Global Calendar of Statistical Events

Organizer(s): SESRIC UNSD ESCWA TurkStat Türkiye AI Generated

Topics: Institutional frameworks, organization of official statistics (CSA 701)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD UNODC INEGI Mexico Norway

Description: Corruption is a challenge all countries in the world are facing and there are substantial information needs among decision makers and other stakeholders on the extent of it, which types of corruption are most common and who are key perpetrators and victims of corruption. Yet, statistics on corruption is not readily available in most countries due to a variety of reasons.

Topics: Absence of corruption (CSA 406) Crime and criminal justice (CSA 40801)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD AI Generated

Description:

The evolving data landscape demands innovative approaches to data production and use, bringing National Statistical Offices (NSOs) into closer collaboration with communities and citizens. In this context, the newly revised Copenhagen Framework on Citizen Data provides NSOs with a guiding tool to support communities and citizens and integrate citizen data into their work effectively. This side event, titled "Partnership for Impact: NSOs and the Copenhagen Framework on Citizen Data," offers an opportunity to delve into the updated framework and explore the transformative role of NSOs in the national data ecosystem. Through this event, participants will engage in discussions on how NSOs can harness citizen data to foster inclusivity, transparency, and impact, while navigating challenges in governance and stewardship.

Topics: Data sources, n.e.c. (CSA 60499)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD

Description:

Within this context, the Collaborative on Citizen Data is organizing a one-day workshop on citizen data. The workshop aims to familiarize participants with the Copenhagen Framework on Citizen Data; and facilitate an exchange of experiences and peer-learning on leveraging citizen data for public policy, including challenges faced and lessons learnt on how to overcome the challenges. Some of the topics that will be covered include, but not limited to

• Data collection and validation
• The use of citizen data for public policy
• Quality assurance
• Ethical considerations and rights-based approach to data
• Collaboration between civil society organization (CSO) and state institutions including national statistical offices (NSO) and trust-building

Topics: Data sources, n.e.c. (CSA 60499)

Organizer(s): UNSD UNICEF Paris21 European Commission

Description: Co-hosted by the State Department of Economic Planning of Kenya, PARIS21, Directorate General of International Partnerships of the European Commission, the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), this side event focuses on highlighting the indispensable role of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) in strengthening the evidence-base of the Voluntary National Review (VNR) process and the follow-up. The organisers will share best practices from countries and present new analysis and guidance for Governments, who look for ways to boost their capacities for an improved monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and for a better data governance. Registration

Topics: Sustainable development (CSA 501)

Event URL: Event Page

Additional Urls:

https://www.paris21.org/events/un-hlpf-side-event-elevating-role-national-statistical-offices-voluntary-national-reviews

Organizer(s): UNSD

Description:

Half-way through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and despite improvements, critical gender data gaps still exist across the SDGs in terms of geographic coverage, timeliness and the level of disaggregation required. Intensified efforts need to be made to fill those gaps. The Agenda 2030 asks that follow-up and review processes at all levels should be open, inclusive, participatory and transparent for all people and support the reporting by all relevant stakeholders. Therefore, the successful as well as gender-sensitive implementation and monitoring of the Agenda needs the engagement of citizens, with particular attention to the voices of the poorest and most vulnerable – more often, women and girls.

Registration

Topics: Gender statistics (CSA 503)

Organizer(s): UNSD

Description: This webinar aims to explore cutting-edge approaches for handling sensitive microdata while preserving privacy. Experts will discuss state-of-the-art techniques, real-world applications, and collaborative efforts across international projects. Join us for insightful presentations, engaging discussions, and an open Q&A session.

Topics: Confidentiality and disclosure protection (CSA 609)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNWTO Statistik Austria INE Spain UNCEEA

Description: UN Tourism, Statistics Austria, the National Statistics Institute of Spain, are jointly organizing in collaboration with UNCEEA, a high-level side event titled "Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism: Bridging the Gap between Policy and Statistics". This event will be held on Tuesday, 27 February 2024, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, under the auspices of the 55th session of the United Nations Commission. Back on the agenda of the United Nations Statistical Commission since 2017, tourism statistics has undergone important developments amidst particularly challenging times for the sector. This side event will introduce the Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism, present pioneering country experiences that showcase its relevance and feasibility, and reflect on the lessons learnt from the integration of economic, environmental and social dimensions that characterize the framework.

