Quality Strategy 2022–2027
(July 2022)
The quality1 of the French Official Statistical Service (SSP) is ensured on three levels:
• An SSP quality policy, namely
"Integrating quality into processes with a view to security and efficiency"
• A quality strategy, defined as the route to achieving the target set in the quality policy. It also
forms part of a logic of continuous improvement and is based on guidelines (axes and 
themes);
• Roadmaps, which break the axes and themes of the Quality Strategy down into operational 
actions.
The Quality Strategy 2022–2027 is based on four
non-hierarchical axes. Each axis is broken down
into themes, introduced by a short text
summarising the context and the challenges. Each
theme is linked to one or more of the principles of
the European Statistics Code of Practice.
For each theme, actions for improvement are
included in the INSEE and Ministerial Statistical
Departments (SSM) roadmaps. These actions are
taken from the European action plan established
following peer recommendations during the third
review and the areas for improvement identified
during discussions with the services. The latter can
be either pooled (undertaken by the SSP as a
whole) across the entirety of the SSP or generic
(applicable for a given stakeholder in a particular
context). A common feature of many of the actions
could be to seek out and benefit from experience
and practices at both national and international level. In this regard, success stories will benefit from 
greater value with a view to increasing their knock-on effect.
The INSEE and MSD roadmaps will follow the structure of the Quality Strategy, integrating the 
relevant actions from the European action plan and actions specific to the entity concerned. The 
latter could be included in additional themes or axes not considered in the current framework.
Finally, a clause requiring a mid-term review will allow the actions to be updated depending on the 
context.
Warning: the proposed axes and themes are levers for improvement and in no way imply that no action has been taken 
in this regard. Conversely, there is also other work that contributes to the quality of official statistics that is not 
included here. 
1 Quality is understood here within the meaning of the European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP) and the challenge 
is to improve our compliance with its principles through our practices.

Joint investment in administrative and private sources
Professionalising the use of administrative data
In the context of the consistent and growing use of administrative data, 
increasingly demanding requirements from users with regard to the 
freshness of information and limited resources, while also being bound by 
quality standards for official statistics production, the Official Statistical 
Service (SSP) must ensure that it:
- secures the supply of administrative data, i.e. obtaining from its suppliers 
regular deliveries of data covering its information needs that are as easy as 
possible to exploit for its statistical purposes (by seeking in particular to be
more involved in the design, modification and abandonment of their 
administrative files);
- guarantees efficient data processing, i.e. generating high-quality statistical
products with controlled consumption of resources by means of the 
standardisation and/or pooling of processing processes incorporating active
metadata.
Promoting access to private data and their use in the SSP
The use of private data, such as scanner data and the web scraping of 
commercial websites for the consumer price index, or credit card 
transactions to shed light on the economic situation, or even mobile phone 
data to measure the territorial distribution of the population, have brought 
the Official Statistical Service (SSP) into the era of big data. This offers it 
new opportunities: new information, exhaustiveness in certain areas and 
high frequency guaranteeing that the data are up to date. In order to make 
the most of this data pool, the SSP must now commit to providing greater 
and more reliable access to private data, but must also ensure that it shares 
its experiments and work in progress to allow collective progress to be 
made in their use.

