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Welcome back to INGEST, our new blog series on integrating geospatial and statistical data.
Our last post introduced you to the concept of data integration and explained why it is important (which you can access here: Welcome to INGEST, our new blog on integrating geospatial and statistical data).
Following on from this introduction, we will now delve a little deeper and introduce you to the key players who have been driving the greater integration of geospatial and statistical data at international, regional and national levels, and bring you up to speed on recent developments in the field of data integration.
So, who are the key players in the quest for greater data integration?
Global efforts to drive the greater integration of geospatial and statistical data have been going on for more than a decade and have been centred on the work of the United Nations and its various divisions and bodies, particularly the UN Statistics Division and the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). From this global stage, data integration activities have been increasingly extended and adapted to different regional contexts. In Europe, for example, this work is led by four key players: UNECE, Eurostat, UN-GGIM: Europe, and the European Forum for Geography and Statistics. There are also great examples of data integration activities within the national statistical and geospatial organisations which are supporting other countries who are not so advanced to their data integration journeys.
The key players, at international, regional and national levels, are outlined in the diagram below:
A summary of each of the main organisations and bodies is outlined in the table below. If you would like to find out more, please click on the links provided.
| Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) | One of the six main bodies of the United Nations whose role is to advance the three elements of sustainable development - the economy, society and the environment. It is described as a "central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals". |
| United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) | A functional commission of ECOSOC which forms the highest decision-making body for international statistical activities and oversees the work of the United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD). It is responsible for the "setting of statistical standards and the development of concepts and methods, including their implementation at the national and international level". |
| United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) | One of five regional commissions established by ECOSOC whose main aim is to promote pan-European economic integration. It includes 56 member states from across Europe, North America and Asia and over 70 international professional organisations and non-governmental organisations are involved in UNECE activities. |
| UNECE Statistical Division | UNECE's Statistical Division helps national statistical systems meet their data requirements for the 2030 Agenda through the provision of methodological guidance, modernisation activities and capacity development. It brings together experts from across the statistical community to "promote efficiencies and innovative ways to tackle persistent and emerging challenges in official statistics". |
| Conference of European Statisticians (CES) | CES brings together leading statisticians from over 60 countries to drive statistical work through the provision of guidelines and recommendations, the setting of standards for statistical production, the global assessment of national statistical systems, and the completion of in-depth reviews to identify and respond to emerging issues. UNECE provides the Secretariat to CES. |
| United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) | The leading intergovernmental body regarding the use of geospatial information, acting as a forum for coordination, decision-making and setting direction for the production, accessibility and use of geospatial information within global, regional and national policy frameworks. |
| UN-GGIM: Europe | One of five regional committees which operates within the broader scope of UN-GGIM whose role is to identify European issues relevant to geospatial information management and recommend necessary actions to maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits of European geospatial information management. |
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) | An overarching body which upholds the development pillar of the United Nations, is guided by the 2030 Agenda, and is home to the SDGs. It provides intergovernmental support and capacity development work and is described as the "think tank of the UN", generating, analysing and compiling a wide range of data and statistics on related themes that enable Member States to assess and tackle common social, economic and environmental problems. |
| United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) | Sits within UN DESA with the aim to advance the global statistical system by compiling and sharing global statistical information, developing standards and norms for statistical activities, supporting countries in the strengthening of national statistical systems, and coordinating international statistical programmes and activities. |
| European Commission | The European Commission (EC) is part of the executive of the European Union (EU) whose role is to help shape the overall strategy of the EU, develop new EU legal and policy frameworks, monitor their implementation, and manage the EU budget including associated funding programmes. It also plays a central role in international relations, supporting international development and the delivery of aid. |
| Eurostat | The statistical authority of the EU, providing high-quality statistics and data on Europe in partnership with national statistical institutions and other bodies across Europe through the mechanism of the European Statistical System (ESS). It coordinates the statistical activities of the ESS to ensure the quality and consistency of data in accordance with the European Statistics Code of Practice. Eurostat has also been progressing the statistical and geospatial data integration agenda through activities relating to GISCO, the Geographic Information System of the Commission. |
| European Forum for Geography and Statistics (EFGS) | Set up as a voluntary cooperation between National Statistical Institutions (NSIs) in the Nordic countries in 1998, but has expanded to over 40 states and territories, and focuses on the development of best practices in the production of geostatistics in Europe and is home to the GEOSTAT projects (more on that below). |
What about recent developments in the field of data integration?
Activities to progress the greater integration of geospatial and statistical data have been going on for more than a decade and some of the highlights are provided below.
At a global level:
- UN-GGIM's Expert Group on the Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information whose role is to raise awareness and promote the importance of integrated statistical and geospatial information to support decision-making and policy development across all political levels. Their work includes the development of the Global Statistical Geospatial Framework which was adopted by the Committee of Experts at their ninth session as a bridge to facilitate the integration of a range of data from both the statistical and geospatial communities. At their tenth session, the Committee of Experts also adopted the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework to assist countries in the development and enhancement of their own geospatial information management processes. We will delve into these frameworks in more detail in later posts.
- The Global Forum for Geography and Statistics (GFGS) which acts as a global network on geography and statistics to present, share and discuss new ideas and best practice relating to geospatial and statistical data. The GFGS, in collaboration with UNECE and EFTA, currently run a series of coffee talks. See here for more information including details on upcoming talks.
At a regional level:
- UN-GGIM: Europe's Working Group on Data Integration which focuses on the integration of geospatial data with other information including statistical data, and is currently running webinar series on data integration. See here for upcoming events.
- Eurostat's activities relating to GISCO (the Geographic Information System of the COmmission) which includes coordinating Commission-wide geographic information activities, promoting the use of geospatial data within the European Statistical System, chairing a working group on the integration of statistical and geospatial information, and overseeing annuals funding calls for project proposals relating to data integration.
- The European Forum for Geography and Statistics (EFGS) who have worked in collaboration with Eurostat on the GEOSTAT Projects which have focused on the development of common guidelines for grid-based and geospatial statistics for use by national statistical and geospatial organisations to promote the greater integration of statistical and geospatial data across the EU. The GEOSTAT 4 project has conceptualised and interpreted the Global Statistical Geospatial Framework within the European context, publishing GSGF Europe in 2021.
- UNECE's High-Level Group for the Modernisation of Official Statistics (HLG-MOS) whose role is to advance the modernisation of official statistics. They have published a Guide to Data Integration for Official Statistics as well as a Geospatial View of Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GeoGSBPM). UNECE has also recently embarked on a new project to produce internationally agreed guidance for the next round of censuses in 2030 under a number of key themes including technology, looking at GIS data and related approaches, and geospatial information and small area statistics for censuses which will further promote the data integration agenda within a global update of international guidance for censuses. See here for more information.
Next time . . .
We will present some results from the recent UNECE Survey on the Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information which was undertaken as part of an EU-funded project to develop capacity in geospatial and statistical data integration across the UNECE region. More on the project and the survey results soon!
This document was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
