▲ EDITION 1999 Quality Work and Quality Assurance within Statistics EUROPEAN THEME 0 COMMISSION 0Miscellaneous 2 FOREWORD Statistics & quality go hand-in-hand Quality of statistics was the theme of the annual conference of presidents and directors-general of the national sta- tistical institutes (NSIs) of EU and EEA countries, organised in Stockholm on 28-29 May 1998 by Statistics Sweden in collaboration with Eurostat. Quality has always been one of the obvious requirements of statistics, although the notion of 'quality' has changed over the years. Nowadays a statistical 'product' has to exhibit reliability, relevance of concept, promptness, ease of access, clarity, comparability, consistency and exhaustiveness. While all these features form part of the whole prod- uct, individual users will attach more or less importance to each one. When statistics - gross domestic product or inflation, for example - have a financial impact, accuracy and comparability are vital. But if the same data are being used by someone interested in short-term trends, then the speed with which they are made available is the key feature. It is for users to decide. They are the people who determine quality criteria. Statisticians are no longer 'number freaks' in a world of their own, but have become managers of statistics, in constant touch with those who make decisions. Such a transformation is possible only if the whole production process is ready for change, because, as a rule, sci- entists such as statisticians tend not to pay much attention to the needs of people outside their own world. Scientists prefer to talk to other scientists. Now that the need for change is understood, how to bring it about? This question is being addressed by most of those in charge of national statistical institutes. The discussions about various aspects of quality and the impor- tance of 'quality schemes' that took place during this conference enabled the NSI presidents and directors-gener- al to demonstrate that statistics and quality are one and the same thing. I hope this publication will be a source of inspiration and encouragement! Yves Franchet Director-General Eurostat 3 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword 0. Opening addresses 0.1 Independent and high quality statistics are essential for a democratic society. ....................9 Erik Åsbrink, Ministry of Finance, Sweden 0.2. Quality and statistics..................................................................................................................13 Jan Carling, Statisticals Office Sweden Theme1: Quality in statistics - Main trends and concepts 1.1. Quality work and conflicting quality objectives......................................................................15 Tim Holt and Tim Jones, Statistical Office, UK (ONS) A. Introduction....................................................................................................................................15 B. Quality: what is it ? ........................................................................................................................15 C. Quality : how do we deliver it ? ......................................................................................................20 D. Quality conflicts ............................................................................................................................24 E. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................24 1.1.1 Standards determine the culture of statistics..................................................................................25 Discussion: Erich Bader, Statistical Office, Austria (ÖSTAT) 1.1.2. An examination of the quality of the whole process. ....................................................................29 Discussion: Hallgrímur Snorrason, Statistical Office, Iceland. 1.2. Metadata and Quality work Paul Champsaur, Statistical Office , France (INSEE) A.Quality of statistical information and metada ..................................................................................31 B. The growing need for metainformation............................................................................................32 C. Organisation of a system of metainformation and action to ensure ................................................33 the improvement of quality 1.2.1 Better availability of metadata ......................................................................................................35 Discussion: Jan Plovsing, Statistical Office, Denmark, 1.3. Quality assessment criteria ......................................................................................................38 Johnny Lindström, Swedish Institute for Quality, 1.3.1 Serving the past and the future, ..................................................................................................43 Discussion : Svein Longva, Statistical Office, Norway 5 Theme 2: Quality work - some national experiences 2.1 Total Quality Management and Statistics ..............................................................................45 Timo Relander, Statistical Office, Finland, A. Introduction....................................................................................................................................45 B. Total Quality Management : what does it mean ? ............................................................................45 C. Quality management in Public Administrations..............................................................................46 D. Total Quality Management and official statistics ............................................................................48 E. Total Quality Management and Statistics Finland ..........................................................................50 F. Concluding remarks ........................................................................................................................52 2.1.1 Success depends on good management and a focus on quality at all levels ..................................55 Discussion : Donald Murphy, Statistical Office, Ireland, A. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................55 B. Quality focus in NSIs ....................................................................................................................55 C. Irish public sector approach............................................................................................................55 D. Three further questions. ..................................................................................................................56 E. Private sector TQM Failures- lessons to be learned by NSI's............................................................56 F. TQM transfer to the Public Sector - difficulties NSI's should be ......................................................57 G. TQM's Human Dimension-is there a possible downside ? ................................................................59 H. Concluding remarks........................................................................................................................60 2.2 Quality systems and statistical auditing ................................................................................61 Willem de Vries and Richard van Brakel, Statistical Office,Netherlands (SN) 2.2.1 The importance of different sources of error ................................................................................69 Discussion: Carlos Corrêa Gago, Statistical Office, Portugal (INE) 2.2.2 Auditing: an important measure but not used for surveillance purposes. ......................................73 Discussion: Nicholas Karavitis, Statistical Office, Greece 2.3. Treatment of non-response in household surveys: ................................................................74 Pilar Martin Guzman, Statistical Office, Spain A. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 74 B. The significance of non-response .................................................................................................... 74 C. Measures taken to reduce non-response .......................................................................................... 74 D. Treatment of non-response in household survey................................................................................75 E. Re-weighing methods used in the Labour Force Survey.....................................................................76 F. Advantages and drawbacks of re-weighting ......................................................................................77 2.3.1 Collection of the maximum of information on the respondents ..................................................78 who do not provide the data requested. Discussions : Frans Desmedt, Statistical Office, Belgium (INS) A. Non-response: a general overview.................................................................................................... 78 B. Non-response in certain sets of business statistics ............................................................................ 79 6 Theme 3: International lessons and prospects 3.1. Quality management approaches in official statistics production - some examples and reflections: ..................................................................................................................................80