Topics: Tourism (CSA 20305)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD

Description: The event "New challenges for national statistical offices for environment and climate change statistics: Role of the SEEA" is organized as a side event of the 55th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) will tentatively be held on Tuesday , 27 February 2023, from 13:15 to 13:30 in New York. This side event will review new and emerging demands for environmental and economic information that are being faced at global, regional and national levels. It will identify ways that the statistical community can address these demands through existing SEEA frameworks, as well as identify areas which could be addressed through an update of the SEEA Central Framework (CF) in order to make the SEEA CF more responsive to the new demands.

Topics: Climate change (CSA 506) System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (CSA 20105)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD

Description: The High-level Forum on Official Statistics, an annual event of the Statistical Commission, is a pivotal event commemorating the 30th and 10th anniversaries of the adoption of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (FPOS) by the UN Statistical Commission and the General Assembly, respectively. This forum, more than just a seminar, is a tribute to the significant milestones achieved and a proactive step towards shaping the future of official statistics, guided by the FPOS. Titled 'Empowering Official Statistics - Upholding the Fundamental Principles to Stay Relevant,' this High-level Forum represents the culmination of a series of global initiatives, including expert consultations, collaborations with statistical associations, webinars, workshops, and international conferences. These efforts have been crucial in enhancing the understanding of the FPOS within an ever-evolving data ecosystem, setting the stage for the 55th session of the Statistical Commission to celebrate the global endorsement of these principles. The event will be structured into two main segments. The first segment, 'Celebrating Milestones,' will explore the genesis and historical importance of the FPOS in fostering trust and credibility in official statistics. Esteemed speakers will provide thoughtful interventions, tracing the journey of the FPOS and examining their impact on monitoring Sustainable Development Goals and other regional and national development policies, emphasizing how the FPOS have been instrumental in shaping national statistical systems and establishing data integrity and public confidence in statistical outputs over the years. The second segment, 'Shaping the Future of Official Statistics,' will begin with introductory speeches, followed by a dynamic panel discussion. This segment will embark on an exploratory journey, examining how the FPOS can guide Official Statistics in navigating challenges and seizing opportunities in a rapidly changing data ecosystem, highlighting its role as a reliable and adaptable source of information. The discussion will also consider how the Terms of Reference for the Independent Advisory Board and the commented outline of the revitalized FPOS implementation guidelines, submitted for discussion and approval at the 55th session of the Statistical Commission, might contribute to their broad implementation. The High-level Forum will conclude with an open debate, offering a unique opportunity for attendees to engage with the topics, share insights, and contribute to the dialogue.

Topics: Institutional frameworks, organization of official statistics (CSA 701)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD Collaborative on Citizen Data

Description:

Citizen participation throughout the data value chain is increasingly recognized in addressing data gaps for marginalized communities and enhancing data fairness, inclusiveness, openness, accountability and transparency. As the global community strives to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and increase the impact of data, the insights derived from the lived experiences and perspectives of citizens are indispensable in decision-making. However, leveraging citizen data and making it fit for policymaking encounters various challenges. These include the lack of trust between state and non-state actors, data quality and sustainability, and capacity constraints faced by civil society organisations and communities in data production.

Registration link: https://forms.office.com/e/ZhM0idTZdK.

Topics: Data sources, n.e.c. (CSA 60499)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD

Description: The Friday Seminar on Emerging Issues was established as a space for the global statistical community to explore emerging issues. It is a place which serves as a learning environment where statisticians come together with specialists and experts to explore innovative topics and address the interplay between official statistics and the broader data ecosystem. Data governance can be described as the policies, guidelines, standards, procedures and practices that regulate the generation, management, use and reuse of data. It addresses the overarching vision for data within a system and how it is shared, accessed and integrated while mitigating risks and maintaining trust. The implementation of data governance strategies differs across domains and is dependent on national practices. It is essential for the global statistical community as the data space evolves in a dynamic fashion to discuss different ways of handling data governance and explore commonalities that can help define the role and the strategies of the national statistical offices within the larger landscape of data governance across the whole system. Data governance has been discussed across various groups at the national and international levels. It applies to data within the private and public sectors and on how data is exchanged between them. The Statistical Commission focuses on official statistics and is the primary body for the coordination of the global statistical programmes in general and of the United Nations statistical and data-related system. In 2022, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations requested the Commission to play the role as the apex for discussions, knowledge exchange and sharing of best practices on statistics and data across all domains, to develop and maintain international statistical standards and norms, tools and methodologies, to support and bolster the development of sustainable national statistical systems, to develop and build the capacity of national systems, to advocate for the professional community of official statistics, and to ensure continued innovations to adapt to the changing statistical and data system. The 2022 update to the terms of references of the Commission emphasizes the need for technological innovations, the promotion of practices for the generation of information aligned with principles that ensure coherence, comparability, data privacy, among others, and the importance to build partnerships. This calls for a better, more thorough understanding of how governance of data applies across the system.

