Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) proudly hosted the 19th International Association of Official Statistics (IAOS) Conference jointly with the 4th International Statistical Institute (ISI) Regional Statistics Conference in Mexico City from 15 – 17 May 2024. A team of MRSD statisticians attended this IAOS-ISI 2024 Conference centred on the theme “Improving Decision-Making for All”.
Emerging innovative data sources and technological advancements have changed the context in which National Statistical Offices (NSOs) operate in this rapidly changing world. NSOs need to leverage their relationship with citizens, data users, and data providers, to better navigate statistical processes and promote statistical literacy. It was in this context that the conference theme was brought forward. IAOS-ISI 2024 aimed to provide an environment where interested parties like us could come together to examine dilemmas and challenges pertaining to data. At the same time, the conference spurred us to brainstorm new ideas for producing official statistics that will effectively contribute to improved decision-making at every level, from policymakers to citizens.
Our sharing in the conference included a poster presentation titled ‘Enhancing Participation in Survey’. The challenge of achieving a consistently high survey response rate has been a recurring problem for NSOs all around the world. This view was echoed by the National Statistical Institute (NSI) of Slovakia. In fact, to tackle this challenge, the NSI team shared that they have been looking into innovative data sources such as electronic systems and earth observation images, and adopting the use of social network, as part of their data collection efforts.
During our poster presentation, we highlighted the strategies undertaken by MRSD to reduce the survey load on respondents and motivate them to participate in manpower surveys. One of the initiatives we showcased was the
automated data transfer services MRSD introduced in 2021 to streamline the data collection process for companies. Under this initiative, an SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) connection is used to link a company’s Human Resources database to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)’s database, so that relevant data can be directly transferred to MOM for survey purposes.
We also accentuated the importance of bringing statistics closer to the public by “giving back” to businesses. MRSD provides business respondents with a corporate benchmarking scorecard so that they may evaluate how they fare against their industry counterparts in terms of wages, employment conditions, and staff turnover.
Apart from sharing about our own initiatives, we were also grateful for the opportunity to sit in for presentations and panel discussions involving NSOs from the USA, Poland, and other countries. The panellists discussed the importance of collaboration in statistics, as well as using alternative data sources to supplement survey data collection. For instance, the U.S. Census Bureau shared how administrative records from the border authorities are used to supplement their data collection on the number of migrants in the country. These insights gained during the conference reminded us that statistical agencies do not work in silo, and data derived from various data sources can be cross referenced to further enhance data quality.
The IAOS-ISI 2024 Conference was truly an enriching experience for the team. We were impressed by how researchers and statisticians all around the world were so united in their desire to learn about and develop new methods aimed at improving statistical processes and making quality data meaningful for all.
