Tallinn as the statistics capital of Europe for three days: new technologies and evolving user needs mean significant changes in the role of NSIs

The theme of this year’s conference was “Charting New Frontiers of Official Statistics”. The directors of 40 statistical institutes in Europe discussed why and how national statistical institutes (NSIs) could go beyond the traditional function of producing official statistics, by providing additional data services and serving as data stewards in the national data ecosystem. The conference focused on the drivers of such changes in NSIs’ roles.

Urmet Lee, Director General of Statistics Estonia, said that the rapid, occasionally chaotic evolution of the data ecosystem means that national statistical institutes must constantly review their role and the value they provide to the public.

“There are already numerous examples where new data services – such as data governance, which entails data organisation and managing the availability and usability of data – supplement the traditional role. These new services enrich the overall data ecosystem, support data-driven decision-making and policy formulation, and contribute to improved public services,” said Lee. He added that the conference highlighted that national statistical institutes have unique advantages: the ability to securely process vast amounts of data, a legal mandate, access to data, and public trust. The NSIs should make the most of these advantages to support data-based public functions through the re-use of high-quality data.

Georges-Simon Ulrich, Director General of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, said that NSIs are no longer merely producers of statistics; they are the providers of the best possible information to the public. This means that NSIs should focus on how people perceive and navigate the data ecosystem. “Our duty is to enable people to make better decisions based on high-quality data. And it is also our duty to ensure that people understand the value of data while we continue to offer more and more,” asserted Ulrich. 

Elena Manzanera Díaz, President of the National Statistics Institute of Spain, said that, in addition to the provision of new services, a major challenge that remains for NSIs is maintaining their role as providers of high-quality data. “We must preserve or even increase institutional reliability, transparency, and the quality of published data,” emphasised Díaz.

Another main takeaway from the DGINS conference is that the work of NSIs is increasingly shaped by a range of different stakeholders, including researchers, businesses, policymakers as well as the general public. Elsa Dhuli, General Director of the Albanian Institute of Statistics, noted that cooperation with various stakeholders presents new challenges in ensuring data quality.

According to Georges-Simon Ulrich, the growing involvement of stakeholders represents an opportunity for NSIs, since it requires constant improvement from the statistical office. “People know a lot about data, while statisticians know the entire value chain of data. And national statistical institutes have the highest standards for data quality,” said Ulrich to explain why NSIs should more actively promote their capabilities outside the organisation. In Ulrich’s opinion, NSIs could seek out stakeholders and show them the kinds of data they have and the possible applications.

The DGINS conference (short for Directeurs Généraux des Instituts Nationaux Statistiques in French) was attended by 130 participants from the statistical institutes of the EU, EFTA and candidate countries. Each year, the conference is hosted by a different EU Member State. This was the 109th conference. Next year, the DGINS conference will be held in Croatia.

For further information: 

Heidi Kukk 
Media Relations Manager 
Marketing and Dissemination Department 
Statistics Estonia 
Tel +372 625 9181 
press [at] stat.ee