The timeliness of the agency’s statistics complies with IMF data dissemination standards or other relevant timeliness targets. 16.2 GDDS metadata GDDS and Annual Performance reports
23
Agencies responsible for the production and dissemination of official statistics (ct’d) Quality Element UN NQAF Element Link to existing policy, guidelines or practice How the quality element is assured and recommendation (if any) 2.14.2 Action plans are developed and followed if the timeliness targets are not met
16.3 On an ad-hoc basis Documentation may be needed 2.14.3 Procedures are in place to regularly monitor and evaluate the punctuality of every release according to the information in the release calendar
16.6 On an ad-hoc basis M&E framework document but more documentation is needed 2.14.4 Divergences from pre-announced times are published in advance; a new release time is then announced with explanations on the reasons for the delays
16.8 June 2010 Dissemination and Pricing Policy Release calendar
Documentation is needed 2.14.5 User requirements are taken into account when the periodicity of the statistics is being decided.
16.9 TSMP Sector Working Groups Need for mainstreaming into MDAs through MTEF 2.15: Making sure that official statistics are accessible and clear to users
2.15.1 Processes are in place to ensure that the official statistics are released with readily accessible and up-to-date metadata
17.1 SMSG and June 2010 Dissemination and Pricing Policy Documentation is needed 2.15.2 Statistics and the corresponding metadata are presented and archived in a form that facilitates proper interpretation and meaningful comparisons.
17.2 Metadata, June 2010 Dissemination and Pricing Policy TSED, TNADA but further Improvements in the presentation of metadata are needed 2.15.3 Guidelines that describe the appropriate content and preferred formats and style are available to authors of statistical publications/databases.
17.3 Not in place Guidelines on the content, formats and styles of statistical publications need to be developed 2.15.4 Staff training and development programmes are in place on writing about statistics
17.4 Some ad-hoc training has been done More specific and targeted training is needed
24
Agencies responsible for the production and dissemination of official statistics (ct’d) Quality Element UN NQAF Element Link to existing policy, guidelines or practice How the quality element is assured and recommendation (if any) 2.15.5 Statistical agencies regularly prepare and publish metadata as well as quality reports
17.5
June 2010 Dissemination
and Pricing Policy
Documentation is needed
2.15.6
Modern information and communication
technology (ICT) is used for dissemination in
addition to traditional hard copy when appropriate.
17.7
June 2010 Dissemination
and Pricing Policy
The policy needs updating to incorporate more recent
technological developments
2.15.7
Users are able to generate their own tables in the
most appropriate formats
17.8
June 2010 Dissemination
and Pricing Policy
The policy needs updating to incorporate more recent
technological developments
2.15.8
The statistics are disseminated in ways that
facilitate re-dissemination by the media.
17.9
June 2010 Dissemination
and Pricing Policy
More documentation is needed
2.15.9
Users are consulted on a regular basis to find out
about the formats of dissemination that they most
prefer
17.10 Not in place User satisfaction surveys have been carried out, but more documentation is needed 2.15.10 Catalogues of publications and other services are made available.
17.11
June 2010 Dissemination
and Pricing Policy
This is the practice of NBS
2.15.11
There is a well-publicized information or user
support service to handle requests for data and to
provide answers about statistical results
17.12 On an ad-hoc basis A central user support service is needed 2.15.12 The public is made aware that custom-designed outputs, statistics not routinely disseminated and longer time series can be provided on request when feasible
17.13
June 2010 Dissemination
and Pricing Policy
Documentation is needed
2.15.13
The agency controls or monitors the access by
researchers to microdata by providing them in a
secure environment
17.15
June 2010 Dissemination
and Pricing Policy
Those who access through the internet are required to register, so
the NBS does monitor who accesses the data. However, further
controls are needed
25
Agencies responsible for the production and dissemination of official statistics (ct’d) Quality Element UN NQAF Element Link to existing policy, guidelines or practice How the quality element is assured and recommendation (if any) 2.15.14 Remote access facilities are also available for accessing microdata, with appropriate controls 17.16 June 2010 Dissemination and Pricing Policy
Controls may need to be strengthened 2.15.15 Researchers are consulted regularly about the effectiveness of the microdata access arrangements.
17.17 On an ad-hoc basis This needs to be done systematically 2.16: Making sure that official statistics are coherent and can be compared 2.16.1 Procedures or guidelines are in place to ensure and monitor internal coherence and consistency of official statistics
18.1 SMSG and CDOS Documentation is needed 2.16.2 Time series statistics are kept comparable over a reasonable period of time
18.3 SMSG and CDOS Documentation is needed 2.16.3 There is a common repository of concepts, definitions and classifications available or other mechanisms for promoting coherence and consistency 18.4 CDOS This may needs to be updated and extended to other data producers 2.16.4 It is possible to compare statistics derived from different sources or with different periodicities
18.8 SMSG and CDOS This may needs to be updated and extended to other data producers 2.16.5 Cooperation and the exchange of knowledge between statistical units are promoted.
18.9 TSMP Documentation is needed 2.17: Managing metadata 2.17.1 The metadata management system of the statistical agency is well defined and is documented 19.1 SMSG, June 2010 Dissemination and Pricing Policy
This needs to be done systematically 2.17.2 Procedures or guidelines are in place for metadata maintenance and dissemination. 19.2 SMSG, June 2010 Dissemination and Pricing Policy This needs to be done systematically
26
Agencies responsible for the production and dissemination of official statistics (ct’d) Quality Element UN NQAF Element Link to existing policy, guidelines or practice How the quality element is assured and recommendation (if any) 2.17.3 Metadata are documented according to standards
19.3 SMSG This needs to be done systematically 2.17.4 Staff training and development programmes are in place on metadata management and related information and documentation systems 19.5 Some training has been done for TNADA, but this is not in place generally
Training on the development and management of metadata is needed 2.17.5 There is a systematic way for archiving metadata which also ensures that they are accessible for reuse in the future 19.6 TNADA This needs to be done systematically
27
Part 3: Programme design (GSBPM phases 1 to 3) Parts 3, 4 and 5 of the Framework are concerned with quality measures applied to individual statistical programmes or operations. Part 3 deals with the design of programmes or activities, covering aspects such as the specification of needs, the design of the process and the development of the data collection instruments. It includes 52 quality elements divided into 13 sections. The main topics covered are as follows: 3.1 Managing relations with data users and providers; 3.2 Managing the standards that have been used for the design of the programme; 3.3 Assuring the confidentiality and security of the statistical data provided by respondents under the programme; 3.4 Making sure that the quality of the design of the statistical programme is improved over time; 3.5 Making sure that there are adequate resources for the statistical programme; 3.6 Making sure that the statistical methods used in the programme are sound and in line with international recommendations and good practice; 3.7 Making sure that the statistical programme is cost effective and efficient; 3.8 Managing the burden on respondents; 3.9 Making sure that the statistical programme is relevant to users; 3.10 Making sure that the statistics produced by the programme are accurate and reliable; 3.11 Making sure that the statistics produced by the programme are timely and available to users with a minimal delay; 3.12 Making sure that the statistics produced by the programme are accessible and clear to users; 3.13 Making sure that the statistics produced by the programme are coherent and can be compared with other sources and over time.