Transcript Slide 1

11.1
Dissemination and communication policies
in modern statistics offices
Yalta,
September 2009
Pieter Everaers, Eurostat
Main characteristics of communication and
dissemination policy
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What
When
How
By whom
To whom
Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
What
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Statistical information via web
Statistical Information via paper
Telephone support
Specific information on demand
Paper
 Flagship publications
 Pocketbooks
 Statistics in Focus (SIF)
 Data in Focus (DIF)A flash, one page on one indicator
 Special publications
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
What ctd.
 Predefined indicators, agreed within the Statistical
System (PEEI’s)
 Ad hoc news releases
 A flash, one page on one indicator
 Only headline indicators
 Main outcomes in a bit more detail
 Data/tables and brief analysis
 Metadata available
 Links to other more detailed information (website)
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
How
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Very visible and well prepared, each time an event!!
Agreed internal protocol for authorization
Tested method (stable IT tools etc)
Alert system
Business continuity
Impact analysis and risk assessment
Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
How (ctd)
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On paper,
Direct mail to selected group (journalist, intermediates
Internet announcement
News flash
Press release
Meeting in press room
Daily/ statistics in focus
Help desk / user support available and aware !!
More detailed info on request (free of charge, to be paid)
Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
When
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Fixed data, fixed time, fixed location
According to release calender
Pre release to specific agencies
After clearance by hierarchie
In combination with more detailed info available
Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
By whom
 Central statistical authority or in special cases
decentralized
 Spokes person (supported by experts)
 Fixed data, fixed time, fixed location
 According to release calender
 pre release to specific agencies
 After clearance hierarchy
 In combination with more detailed info available
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
To whom
 Pre release (only to certain authorities)
– Transparent agreement
 All users at the same time (via internet)
– With or without subscription
 Internet with pre announcement via mail
 Internet based on regular release calender
– Announcement / alerts of delays
 Journalists via mail (fixed group)
 Journalists via press conference (by spokes person)
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Contacts with the press
The Eurostat Press Office – main services
 Issues News Releases
 Provides media support
 Produces release calendar
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
News Releases
 Around 185 News Releases per year (EN, DE, FR)
 140 Euro-indicator News Releases
 45 ad-hoc News Releases
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Dissemination of News Releases
 All Releases sent at 11:00 by email to more than 1000
journalists
 All Releases available at 11:00 in the Commission Press
Room
 All Releases available at 11:00 on the Eurostat web site
 100 000 downloads per month
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Release calendar
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Includes all the Euroindicators
Provisional calendar for current year
Dates confirmed Friday before publication week
Disseminated by e-mail to subscribers
 Available on the Eurostat web site
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Eurostat Media Support
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Questions about data and methodology
Data extractions for journalists
Regularly updated tables of Euroindicators
Requests are usually dealt with same day
Answering around 1 700 requests per year
[email protected]
Tel: +352 4301 33 408
 For economic and political comments contact Spokesperson’s
Service in Brussels
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Dissemination
Issues
 Free dissemination policy and its results
 Change of tools
– Publications
– Internet
– Metadata
– User support
 Challenges for the future
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Free dissemination
 Recognition that statistics are a public good
 Free dissemination started 1 October 2004
– All statistical domains
– Impartial access for all users
– Single exception is microdata access for
research
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
New web site - Statistics
New web site - Publications
New web site – About Eurostat
New web site - Help
How does free dissemination work
 Principle: Users have to find and interpret data themselves
 Support to help users to help themselves
(in cooperation with NSIs)
 Involvement of commercial re-distributors
 Internet is central tool for dissemination
 Enlarged community of users creates new requirements
– Presentation of statistics
– Metadata for all statistics
 Publications change role
Presentation of data  introduction and explanation of statistics
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Enlarged user basis (per month)
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Visits of Internet from 200.000 to 1.6 Million
Consultation of tables from 50.000 to 500.000
Download of PDF files from 200.000 to 400.000
Extractions from databases increased 4 times
Types of users have changed with new types:
– Enterprises > 50%
– Academic users (students, teachers)
– Private persons
Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Role of Re-distributors
 Re-use and redistribution is fully allowed without charge
– Commercial
– Non-commercial
 Very low entry conditions. Now only disclaimer
– Indication of origin of data
– Exclusion of liabilities
 About 100 companies currently re-distribute
 Much stronger recognition of Community statistics in
public discussions, i.e. press, but no hard facts are known.
September 2009
Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Publications
Statistical books
Pocket books
Statistics in Focus
Data in Focus
Methodological and
working papers
Press Releases
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
The changing role of publications
 Fewer publications
(table oriented publications disappear)
 Focus on explanations
 Introduction to statistical subjects
 Increasing importance of 'compendium' and 'cross cutting'
publications
 Efforts to increase 'data analysis' publications
(Statistics in Focus - SIF)
 Data in Focus - DIF
 Links to Internet based statistics
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Publication 2002 and 2008
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Statistics Explained (wiki style)
Visualisation tools I
• Data Explorer for easy to
use data base extractions
• Tables-graphs-Maps
(TGM)
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Visualisation tools II
• Business Cycle Clock
(BCC) for economic
cycle analysis
• Country and regional
profiles for comparisons
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
The changing role of metadata
 Need to cover all statistics offered by a statistical institute
 Community and national statistics
 Common presentation formats
– (SDDS) (Special Data Dissemination Standard)
– SDMX (Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange)
– ESMS (Euro SDMX Metadata)
 Addresses different types of users
– Expert users
– Casual users
 Issue of Languages
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
User support network – Support centers
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
European Statistical Data Support
 First level support via Eurostat website (FAQs etc)
 Second level support via National Statistics Institutes (NSIs)
 Third level support via “Eurostat User support” – help on
standard and complex requests which requires special
competence
Around 26 500 user
requests per year!
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Eurostat Media Support
• Publications and tailor made extractions
• Requests are dealt with very rapidly
• More than 1700 requests treated in 2007
• [email protected]
Tel: +352 4301 33 408
September 2009
Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Challenges for the future
 Cooperation in the European Statistical
System (ESS)
 Understanding the new ways of finding
Information
 Advances in Internet (blogs, search tools,
cooperation tools, etc)
 Increasing the competence level of users
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Metadata accessibility
 All published data are linked to metadata files in ESMS
format
 Euro-indicators/PEEIs tables contain “short descriptions”
i.e. synthetic information on main data characteristics
 PEEIs quality profiles soon available
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Metadata: short description
Data, including national ones
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Metadata files,
ESMS format
Last press release
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices
Thanks for the attention
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Dissemination and communication policies in modern statistics offices