Abstract

Encouraging non-government bodies to adopt the Code of Practice for Statistics:
Session: A Long and Winding Track? Non-official Statistics as a Source of Insight

In a world of abundant data, distinctions between official and non-official data have become more blurred and the opportunities for new data sources to inform public debate and influence society have grown. These data, which can be from public bodies, commercial organisations, charities, academia, and beyond present opportunities for providing insight that can benefit society locally, nationally and internationally.

In the UK, the statistical community is considering a vision for ‘public statistics’, which bring together data from official and non-official sources to offer insight on the questions that people in society most want answered, which the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) has welcomed. In this context, clarity about data and confidence in their suitability is essential.

Across the UK statistical system, the Code of Practice for Statistics sets the standards for producing official statistics that are not just numbers, but reliable tools for understanding the world. The Code is based on three core outcomes: Trustworthiness, Quality and Value (TQV). These are supported by principles and detailed practices that producers should commit to when producing and releasing official statistics. By following the Code, statistics can be a trusted resource for everyone, and inspire public confidence.

In 2018, OSR introduced a voluntary scheme for applying the Code standards beyond official statistics. In our scheme, producers of non-official data and statistics can also commit to applying the Code pillars and demonstrate how they do this through publishing a statement of compliance. To date, more than 35 producers of non-official data are publicly affiliated with the scheme.

The scheme has an active community of practice with more than 150 members, enabling anyone with an interest in TQV to hear from others applying the Code in areas outside of official statistics. Government analysts are part of our scheme for their work producing other kinds of analysis and information. Other adopters come from a wide range of settings, such as local government, commercial organisations, think tanks, and the charity sector.

OSR has recently completed a review of our Code of Practice and our voluntary application scheme. The review flagged the importance of demonstrating accountability by those organisations voluntarily applying the Code. We are now developing new ways to strengthen the scheme and to help it grow, working with members of our community of practice.

The UK approach provides a helpful example of the opportunities and challenges facing countries wishing to assess and provide assurance on non-official statistics. In this presentation, we will illustrate the benefits of applying the standards of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value, based on the experiences of some of our voluntary adopters, and share lessons from our experiences so far.