Topics: Institutional frameworks, organization of official statistics (CSA 701)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD

Description: UNSD participated in an event on privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), which brought together private sector, civil society and public sector experts. The main themes of the event were (1) how to unlock the power of sensitive data while protecting privacy, (2) ensure compliance with data protection regulations, and (3) accelerate R&D and AI development to improve business practices by ensuring that data collaboration and sharing across teams and organizations is secure and private. UNSD contributed to a panel discussion by explaining how national statistical agencies are exploring the benefits and challenges of using PETs to access, share and disseminate data. The UN PET Guide for official statistics was recently released. It provides guidance on the reasons why PETs can improve the delivery of services of statistical agencies, on the available methods for input and output privacy, and on the legal considerations which are in play when using PETs. Moreover, the PET Guide describes in detail 18 use cases which exemplify how PETs can be used in practice. One use case was described on combining education statistics with student financial aid, and one on the verification of detailed cross-border trade statistics between trading countries. As an outcome of this event, additional experts on PETs (from private sector and civil society) may join the UN PET Lab of the UN Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics.

Topics: Confidentiality and disclosure protection (CSA 609) Data science (CSA 607)

Organizer(s): UN DESA UNFPA UNDP WHO Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data World Bank

Description: At the SDG Action Weekend on 17 September 2023, UNDESA and partners (UNFPA, UNDP, WHO, the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), the World Bank) launched the High Impact Initiative on the Power of Data at the United Nations Headquarters. The event garnered numerous commitments and called on world leaders to invest in better data for driving progress and sustainable development. Speakers included Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the UN; USG Li from UNDESA, and Principals from UNFPA, UNDP, the World Bank, GPSDD; Ashley Judd, Actor and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador; Dr. Mo Ibrahim, founder and chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation; ministers from Colombia, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya; officials from all over the world; senior figures from NVIDIA and Microsoft; NGOs; and youth advocates. At the event, the following key issues were discussed: the urgent need and opportunity to fund data systems; the role of data in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals; the role of data in driving economic decision making and tackling inequalities; and the role of data in transforming decision making. Commitments made at the event include 15 countries launched cutting-edge National Data Partnerships; The UK made funding commitment of investing over USD 7.5 million to help scale up global support for national data partnerships; and 30 data for development and civil society organizations signed a letter of support for the High Impact Initiative.

Topics: International statistical coordination (CSA 707) Sustainable development (CSA 501)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD ESCAP

Description: Hosted by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the Voluntary National Review (VNR) lab will discuss and share experiences, at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) on how non-traditional data, particularly CGD is utilized to support SDG monitoring and the VNRs for evidence-based reporting and will present country experiences from Asia and the Pacific and beyond. It will explore initiatives to improve reporting frameworks and harness the power of citizens to capture and share more data on the SDGs for the VNRs. Interventions will be made by civil society, government, and national statistical office representatives.

Topics: Sustainable development (CSA 501)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNCTAD UN Women UNSD UNITAR Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data

Description:

Citizens' contribution to data, broadly defined as the engagement of citizens in multiple processes in the data value chain, from specifying needs to use of the data to inform policy, is increasingly recognized for its unique ability to help overcome many data challenges of our times and in contributing to the inclusiveness of official statistics.

Citizens’ contribution to data could happen at different levels – global, regional, national, or local. The engagement of citizens can be organized by different stakeholders - scientists, community leaders, civil society organisations (CSOs), or individual citizens. Their engagement can contribute to various stages of the data value chain and serve different objectives and contribute to data and policy in many different ways.

When people—especially those who have been historically excluded from decision making— actively participate in decisions about data collection, design, analysis, and use, they gain greater access to the benefits of data. The official statistical community increasingly recognizes the importance of non-state actors in contributing to the inclusiveness of official statistics.

Topics: Demographic and social statistics (CSA 1)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD

