MANUAL FOR STRENGTHENING AND INTEGRATING ADMINISTRATIVE DATA INTO NATIONAL OFFICIAL STATISTICS OF TANZANIA
June, 2024
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TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD .............................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................. v ACRONYMS .............................................................................................................. vii GLOSSARY OF TERMS .......................................................................................... viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 1.0 Background ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Rationale ........................................................................................................ 2 1.2 Objectives ...................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Scope of the Manual ...................................................................................... 3 1.4 Uses and Users of the Manual ....................................................................... 3 1.5 Structure of the Manual .................................................................................. 4 CHAPTER TWO: ADMINISTRATIVE DATA SYSTEM IN TANZANIA ....................... 5 2.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 5 2.1 National Statistical System of Tanzania ......................................................... 5 2.1.1 Composition and Structure ...................................................................... 5 2.1.2 NSS Legal and Policy Framework ........................................................... 6 2.2 Official Statistics ............................................................................................. 7 2.3 Data needs and supply within NSS ................................................................ 7 2.3.1 Global programs, frameworks and agendas ............................................ 8 2.3.2 Regional Frameworks and Agendas ........................................................ 8 2.3.3 National Frameworks and Plans .............................................................. 8 2.3.4 Sectoral Frameworks and Plans .............................................................. 9 2.3.5 Institutional Plans .................................................................................... 9 2.4 Administrative Data Management .................................................................. 9 2.5 Classifications of Types of Administrative Data ............................................ 10 2.6 Social and Demographic Statistics ............................................................... 10 2.7 Economic Statistics ...................................................................................... 10 2.8 Cross-Cutting Issues .................................................................................... 11 2.9 Challenges in Administrative Data collection ............................................... 11 CHAPTER THREE: GUIDELINES FOR PRODUCTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE STATISTICS .............................................................................................................. 13 3.0 Frameworks for Statistical Production ....................................................... 13 3.1 Generic Statistics Business Process Model ................................................. 15 3.2 Processes for production of administrative statistics ................................... 15 3.2.1 Specify needs ........................................................................................ 18 3.2.2 Design and build statistical program ...................................................... 19
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3.2.3 Data collection ....................................................................................... 22 3.2.4 Data processing ..................................................................................... 25 3.2.5 Data analysis ......................................................................................... 27 3.2.6 Dissemination of results ........................................................................ 28 3.2.7 Evaluation of the statistical program ...................................................... 30 3.3 Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics ................................................ 31 3.4 Integration of Gender Dimensions in Administrative Data ............................ 32 CHAPTER FOUR: QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN THE PRODUCTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE DATA .......................................................................................... 34 4.0 Introduction ................................................................................................... 34 4.1 Guiding Principles ........................................................................................ 34 4.2 Importance of Quality in Administrative data ................................................ 34 4.3 Strategies for improving Quality of Administrative Data collection ............... 34 4.3.1 Clear Documentation of the Processes ................................................. 35 4.3.2 Building Data Collection instrument ....................................................... 35 4.3.3 Data Collection Standardization ............................................................ 35 4.3.4 Training and capacity building ............................................................... 36 4.3.5 Utilization of technology ......................................................................... 37 4.4 Metadata, Concepts and Definitions ............................................................ 37 4.4.1 Guiding Principles .................................................................................. 37 4.5 Access and Use of Administrative Data and Statistics ................................. 38 4.5.1 Guiding Principles .................................................................................. 39 4.6 Agreement and sharing of administrative data ............................................. 40 4.6.1 Internal vs. External data sharing .......................................................... 40 4.6.2 Key features to consider during data sharing ........................................ 41 4.6.3 Agreement between institutions ............................................................ 42 4.6.4 Characteristics of a successful MoU ..................................................... 42 CHAPTER FIVE: COORDINATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE DATA PRODUCTION . 43 5.0 Levels of Coordination ................................................................................. 43 5.1 Financing Administrative Statistics Production ............................................. 44 5.2 Monitoring the use of the Manual ................................................................. 44 ANNEXES ................................................................................................................. 45 Key requirements for data sharing MoU ..................................................... 45 Sample of MoU ........................................................................................... 47 The structure of the Generic Statistics Business Process Model ................ 49 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 50
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FOREWORD
The manual for strengthening and integrating administrative data into National
Official Statistics of Tanzania is the first guideline for administrative data to be
developed in an attempt to bridge the huge data gap in reporting Tanzania’s
performance in various national, regional, and global development programs in
Tanzania such as Tanzania Development Vision 2025 and the planned Vision 2050,
East Africa Agenda 2050, The Africa we Want (Agenda 2063), the SDG 2030, and
others.
