1.2 Purpose, users and uses of the Handbook

1.2 Purpose, users and uses of the Handbook#

The primary objective of this fourth edition of the Handbook is to guide chief statisticians and senior managers of national statistical offices (NSOs) and other producers of official statistics in maintaining and developing statistical capacity that is fit for purpose while strengthening trust in official statistics (see also Chapter 4 - The National Statistical System. At the same time, the Handbook is also designed to be useful to a broader range of users and stakeholders at all levels within and outside the NSS with the aim to develop a mutual understanding of official statistics and a common statistical culture.

The Handbook takes into account that national statistical systems and offices vary significantly in terms of size (human, financial and infrastructure), level of maturity or development (developing, developed, advanced), the extent of decentralisation (centralised, decentralised), but also the institutional environment in which producers of official statistics operate. The outcome of the review and consultation rounds, and the results of a survey conducted among chief statisticians revealed the need for the following:

  • Increased focus on the implementation of the UNFPOS, both within the national statistical offices and among other producers of official statistics within the national statistical systems;

  • Increased focus on the national statistical system, not just the national statistical office, and the need for coordination among national statistical system members;

  • Increased focus on the systematic reuse and exchange of data;

  • Better understanding of technological developments that have significant implications for data collection, handling, and dissemination;

  • Increased dialogue and consultation with users to understand and, when possible, anticipate emerging data needs at national, regional, and global levels.

Thus, to address these requirements, the Handbook is designed with the following user-oriented features:

  • It can be used as a checklist that an NSO, or any other producer of official statistics, would take into consideration when managing and carrying out the various statistical processes in producing, analysing, and disseminating official statistics.

  • It provides clear and sometimes firm guidance but, with the exception of elements related or referring to the UNFPOS, is not prescriptive as the situation in each country is unique, and only those in the country can determine the usefulness of provided guidance.

  • It contributes to harmonising and aligning concurring definitions and terminology that have emerged recently through various, and sometimes uncoordinated, initiatives and programmes at the global and regional levels.

The Handbook relies heavily on relevant global, regional and subregional initiatives such, as the deliverables and recommendations of the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (HLG-PCCB), the work of the High-level Group for the Modernisation of Official Statistics, (HLG-MOS), the 2019 United Nations National Quality Assurance Framework and its guidelines (UN-NQAF) as well as the outcome and conclusions of the series of regional Thematic Conferences (🔗).

In addition, the overall approach is to present general principles that appear to have withstood the test of time, location, tradition, and legal context and to illustrate them using national examples and practices. The Handbook draws on common challenges based on institutional principles, managerial practices, and innovative production processes and technologies acknowledged internationally and implemented successfully in countries. Likewise, illustrative examples of difficulties and failures serve to shorten the learning curve by analysing lessons learned or providing insights on what may be adapted in specific country contexts.

The 16 chapters of the Handbook can be read independently, as they focus on specific aspects of these processes. As a web-based publication with links generously distributed across chapters, users can create their own reading roadmaps, depending on their needs and interests. For illustration purposes, reading roadmaps are based: i) on the combination of all chapters of the Handbook into four cross-cutting themes used for the Thematic Conferences and covering broadly all strategic areas of the CT-GAP; and ii) by type of user and are provided in Annex 2a - Illustrative Reading Roadmaps by User and Annex 2b - Illustrative Reading Roadmaps by Reading Objectives.