Economic Statistics

FOCG on Economic Statistics

Third Meeting of the Friends of the Chair Group on Economic Statistics

  • New York, USA
  • 1st March 2020

The Friends of the Chair group on economic statistics was created by the Statistical Commission during its fiftieth session to undertake an assessment of the efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness of the current system of economic statistics.

The Group is heading into its second and final year. In its preparation of the work plan for the second year, the group took stock of the rich discussions amongst the members of the group during the first year. The wealth of information provided through the consultations with the various working groups involved in the domain of economic statistics and through regional consultation seminars were also valuable input to define the work plan for 2020. The third meeting of the Friends of the chair group will consider the proposed deliverables and activities of the work programme 2020 to trial new working methods for the update of the system of economic statistics.

Date : Sunday, 1st March 2020, 9:15 - 11:15 am
Venue: UNHQ, 2 UN Plaza, DC-2 Building, Room 2330

9:15 - 9:25 am
1. Welcome remarks (10 minutes)
Mr. Anil Arora, Chair of the Friends of Chair Group and Chief Statistician of Canada
Mr. Stefan Schweinfest, Director of the United Nations Statistics Division, DESA
9:25 - 9:55 am
2. Preparation for the agenda item on the Friends of the Chair Group at the 51st session of the UN Statistical Commission (30 minutes)

Oral introduction of the report to Statistical Commission by Chair of the Friends of the Chair Group on Economic Statistics.

Supporting document:
   Draft Introduction Read
9:55 - 10:55 am
3. Review of the work program of the Group for 2020

a. Present and proposed future state of statistical groups (20 minutes)
Supporting document a1: infographics on present and future state of statistical groups (in zip format) Download
Supporting document a2: background note on present and future state of statistical groups Read

b. Projects and use cases for the new working methods (20 minutes)
Supporting document b1: project note on globalization: role of the MNEs Read
Supporting document b2: project note on digitization: role of digital platforms Read
Supporting document b3: project note on inequality: distribution accounts and statistics Read
Supporting document b4: project note on classifications: metadata driven systems Read
Supporting document b5: project note on digitization of standards Read

c. Communication and engagements of the Group (20 minutes)
Annotation: As the FOC Group heads into the second and final year of operation, it will be essential to increase communication efforts with the heads of NSOs of the statistical community, to discuss findings thus far and the proposed avenues of work.
It is also needed to develop strategies and mechanisms that build engagement with a broader set of stakeholders including users, technology partners, data providers, and academics. Engagement should be built into regular ongoing activities and is critical for the relevance and responsiveness of the economic statistics system.
Supporting document: background note prepared by Eurostat - UN Global Forum on the Future of Economic Statistics for late 2020. Read

10:55 - 11:10 am
4. Contributions from the Group members for the agreed-upon actions and projects in 2020 (15 minutes)

Annotation: the contributions of the Group members are essential in order to successfully implement the work program of the Group for 2020

11:10 - 11:15 am
5. Date and venue of fourth meeting of the Group (5 minutes)

Option:
- UN Global Forum on the Future of Economic Statistics, Brussels, Belgium, November 2020

Friends of the Chair Group

Third Meeting Supporting Documents