The manual was developed by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Office of the
Chief Government Statistician (OCGS) in collaboration with stakeholders whose
sectors are better placed in producing and supplying the needed data resulting from
their administrative records and/or routine data systems. These stakeholders were
from both Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar; hence this manual is intended to be
applied in the United Republic of Tanzania.
This Manual has been prepared within the implementation process of the Tanzania
Statistical Master Plan II whereas the major goal amongst others is to improve the
quality of administrative data produced by public and private agencies within the
NSS. Currently, reporting Tanzania’s progress towards the various development
programs is mainly relying on data from surveys and/or censuses that contribute less
than fifty percent of the requirements. On the other hand, various sectors have been
generating data as part of discharging their day-to-day functions mandated under
their sectors. These data for quite some times have not been used as part of official
statistics mainly due to inherent quality challenges.
The main purpose of the Manual is to provide guidelines and methodologies for
harmonizing and strengthening administrative data produced by institutions within
NSS with the ultimate goal of enhancing the its quality that will pave way for the data
to integrated into official statistics that are used in reporting the country’s
performance. The manual will ensure consistency, accuracy, and reliability in
production of administrative data.
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NBS and OCGS welcome all users and producers of administrative data to adopt this manual to guide the understanding of collection, compilation, analysis, publication and dissemination of quality administrative data that will lead into improved products and services rendered by the sectors.
Dr. Albina Chuwa Statistician General National Bureau of Statistics
Salum Kassim Ali
Chief Government Statistician
Office of the Chief Government Statistician
Zanzibar
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Office of the Chief Government
Statistician (OCGS) are sincerely acknowledging the Government of United Republic
of Tanzania for approving and facilitating the implementation of the second Strategy
for Development of Statistics in Tanzania that is known as the Tanzania Statistical
Master Plan Phase Two 2022/23 – 2026/27 (TSMP II). We extend our sincere
gratitude to the representatives from various institutions from both Tanzania
Mainland and Zanzibar for their participation and cooperation from the stage of
assessment of status of production of administrative data and identifying the
challenges that can impact data quality, reliability and usability through development
of this first-ever manual in Tanzania.
Our appreciations are extended to NBS and OCGS technical staff from different
departments and units for their dedication and tirelessly playing key technical role in
developing this manual. A number of technical staff from both coordinating
institutions (NBS and OCGS) played pivotal role in this assignment. They include the
following: Mr. Emilian Karugendo, Ms. Mariam Kitembe, Ms. Hellen Mtove, Ms. Elide
Mwanri, Ms. Tumaini Kalindile, Ms. Jocelyn Rwehumbiza, Mr. Joseph Milanzi, Mr.
John Mwangi, Ms. Johnia Kakiziba, Ms. Phausta Ntigiti, Ms. Jillahoma Wemmao,
Ms. Rainer Kiama, Ms. Nacky Sinda, Ms. Veronica Mwangoka, Ms. Beatrice
Rwegoshora, Mr. Saruni Njipay and Ms. Mary August from NBS. Also, deserving
recognition are Mr. Bakari Makame, Ms. Hamisa Suleiman, Ms. Moza Omary and
Mr. Suleima Suleiman from OCGS and Mr. Ali Shamte from Zanzibar Health Service
Fund. Their dedication and commitment is what has resulted into this guiding
document that it is our belief that it be implemented by players in the intended
members of the NSS and that we shall be able to receive feedback within less
extended duration for improvement of this manual, if such a need arise.
We also acknowledge the invaluable support of Dr. Lucia Barbone and Dr. Danielle
Burke from Office for National Statistics (ONS) UK for providing technical assistance
and mentorship during the process of developing of the manual.
We extend our gratitude to TSMP II Coordinator, Department of Research and
Standards at NBS and Department of Standards, Statistical Coordination and
vi Researches at the OCGS for the coordination that made this manual a success. The manual for strengthening and integrating administrative data in the Tanzania National official statistics is expected to be reviewed in short intervals as it finds its usefulness among the unlimited number of stakeholders who house administrative data under their custody and would wish to see its contribution in bridging data gap the country is experiencing.