Documented, optimised and secure processes
Documenting in order to capitalise on knowledge
The existence of (statistical production or other) process documentation 
that is as complete and detailed as necessary without being excessive, but 
also structured, accessible, legible and up-to-date, is essential to the 
preservation of knowledge and the control and continuity of production, 
which sometimes becomes fragile as a result of frequent moves. In this 
regard, the Official Statistical Service (SSP) will therefore continue its 
efforts in the area of internal documentation, working towards 
standardisation by drawing inspiration from best practices. Particular 
emphasis will be placed on the role of stakeholders, the rules to be 
complied with for computer programs and the checking and validation of 
processes and results, as well as on documents intended to facilitate 
transitions during moves.
Adapting and developing quality approaches and process reviews
The INSEE Internal Audit Unit has identified processes for which risks 
must be controlled in order to ensure the continuity of the Institute's 
activities. Quality approaches offering a process analysis methodology 
using official and proven tools help to secure processes: formalisation 
helps to secure the execution of processes, and the shared and documented 
vision secures the transmission of competences. Beyond the essential 
processes, this methodology must now be adapted according to the context
and must therefore be modular to allow the entirety of the Official 
Statistical Service (SSP) and the various different types of operation to 
benefit from it. In addition, in order to promote its deployment, 
communication with regard to the approaches will further enhance the 
contributions and progress that they will help to make.
Continuing investment in data validation
and control systems
Data validation and control systems are key to the efficient management of
statistical production activities. A self-evaluation operation for some of 
these systems was carried out by their project managers at the Official 
Statistical Service (SSP) in 2021. The findings drawn up upon completion 
highlighted the quality of the processing performed with a view to 
ensuring the consistency of the sources, from an internal or temporal point 
of view and by means of comparison with other existing sources. 
However, areas for improvement have emerged:
- explain the concept of expected quality at the launch of an operation;
- extend the self-evaluation system to the processing of individual data 
with a view to achieving a more complete overview of the systems.
Beyond production, the attention paid to control and validation systems 
will also be extended to cover studies with the aim of securing the work 
performed by research officers.  

Improving the quality of statistical metadata
The Statistical Metadata Repository (RMéS) allows for the centralisation of
statistical metadata (concepts, statistical operations, nomenclatures, codes, 
quality reports, etc.) in a single location with a view to providing all users 
with consistent reference documentation. The standardisation of their 
descriptions makes it easier for users to use them and therefore encourages 
the sharing of knowledge. It offers tools that facilitate their reuse by both 
man and machine, whether internal or external. It is now a question of 
improving the completeness of the repository and the associated service 
offer.
Boosting statistical confidentiality, secrecy
and data security
In May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation brought about 
profound change in the rules that are to be complied with when processing 
is carried out for statistical purposes. With a view to supporting the 
consideration, innovation and implementation of measures concerning the 
protection and security of personal data, efforts to develop the skills of 
agents will be intensified. In order to secure our practices and to protect 
ourselves from risks likely to undermine public confidence, the Official 
Statistical Service (SSP) will continue its methodological investment in 
order to guarantee secrecy and statistical confidentiality and to ensure that 
agents are able to benefit from ad-hoc training that is tailored to new 
techniques.

A strong focus on the public
Assuring the public of the proportionate, relevant
and confidential use of data collected
The SSP informs its audiences of the measures taken in order to comply 
with the legislation in force (GDPR and the Law on Data Processing, Data 
Files and Individual Liberties) in connection with the protection of the 
personal data used to draw up official statistics, in particular by the INSEE 
website. However, there is a need for a more pedagogical presentation of 
this complex subject, drawing inspiration from foreign examples, for 
instance. Against the backdrop of an expansion of the data being used by 
the SSP, it is useful to develop means of boosting public confidence in the 
use of the data collected, particularly with regard to maintaining 
confidentiality and ensuring their social acceptability.
Better understanding the needs of users of official statistics
Knowledge of user requirements is a prerequisite for defining effective and
relevant production and dissemination within the meaning of the Code of 
Practice. It assumes that the key characteristics of the main categories of 
users have been identified, with the data being gathered by means of the 
channels that they use to express their needs.
The mid-term exercise of the National Council for Statistical Information 
(CNIS) 2024–2028 will provide guidelines that will inform the thinking of 
the Official Statistical Service in this regard. The collective approach that 
will be initiated will allow users to express their needs and producers to 
present their work programmes.

