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Based in part on documentation and deliberations
at the SIAP/ESCAP Workshop on Managing National
Statistical Services in the 1990s - Data Dissemination
with Focus on Monitoring Human Development,
15-19 November 1993, Bangkok, Thailand.
Introduction
The statistical needs of the developing countries,
as they grow, are changing very fast. With the
rapid changes in technology as well as in people's
perceptions and expectations, the manner in
which statistics are collected has also changed
over a period of time. Along with these changes
the role of national statistical offices (NSOs)
can no longer be confined only to collecting,
compiling and disseminating basic social, economic
and demographic statistics. As the economy of
a country grows more complex the business community,
for example, becomes more aware of the importance
of timely, qualitative and greater variety of
statistical data. The role of national statistical
offices should therefore be oriented to meeting
the increasing requirements for all types of
statistics from both the public and private
sectors.
Current national practices
in data dissemination and selected marketing
issues
Traditionally the national statistical offices,
under various statistical acts, have been entrusted
with the task of "managing and developing the
national statistical information system to meet
the growing data needs for planning and managing
their economic and social developments" / SIAP/ESCAP
Workshop on Managing National Statistical Services
in the 1990s - Data Dissemination with Focus
on Monitoring Human Development, 15-19 November
1993, Bangkok: Country Paper by Singapore. in
most of the countries of the region. Being the
main statistical body of the government the
national statistical agencies in these countries
conduct all types of national censuses and surveys,
publish the reports containing the data compiled
through such surveys and other means, and disseminate
them to various users both within and outside
the governments. The main form of data dissemination
is through the release of publications which
include general compendia such as yearbooks
of statistics, monthly bulletins, publications
relating to specific censuses and surveys, and
ad hoc compilations undertaken by national statistical
offices. Increasingly, these statistics are
also disseminated through electronic media such
as magnetic tapes, diskettes, CD-ROM and in
some case on-line access. Printed publications
have nevertheless remained the single most important
mode of data dissemination in most of the countries
and are likely to remain so in the foreseeable
future.
The statistical publications are usually distributed
free of charge to users within the government
departments and agencies. Some copies are also
sold at more or less nominal prices to outside
users. The revenues obtained by selling statistical
publications are hardly enough to recover the
costs of printing, let alone the operational
costs of the surveys and censuses or the labour
costs which are incurred in processing the data.
The resources that are allocated by the governments
to the national statistical offices are often
quite meagre, as statistics are not a priority
area for most countries of the region. In order
to enable the national statistical offices to
meet effectively the growing statistical needs
of users, as well as make them more user-oriented,
adequate resources need to be made available
to them on a regular basis. Since many governments
may not be able or willing to allocate more
resources for statistical work, NSOs should
attempt to maximize revenue by improving the
quality of their statistical products and selling
them to the markets. The revenue thus earned
could be utilized in various ways, for example,
in developing the capabilities of the staff
and thereby enhancing their efficiency.
It is now well recognized that simple dissemination
of statistical information through publications
alone does not meet the needs even of all established
clients. Satisfying the requirements of both
existing and prospective users might involve
utilization of different and faster modes of
dissemination, adoption of more appealing and
useful styles of presentation, inclusion of
analysis and interpretation, and even collection
of data on new and emerging topics. Among immediate
steps that could be taken, a national statistical
agency could review its mechanisms for identifying
and interacting with established as well as
potential users, and for making its products
and services known to clients within and outside
the public sector, as well as to the public
at large. The agency should also attempt to
ensure that its staff possess adequate skills
for ascertaining the needs of the users and
for marketing and providing products and services
according to the needs of the clients.
Development of basic
infrastructure for data dissemination
Technological developments in microcomputing,
networking and telecommunication offer many
alternatives and opportunities of benefit to
national statistical offices. However the acquisition
of such technology has, very often, been on
an ad hoc rather than on a systematic basis.
While many powerful analytical and mapping softwares
are available to researchers and the private
sector, the lack of data dissemination through
compatible media and formats make it difficult
to reap full benefits from the available technology.
Thus in order for a national statistical office
to establish an effective data dissemination
system, a more planned approach is required
which takes into account customer needs for
tabulation, analysis, mapping, audio-visual
presentations and the like.
Luckily for statistical offices the market
prices of electronic goods and computer hardwares
have fallen sharply over a short period. Those
offices which earlier could not think of having
computers can now afford to purchase powerful
processors for statistical purposes. These computers
with appropriate software are generally capable
of meeting most computing needs of statistical
offices including data entry, storage, tabulation,
analysis, mapping, charts and graphs as well
as audio-visual presentations. In some offices
large data sets continue to be handled with
existing mainframe computers. New large systems
are however likely to be based on client-server
technologies which are suited for PC-based local
area networks with powerful servers. The national
statistical offices should not miss this opportunity
and should be able to exploit the technology
for effective statistical dissemination. It
is true that statistical offices generally lack
skilled manpower in the utilization of computers.
The immediate requirements of trained manpower
could be filled to some extent by the training
opportunities provided by the computer hardware
and software vendors. The national statistical
offices should however plan a longer term strategy
for providing adequate training to their staff
members. International organizations could play
an important role in assisting the countries
to meet the needs of trained manpower.
Establishment of effective
data dissemination systems
With the availability of modern computing
technologies a number of national statistical
offices of the region are initiating the establishment
of computerized statistical databases. These
will facilitate on-line access by users to the
database through telephones or other means and
send data direct to clients' computers. Such
developments will certainly enable the national
statistical offices to respond faster to the
increasing demands for various types of statistical
data. However these developments are not without
hindrances; non-availability of adequate telecommunication
facilities and irregular power supplies besides
general lack of resources including skilled
manpower are some of the major bottlenecks in
most of the countries of the region. The national
statistical offices will therefore have to draw
the attention of their governments to the importance
of improving basic infrastructure before contemplating
the large-scale development of computerized
statistical databases.
Associated with the development of computerized
statistical databases is the establishment of
a local area network (LAN) system within the
statistical office. During the past few years
wide area and global networks have become increasingly
popular, and they can be effectively used for
information dissemination in machine readable
form especially if integrated with the statistical
information production systems of the statistical
offices. Some countries are already making progress
in establishing government-wide information
systems including statistical information components.
The recent expansion of networks has created
a broad user base which has generated a multitude
of widely distributed services, and these services
have in turn attracted new users. The Internet
has become the common denominator among existing
global networks and is spreading fast in the
region. / The implications of the Internet for
NSOs in general are one of the elements for
discussion under item 6 of the Working Group's
agenda./ The enormous potential of the Internet
and the way it has expanded so rapidly within
a short span of time is adding a new dimension
to dissemination of statistical data. An increasing
number of national and international statistical
organizations have already initiated the use
of Internet for the dissemination of information.
These agencies, by and large, have used the
Internet as an added distribution medium for
products and information that have been, and
continue to be, disseminated through conventional
means. However a notable exception are statistical
publications with voluminous data, which have
not been made available for public download
so far. This is understandable as their provision
through the public Internet would reduce the
sales revenue of statistical publications, CD-ROMs
and diskettes.
Concluding remarks
This paper has briefly discussed some of the
challenges facing the national statistical offices
of the region vis-à-vis the developments
with regard to the latest computing and communication
technologies for data dissemination. There is
a need for the national statistical offices
to prepare themselves to meet these challenges.
The Working Group is urged to discuss this matter
with a view to guiding the secretariat in designing
and developing regional programmes to assist
the developing member countries in this important
area.
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