ISI Academy - Implementing a Quality Assurance Strategy at the National Level

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This webinar, hosted by the ISI Academy, aims to provide participants with insights into how national statistical offices and regulatory bodies can design, implement, and sustain effective quality assurance strategies for official statistics.

Ensuring the quality of statistical processes and outputs is a critical — and ongoing — challenge for national statistical systems worldwide. This webinar brings together practitioners from three different institutional contexts to share their experiences and approaches. Topics covered include the development of a national quality assurance strategy using the UN National Quality Assurance Framework (NQAF), the challenges of adapting quality management systems to an evolving statistical landscape shaped by administrative data and new data sources, and the role of independent regulation and public accreditation in promoting accountability and driving quality improvements.

By the end of the webinar, participants will have a clearer understanding of the practical tools, frameworks, and governance arrangements that can support a coherent and sustainable approach to quality assurance at the national level. 

Assessing the Quality of Statistical Processes at the National Level

Jan Smit

Abstract: The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has recently been supporting the National Statistics Office (NSO) of Mongolia in developing and implementing a quality assurance strategy to ensure that all statistical processes are documented; quality reviews are implemented and result in actionable improvement plans; and that these plans are implemented under close monitoring. The presentation will discuss the strategy the NSO, with the support of ESCAP, has been developing and starting to implement since mid-2024, with a focus on enhancing the validity of statistical processes and improving the validity of statistical outputs of a defined process, with a view to implementing specific activities over a three-year cycle. The presentation will explain that it builds on earlier work undertaken by the NSO — in many cases with the support of various development partners — to improve the quality of official statistics, and what additional measures have been designed to transform these building blocks into a coherent system to ensure the validity of the statistical processes. In doing so, the presentation will elaborate specifically on the use made, with necessary adaptations and the development of an administering tool of the United Nations National Quality Assurance Framework (NQAF) checklist adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission in 2019.  The presentation will conclude with considering the sustainability of the strategy in the context of Mongolia, where resources for the production and dissemination of official statistics are limited.

Istat’s Quality Strategy: Ongoing Challenges for Continuous Improvement

Giorgia Simeoni

Abstract: Ensuring high-quality official statistics is a continuous and evolving process. Although Istat has a long-standing tradition in quality assurance and a well-established quality management system, the continuous quality improvement approach requires sustained and consistent commitment. In recent years, the statistical production system has undergone a significant transformation. Traditional sample surveys are increasingly complemented by the extensive use of administrative data and the development of complex multi-source processes. This evolution calls for the redesign of quality documentation, monitoring, and assessment systems in order to ensure robust and reliable outputs. In addition, the possible use of new data sources for statistical production presents additional challenges for quality assurance. While these sources often offer considerable advantages in terms of timeliness and granularity, they also require updated methodological and quality frameworks, besides specific legislative, institutional and organisational settings. At the same time, it is necessary to continue monitoring and improving the quality of traditional statistical processes. This presentation discusses how Istat addresses these challenges, implementing its quality strategy, adapting its tools and practices to support sustainable continuous improvement in an evolving statistical environment.

Independent regulation of official statistics – the example of the UK’s Office for Statistics Regulation

Ed Humpherson

Abstract: This presentation will set out the work of the UK’s Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in reporting publicly in UK official statistics. It will explain how the UK uses a system of public reporting and accreditation of official statistics to provide assurance and accountability. The presentation will set out the benefits of conferring an accreditation on statistics (as Accredited Official Statistics). It will also describe the tools available to address poor quality and drive improvement – including de-accreditation of statistics. The presentation will touch on other work undertaken by OSR to support public confidence in statistics – including intervening publicly when statistics are misused in public debate.