Strengthening links with researchers
In recent years, the amount of micro-data accessible to researchers and the 
associated access protocols have been significantly improved by official 
statistics, in particular though the use of a Secure Data Access Centre 
(CASD) and the Quetelet-Progedo Diffusion network. The role of the 
Statistical Confidentiality Committee has also been strengthened with 
regard to the approval of requests to access data from anywhere within the 
Official Statistical Service (SSP) and, where appropriate, administrative 
data held by other administrations. However, efforts should be continued to
allow researchers to benefit from even greater access to the databases used 
within the SSP. Collaborations between the SSP and research will be 
further developed (chairs, NRA projects, etc.), drawing inspiration from 
good practices identified internationally, particularly when developing the 
dialogue.
Diversifying the systems used to measure user satisfaction
Measuring satisfaction is an essential step in identifying needs and 
assessing the quality of the service provided. The system for listening to 
and consulting users at INSEE has multiple aspects and is based on actions 
carried out at both national and regional level. It uses a number of different 
channels (website, INSEE Contact service, meetings with public 
stakeholders, etc.) and concerns publications, statistical data, navigation 
and access to data on the website, etc. However, there are some areas for 
improvement. The Official Statistical Service (SSP) will in particular 
undertake actions to develop and vary the systems used to measure 
satisfaction, making use of new quantitative and/or qualitative methods 
targeting some or all of the different categories of users (institutional 
partners, local authorities, researchers, the general public, etc.).

Broad, modern and transparent dissemination and communication
Drawing up and applying shared and
transparent dissemination rules
In order to provide users, who are placed on an equal footing, with accurate
and reliable information, the Official Statistical Service (SSP) must 
complete the process that it commenced following the second peer review, 
which aims to develop clear, strict and transparent shared dissemination 
principles by means of the homogenisation of practices. More precisely, 
this involves:
- consolidating the implementation of the rules for disseminating 
embargoed indicators;
- extending the application of the underlying principles to the rest of its 
statistical publications;
- promoting its dissemination policies more widely with a view to ensuring 
their strict application.
Continuing to improve online access to data
With a view to allowing for the widest and easiest possible reuse of the 
information it produces, INSEE and the Ministerial Statistical Departments
(MSDs) have a dissemination strategy based on their websites, 
accompanied by constant efforts to improve access conditions. In 
particular, the insee.fr website has a responsive design and acts on 
accessibility recommendations issued by the World Wide Web Consortium 
(W3C). Since 2018, developers and advanced users have been able to 
access data via APIs that allow them to automate the collection of 
streaming data.
In a changing context and environment, marked by the development of 
open data, the explosion of available data and strong competition between 
disseminators, the Official Statistical Service (SSP) will continue its 
investments aimed at improving and diversifying access to data, which will
include in particular improvements to the search engine and navigation.
Developing multi-channel communication strategies
Social networks have taken on a decisive role in communication and make 
it possible to reach multiple audiences. They require the usual practices to 
be adapted and editorial lines tailored to each medium must be set. When 
shared, the experience gained by INSEE in the use of these networks will 
allow any Ministerial Statistical Departments (MSDs) that are interested to 
develop their own communication strategy using these channels.

Drawing upon the values of the SSP to build
a brand strategy
The Official Statistical Service (SSP) brand 
has gained a more prominent position in recent
years. It has gradually developed around 
shared values and projects (Ministerial 
Statistical Departments (MSDs) charter, 
creation of the SSP Lab, creation of a network 
of data scientists, communication policy, SSP 
quality action plan, etc.). However, this 
recognition is currently largely internal at the 
SSP. It is therefore now a question of rolling it 
out more broadly to ensure that it makes sense 
to its target audiences and that it is recognised 
as such by providing a meaning (values, 
positioning, quality promise), one or more 
images (particularly logos) and actions that 
demonstrate the values and commitments of 
the brand to its target audiences. The SSP will 
therefore continue to invest in promoting its 
brand by relying on the strong values of 
official statistics and defining the scope to be 
defined (entities and types of operation 
concerned)
Promoting the quality of SSP statistics
Faced with growing competition and in view 
of the investments made for the purpose of 
producing quality statistics, the SSP must step
up its communication aimed at enhancing the 
activities of the services, the processing 
performed and the quality of the statistics 
disseminated.
In particular, the Official Statistical Service 
(SSP) relies on proven statistical methods to 
produce its statistics and monitor the 
statistical quality of data throughout the 
production processes. Some of these 
processing operations and quality indicators 
are disseminated with the source as part of the
associated documentation. However, the SSP 
can go even further when it comes to 
supplementing the information provided to 
users. The accuracy of the statistics and, more
generally, the quality indicators for the 
statistics will need to be disseminated on the 
Internet more systematically, which will allow
for the promotion of one of the strong values 
of the SSP.