Description: There is clear demand from policy makers, governments, academics and the public to move the statistical measurement framework beyond gross domestic product (GDP), which primarily focuses on economic performance. While traditional measures of economic performance will always have a place, there is a gap between the information contained in GDP and what counts for people’s well-being. Responding to the beyond GDP agenda will require a combination of economic, environmental and social measures that go beyond measures of market activity and include measures centred on people’s well-being, and sustainability of the environment, making the contribution of nature to our well-being explicit. The aim would be to inform various policy goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and, in the context of accounting for people’s well-being, to address the call by the Secretary-General for new measures of progress to complement GDP. In addition, the Secretary General acknowledged the role of implementing the System of Environmental Economic Accounts (SEEA) and said: "This is a historic step towards transforming how we view and value nature. We will no longer be heedlessly allowing environmental destruction and degradation to be considered economic progress." Going beyond GDP is not to redefine the current sets of indicators, but to identify accounts and indicators so that countries can produce internationally comparable statistics that provide important information for policymakers that go beyond measures of economic performance. While the theme of "Beyond GDP" has a broad scope, this event will first present the need for broader measures of progress and will introduce measures such as a multidimensional vulnerability index (MVI) to assess the vulnerability of small island states as well as other countries; and measures that go beyond the narrow focus on economic growth towards what counts for people and the planet. The event is organized along two panels one representing the users needs for measures beyond GDP and the other presenting how national statistical offices have responded to these demands. In particular, the two panels will address the need for: Measures of social and demographic developments to complement measures of economic performance. Some countries have been pioneers and have done inspiring work in terms of the distribution of income and welfare measures, unpaid household service work, generational distribution of wealth and systems of quality of life statistics Measuring the contribution of nature to our wellbeing – The SEEA has been adopted as an international statistical standard and it is being used to supporting various policy frameworks being implemented in over 90 countries; In the context of updating the 2008 SNA the broadening of the national accounts’ framework to better account for elements affecting well-being and sustainability by describing where the national accounts can contribute to understanding well-being and sustainability, including where the framework can be extended, and where other frameworks such as those from SEEA and demographic and social statistics are required to provide a more comprehensive understanding of these issues.

Topics: System of National Accounts (CSA 20101)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD

Description: Session 1: The Role of Data Science in Official Statistics The availability of relevant, timely and usable statistics and indicators is essential for governments to set priorities, make informed decisions and implement better policies. The data science revolution is helping improve the production of those statistics and indicators through new methods, technologies and data sources, such as big data and machine learning. With many National Statistical Offices (NSOs) rapidly expanding their big data and data science capabilities and activities, there is an opportunity to step up international co-operation between NSOs to modernise global and national statistical systems. By sharing knowledge and identifying key priorities at leadership level, NSOs data science leaders can provide strategic vision and leadership to guide the many multilateral cooperation initiatives in this field. A new international and inclusive network for data science leaders can provide insight, strategic advice and secure buy-in to drive innovation, maximize efficiencies and accelerate the integration of statistical production through data science. The Data Science Leaders Network (DSLN) was initiated at the Statistical Commission in March 2022. The DSLN will advance the strategic discussion of key issues concerning the current and future role of NSOs in providing data science services for official statistics on the one hand and to other government agencies on the other. DSLN will also discuss the status of experimental data and indicators, ethical and legal considerations, data sharing and acquisition, the governance of data science research and capability building across government, the code of conduct for data scientists, and the quality framework for big data and data science. It will launch new initiatives and projects, while leaving the execution of those activities to existing groups. DSLN will further provide guidance on areas where capability gaps would justify proactive co-investment among statistical institutes. Session 2: Moving Towards Register-based Censuses: Opportunities and challenges This session of the Friday seminar on Innovation and Modernisation of Official Statistics will bring together Chief Statisticians to discuss the use of administrative data sources for producing population and housing census data. The current round of censuses has been witnessing a growing interest in the use of administrative data sources. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the difficulties caused by it, has accelerated existing initiatives to utilize administrative data sources in a significant number of countries all over the world. There are many reasons for exploring administrative registers for producing census information, including : (a) the need to produce accurate, reliable and more frequent statistics (on a yearly basis); (b) high costs of conducting field enumeration and budgetary limitations for census taking; (c) reluctance of the population to participate in the census (for instance, during the COIVD-19 pandemic); and (d) availability of administrative registers for statistical purposes. On the other hand, there are certain challenges regarding the use of administrative registers, including the quality of existing administrative registers, lack of legal framework for the use of individual records for statistical production, and institutional capacity in establishing and maintaining statistical registers. Changing the design of census processes from the traditional method to one that is relying on administrative data sources is a core part of the strategy of many NSOs to develop a register-based statistical system. This will require a pragmatic shift in the way official statistics are produced. This seminar will discuss the process of transitioning and challenges in planning and managing this process, particularly those related to political and public support; legal framework; engagement of stakeholders; confidentiality issues; operational considerations and strengthening institutional capacity. The seminar will also provide an opportunity to learn from experiences of countries that are at different stages of this transition. Session 3: Towards a framework to harness data by citizens, for citizens and about citizens Citizens' contribution to data, broadly defined as the engagement of citizens in multiple processes in the data value chain, is increasingly recognized as critical to helping overcome many data challenges of our times. In particular, in the context of the 2030 Agenda's principle to ensure that nobody is left behind, citizen data helps fill critical data gaps for groups suffering from data marginalization and increase the extent to which their experiences are reflected in national statistics. In addition to filling data gaps, some citizen data initiatives provide insights into harmful customary practices as well as further advance important values such as fairness, inclusiveness, openness and transparency in statistics. Citizens' contribution to data could happen at different levels - global, regional, national, or local. The engagement of citizens can be organized by different stakeholders - scientists, community leaders, civil society organisations (CSOs), or individual citizens. Their engagement can contribute to various stages of the data value chain and serve different objectives and contribute to data and policy in many different ways. The official statistical community also increasingly recognizes the importance of non-state actors in contributing to the inclusiveness of official statistics. For data collection such as censuses and surveys, national statistical offices (NSOs) often partner with CSOs or representatives of marginalized population groups to ensure the inclusiveness of the data and methodology. Unleashing the full potential of citizens for data, however, faces many challenges. These, for example, include the lack of trust between the state and non-state actors, data quality, sustainability and statistical capacity of CSOs, etc. In this context, the United Nations Statistics Division organized an Expert Group Meeting on Harnessing data by citizens for public policy and SDG monitoring: a conceptual framework in November 2022. The meeting discussed different ways that citizens can contribute to data, as well as challenges and opportunities and mechanisms to harness citizens' contribution to fill data gaps and advance fairness, inclusiveness, openness and transparency in statistics. The meeting was attended by representatives from National Statistics Offices (NSOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), academia and regional and international organisations. The meeting agreed that the development of a framework would be an important next step to help conceptualize the different ways citizens can contribute to data and support the formulation of action points for the community to move forward. The meeting also agreed to establish a Collaborative as a platform for collaboration and exchange of experiences and to advance the work in this area.

