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56th SPC/91st DGINS Conference
Round Table
Theme: to which extent are the NSI’s ready to
meet the future challenges of dissemination?
Chair:
Donal Garvey, Director General, CSO
Topics
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Electronic Dissemination
Professional Independence also in Dissemination
Statistics and the people of Europe
Communication through the Media
Integrity, Credibility and Reputation
Heli Jeskanen-Sundstrom Electronic Dissemination
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In recent years there has been a significant
switch by NSIs to electronic dissemination with
an ever increasing scope for users to produce
their own analysis from output databases.
However, experience shows that communication
is optimised by personal contact!
Questions:
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Has the switch to e-dissemination reduced the
personal contact between Statisticians and the users
of statistics?
Has it adversely impacted on the effectiveness of the
communication process - e.g. in relation to NSI
commentary?
Is there a risk of leaving behind (disenfranchising)
some categories of user?
Has Statistics Finland taken any special steps to
counter any adverse effect?
Johann Hahlen - Professional
Independence also in Dissemination
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I have read the German “Law on Statistics for
Federal Purposes” and, while it deals with
scientific independence, it does not appear to
say very much about independence in the matter
of dissemination.
Question:
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What would you (or could you) do if your political
authority asked you (for political reasons) to:
 delay the release of particular statistics
 change the emphasis of your commentary on
particular results
 provide advance access to important statistical
results - i.e. in advance of the date or time set out
in your publication protocol?
Gunther Hanreich - Statistics and
the people of Europe
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The NSIs tend to see their mandate in a rather
broad societal way as disseminating statistics
(national, regional and international) for all
stakeholders in the nation and not just for the
bureaucracy. Opinion polls across different
countries point increasingly to a disconnect
between the EU institutions and the citizens of
Europe.
Questions:
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What role do you think Eurostat and the ESS should
play in increasing the level of understanding of
European issues among the people?
Should Eurostat’s role and its relationship with the
NSIs be fundamentally reviewed - and if so, in what
direction?
Irena Krizman - Communication
through the Media
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A well known Irish poet once said “think like a wise
man but communicate in the language of the
people” (W. B. Yeats). Statisticians reach the people
via Journalists so there must be effective
communication between them. Yet, Statisticians
thrive on numbers while Journalists thrive on
words! Statisticians dislike controversy while
Journalists live on controversy! Media presentation
is based on sound bites while Statisticians like to
explain things carefully (in painful detail?)
Questions:
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What strategies does Statistics Slovenia pursue to
communicate effectively with print Journalists?
Have any recent innovations proved to be
particularly successful?
The television environment tends towards “flashy”
and quick presentation. Have you developed any
strategies to ensure that statistics are better
communicated on television?
Can more detailed analysis improve the
communication process?
Gosse van der Veen - Integrity,
Credibility and Reputation
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Sir Claus Moser, former Director of Statistics in the
UK, once observed that “Statisticians must suffer
disasters as a hazard of their profession, but they
should never allow disgraces to occur” and having
allowed his audience a few moments of puzzlement,
he went on to explain that “a disgrace is a disaster
that is allowed to continue”.
Question:
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How does the CBS minimise the occurrence of
statistical disasters and ensure that disgraces do not
occur? In particular, what is your policy if an error
is discovered in an important statistical series - say a
week after it has been published?
Questions from
the floor