The value added of a national statistical institute

Max Booleman

Marleen Verbruggen

Overview presentation

- Introduction: changing environment of a NSI and (organizational) consequences

- The business architecture - Role of metadata in the future statistical

system- Organizational aspects: managing metadata- Summary / conclusions

Introduction

Mission CBS:

To compile and publish undisputed and coherent up-to-date statistical information that is relevant for practice, policy and research

- Increasing demands for statistical information- Combining information from different sources: the value added of a NSI- Rapid developments in ICT

Resulted in process oriented organisation in 2000. However until present: there remain a considerable number of (small) ICT-systems

Business architecture

What does a business architecture:

it tries to translate the strategic goals of an organization into an optimal organizational structure including the supporting ICT systems

Principles of the business architecture

1. Organization: CBS wide, generic set-up of processes and ICT support. ICT support independent of organizational structure.

2. Product: support of all products. Fast and flexible response to changing demands for new products.

3. Process: reducing the number of ICT systems, development of more generic systems, implementing transparency by adding process metadata

4. Environment: addressing the increasing diversity of channels used by suppliers

Business architecture

The business architecture and metadata

Metadata is corner stone of the future statistical process. Guiding principles:

1. Strict distinction between implementation (production) and design (development)

2. No regular production without metadata; processes are metadata driven

3. Strict distinction between data and metadata4. Strict distinction between metadata and the

metadata of these metadata5. Metadata easily accessible and standardised6. Design / maintenance of prescribing rules are

important statistical activities

Managing metadata

One of the activities for the coming period: an up-to date, approved, organizational structure for managing metadata.

Prescribing meta Realization meta

Conceptual X Not needed

Process X X

Quality X X

Managing metadata

Different roles:

1. The theme administrator: responsible for thematic area

2. The interested parties: mainly users3. The supplier: supplier of metadata4. The authority: formal owner of the metadata5. The communicator: organises distribution and

accessibility of metadata6. The editor: responsible that output metadata needs

required textual standards7. The coordinator: starts / coordinates the process

Managing metadata

The phases of the process:

1. The initiation phase: by proposal or signal of a problem to the coordinator and theme administrator

2. The production phase: drawing up a recommendation

3. The authorization phase: approval of recommendation, includes also escalation procedure

4. Setting up phase: communication and implementation of possible accompanying measures

Experiences

- Described process is running, but without theme administrators. Coordinator acts as theme administrator for all themes

- Main experience on output-side of statistical process: challenge to make connection to input and throughput

Difficulties:- Coordinator not subject expert for all themes- Departments do not feel responsible enough - Labour intensive task

Summary and conclusions

- Increasing availability of external registrations- Challenge of a NSI to combine them, create a coherent and

consistent set of concepts and figures: the value added of a NSI

- Organization of a NSI should support this development, including ICT system

- Business architecture may be useful tool to design optimal (ICT-)structure

- Multiple use of tools and data: reinforces need for appropriate metadata system

- Building set of consistent, standardised conceptual metadata is labour intensive

- Strong coordination is needed- For process and quality metadata: looking for best practices

The value added of a national statistical institute

Max Booleman

Marleen Verbruggen