Course Language: English

Topics: Strategic and managerial activities (CSA 7)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data Sustainable Development Solutions Network World Bank

Description: This side event, jointly organized by GPSDD, SDSN TReNDS, WB, and UNSD, aims to provide an update on the D4N initiative and highlight recent country experiences of innovative partnerships and solutions built as part of D4N. More concretely, the event will: 1. Provide an update of work and showcase innovative results and learning from countries. 2. Highlight some of the noteworthy partnerships formed as part of the initiative 3. Present upcoming plans, including expansion to involve more countries and partners as well as efforts to make materials more widely available

Topics: Sustainable development (CSA 501)

Event URL: Event Page

Organizer(s): UNSD ISWGHS

Description: Household surveys play an important role in meeting national data needs, for example, in measuring poverty, employment, skills and learning inclusive education, food security, access to health services and public services, discrimination and violence, inter alia. Household surveys are also critical for monitoring inequalities by gender, class, location disability and other markers of disadvantage, which is critical for monitoring progress against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, household surveys are an invaluable source of data for behavioural and attitudinal measures which cannot be collected - for example - through administrative data systems. A mapping exercise recently conducted shows that around one-third of all SDG indicators (80 out of 232 indicators), covering 13 different goals, can be sourced from household surveys.1 Despite their crucial role in national statistical systems over the past decades, household surveys are now facing many funding challenges and scepticism about their usefulness and adaptability to this era of a changing data landscape. Household surveys are increasingly portrayed as slow and costly. With rising income and urbanization, response rates in surveys (especially in high-income countries) have been declining, with more and more individuals becoming reluctant to participate in surveys. Survey data are often underutilized, which raises further questions on the usefulness and the value of household surveys. With national statistical offices overstretched and underfunded to meet the growing demand for data, household surveys are too-often framed as obsolete when compared and contrasted with other data sources such as "Big Data" and administrative data. Some have even speculated that in a not-too-distant future, Big Data may eliminate the need for surveys altogether. Are household surveys still relevant in the changing data landscape? And if so, are there new roles for that household surveys can play in this new data landscape in addition to the value they currently hold? How do we unleash the full potential of household surveys to add value to other data sources? What are the real opportunities and limitations of alternative data sources vis a vis household surveys? How do we improve the effectiveness of household surveys and their contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development? Organised by the United Nations Statistics Division, in collaboration with the Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Household Surveys, the seminar provides a platform for national statistical offices, international organisations and the research community to debate and discuss strategies to realise the full potential of household surveys in this new environment. The seminar will help identify the way forward for further methodological development in household surveys, for scaling up innovative approaches in countries and for identifying capacity building needs. The seminar will also explore and suggest practical ways to streamline and scale up those innovative approaches and do so equitably, with low income countries benefiting in equal manner.

Topics: International statistical coordination (CSA 707) Household and individual surveys (CSA 60403)

Event URL: Event Page