Dr. Albina Chuwa Statistician General National Bureau of Statistics
Salum Kassim Ali
Chief Government Statistician
Office of the Chief Government Statistician
Zanzibar
vii ACRONYMS API
Application Programming Interface AU
African Union DPs
Development Partners
EAC
East African Community
FYDP
Five-Year Development Plan
GEWE
Gender Equality and Women Empowerment
GSBPM
Generic Statistics Business Process Model
KILM
Key Indicator for Labour Market
MDAs
Ministries, Departments and Agencies
MoU
Memorandum of Understanding
NBS
National Bureau of Statistics
NSAs
Non-State Actors
NSDS
National Strategy for the Development of Statistics
NSO
National Statistics Office
NSS
National Statistical System
OCGS
Office of the Chief Government Statistician
R&D
Research and Development
SDGs
Sustainable Development Goals
SADC
Southern Africa Development Cooperation
TDV
Tanzania Development Vision
TSMP II
Tanzania Statistical Master Plan Phase Two 2022/23 – 2026/27
UN
United Nations
URT
United Republic of Tanzania
ZADEP
Zanzibar Development Plan
ZDV
Zanzibar Development Vision
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Data: A quantitative representation of facts, concepts, or instructions in a formal
manner, suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or by
automatic means.
Statistics: Any quantity (total, average etc) computed from values in a sample which
is considered for a statistically purposes.
Statistical indicator: representation of statistical data for a specified time, place or
any other relevant characteristic, corrected for at least one dimension (usually size)
so as to allow for meaningful comparisons.
Statistical information: Any organised data obtained from census, surveys or
administrative data.
Official statistics: Statistics produced, validated, compiled and disseminated by or
under the authority of the NSOs.
Framework: Provides a general structure, guidelines offer specific guidance on how
to implement that structure.
Para data: Data about the processes by which statistics are compiled. Paradata can
refer to micro-data or aggregate data, and can be used to manage process quality.
Statistics production system: A systematic and scientific process which starts from
planning going through designing, collection, processing and analysis to acquire
required statistical information
1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.0 Background The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS); The Chief Government Statistician (OCGS), as per the Statistical Act Cap 351 and The Office of Chief Government Statistician Act No.9 of 2007 are two Government agencies responsible for coordination, supervision, production and dissemination of official statistics and for the custodianship of official statistics in the country. These two agencies coordinate and supervise the National Statistical Systems (NSS) in the country. The coordination role of these statistics offices is to ensure that official statistics produced by all institutions within Tanzania are in line with the acceptable quality. This means that, statistics which are produced have to meet the set and agreed national and international rules, standards and methodologies. It is fact that there are abundant administrative data that exists in various institutions. However, these data have not been used for compilation and production of statistics due to several reasons including insufficient understanding of the use of such data or being subjected to under coverage. Administrative data can be integrated or pooled from multiple institutions that produce similar type of data by using record linking or statistical matching or using modelling approaches. Though quality of administrative data may be good enough for administrative purposes but not sufficient for statistical purposes. Transforming administrative data into statistical data requires improving the quality of such data and dealing with conceptual differences. In this regard, the two National Statistics Offices (NSOs), through the Tanzania Statistical Master Plan Phase Two (TSMP II) 2022/23 – 2026/27, aimed at improving production and use of administrative data through developing a manual of integrating administrative data in the production of official statistics. This manual explains guidance on concepts, definitions and standards on production of statistics; legal and policy framework; and improving quality of data and their accessibility and use. This Manual was developed by adopting other national and international guidelines. Cross reference from the Generic Statistics Business Process Model (GSBPM) and other statistics production frameworks has been extensively made to align the content of this manual with the steps and procedure which already exist.
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1.1 Rationale
The complexity of statistical development needs more sources, it can be from
censuses, surveys or through generating data from administrative records.
Administrative data plays an important role in completing the statistical information
and must be one of the sources for official statistics. Findings from recent
assessments on data availability and gaps show that administrative data contribute
to more than 60 percent (TSMP II) of the data required to monitor and report the
implementation of national, regional and global development agendas. Yet, the
administrative data system underperforms in terms of provision of required statistics
and addressing data gaps compared to survey data system. Administrative data is
rightful and very strategic information due to the continuity, completeness, and
representation of small area statistics. The statistics derived from the administrative
data is intensively used by various government agencies. Other benefits of
administrative data include cost savings, reduced respondent burden, and
improvements in the efficiency of macro-level estimators and small-area statistics.
The effective use of administrative data as well as the data from surveys and
censuses is essential for informed decision-making, policy formulation, and program
evaluation across various sectors in the country.
The utilization and harmonization of administrative data pose significant challenges.
In most cases administrative data does not use statistical concepts and standards,
but more on technical and operational approach due to the daily practice in
delivering the public services. Timeliness, coverage and completeness of
administrative data are unpredictable. To address these issues, NBS and OCGS
decided to develop a comprehensive manual for integrating administrative data into
national official statistics of Tanzania to strengthen coordination and production of
reliable administrative data in the NSS. This will be achieved by strengthening
modalities for coordination, production, management of administrative data systems,
data assessment and sharing of routine data.