Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency Third Edition (2005) / Chapter Skim
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Part I: Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency
Part I: Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency
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Part I: Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency Definition of a Federal Statistical Agency Establishment of a Federal Statistical Agency Principles for a Federal Statistical Agency · Relevance to Policy Issues · Credibility Among Data Users · Trust Among Data Providers Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency · A Clearly Defined and Well-Accepted Mission · A Strong Position of Independence · Continual Development of More Useful Data · Openness About Sources and Limitations of the Data Provided · Wide Dissemination of Data · Cooperation with Data Users · Fair Treatment of Data Providers · Commitment to Quality and Professional Standards of Practice · An Active Research Program · Professional Advancement of Staff · Coordination and Cooperation with Other Statistical Agencies NOTE: Part I is a summary statement of principles and practices for an effective statistical agency. Part II, Commentary, further explains, defines, and illustrates the topics in Part I
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· Compilation may include direct collection of data from individuals, organizations, or establishments or the acquisition of information from administrative records. It may include assembling information from a variety of sources, including other statistical agencies, in order to produce an integrated data series, such as the national income and product accounts.
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Federal statistical agencies are established to be a credible source of relevant, accurate, and timely statistics in one or more subject areas that are available to the public and policy makers. "Relevant statistics" are statistics that measure things that matter to policy making and public understanding.
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PRINCIPLES FOR A FEDERAL STATISTICAL AGENCY Principle 1: Relevance to Policy Issues A federal statistical agency must be in a position to provide information relevant to issues of public policy. A statistical agency must be knowledgeable about the issues and requirements of public policy and federal programs and able to provide objective information that is relevant to policy and program needs.
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PRACTICES FOR A FEDERAL STATISTICAL AGENCY The effective operation of a federal statistical agency must begin with two related elements: a clearly defined and well-accepted mission together with a strong position of independence. With these prerequisites, effective operation involves a wide range of practices: continual development of more useful data, openness about sources and limitations of the data provided, wide dissemination of data, cooperation with data users, fair treatment of
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The mission should include the responsibility for assessing information needs and priorities and ways to meet those needs, which could include the establishment of a data collection program or the modification or discontinuance of an existing program. Practice 2: A Strong Position of Independence A widely acknowledged position of independence is necessary for a statistical agency to have credibility and to carry out its function to provide an unhindered flow of useful, high-quality information for the public, decision makers, analysts, and program planners inside and outside government.
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· dissemination policies that foster regular, frequent release of major findings from an agency's statistical programs to the public via the media, the Internet, and other means. Practice 3: Continual Development of More Useful Data Statistical agencies must continually look to improve their data systems to provide information that is accurate, timely, and relevant for changing public policy needs.
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· sharing technical information and ideas with other statistical agencies. Such sharing can stimulate the development of innovative data collection, analysis, and dissemination methods that improve the accuracy and timeliness of information and the efficiency of data operations.
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Practice 6: Cooperation with Data Users A statistical agency should consult with a broad spectrum of users of its data in order to make its products more useful. It should: · seek advice on data concepts, statistical methods, and data products from data users as well as from other professional and technical subjectmatter and methodological experts, using a variety of formal and informal means of communication that are appropriate to the types of input sought.
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Practice 8: Commitment to Quality and Professional Standards of Practice A statistical agency should: · use modern statistical theory and sound statistical practice in all technical work. · develop strong staff expertise in the disciplines relevant to its mission, in the theory and practice of statistics, and in data collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination techniques.
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The research program of a statistical agency should include: · research on the substantive issues for which the data were compiled. Such research should be conducted not only to provide useful objective analytical results, but also as a means to identify potential improvements to the content of the data, suggest improvements in the design and operation of the data collection, and provide fuller understanding of the limitations of the data.
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Federal statistical agencies should also cooperate with foreign and international statistical agencies to exchange information on both data and methods and to develop appropriate common classifications and procedures to promote international comparability of information. Such cooperative activities as integrating data compiled by different statistical agencies invariably require effort to overcome differences in agency missions and operations.
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