Friday, November 6, 2009

Asia - Pacific top statisticians pledge to enhance communication with data users.
  
A Seminar on Strategies for Achieving Effective Data Communication was held for the heads of National Statistical Organizations (NSOs) in the Asia and Pacific region, at National Agricultural Science Centre, New Delhi from 3 to 5 November 2009. The Seminar was jointly organised by the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP-ESCAP), United Nation Statistics Division and the Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, with support of the Statistics Division of ESCAP and participation of the World Bank. It was attended by participants from 26 countries of the ESCAP region. The Seminar was opened by Dr. Pronab Sen, Secretary and Chief Statistician of India. In his inaugural remarks, Dr. Sen highlighted the importance of communication strategies in the light of the enormous changes that have taken place in the environment within which the official statistical systems operate.

The Seminar is the 8th in the series of such annual seminars, which have been organized since 2002 with the core objective to further strengthen the capacities of National statistical system for the economic and social development. This Seminar noted that data communication is now recognized by NSOs as an important topic since new technology is being used to disseminate statistical information. It is also noted that hardware and new technology can not replace having a good strategy to engage the producers and users of data. The main topics deliberated at the Seminar included data communication standards principles and components; strategies and tactics for communication with data suppliers and with data users; and enhancing the visibility and image of statistical agencies. This Seminar has provided an outstanding opportunity to share and exchange views and experiences in improving statistical systems by exploring improved data communication strategies.

In his presentation, Shri S.K. Das, Director General of the Central Statistical organization, shared India’s experience in enhancing the visibility and image of statistical agencies with the Seminar. With the recent establishment of the state-of-the-art National Academy of Statistical Administration, India will be able to further enhance its international cooperation in statistical capacity building.

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