2023 Modernisation Projects
(For project updates, please see Modernisation updates)
CONTEXT
With statistical organisations increasingly engaging with new data sources and accelerating efforts in sharing and re-using data, the governance and management of data have become crucial. The interoperability across different data assets and metadata can greatly facilitate data exchange and help statistical organisations address new data needs (e.g., through data integration). Unfortunately, a large part of information in many statistical organisations is managed and governed in silos, making information semantically and synthetically non-interoperable. There is not enough work done on the governance side (e.g., policy, process, capability) which is indispensable to institutionalise the interoperability across the entire organisation.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The main goal of the Statistical Data Governance Framework project is to produce a document describing a reference framework containing the main elements needed to implement a governance program focused on achieving data interoperability. This framework will provide the ability to create, exchange, and use data while preserving its meaning and context independently from a given system or a set of systems. The purpose of this project is to develop a framework describing a set of data governance elements, recommendations, and guidelines to achieve statistical information interoperability.
The main output of the project will be a document containing as its main sections:
- Glossary of core terms that could facilitate the communication and collaboration in the fields of data governance and interoperability
- A framework describing a set of data governance elements required to achieve statistical interoperability which includes (but not limited): organisational elements; data and metadata management; business and legal considerations; data quality; data analysis and dissemination needs; documentation and transparency; capabilities, culture and skills, and Information Technologies aspects
- Recommendations and guidelines on how to start achieving interoperability in statistical organisations and national statistical systems; in particular how we can apply the existing models and standards (e.g., GSBPM, GSIM, CSPA, SDMX, DDI, CSDA, COOS, FAIR) to achieve interoperability
Participation is open to staff from statistical organisations and others interested in Official Statistics. Please contact the UNECE secretariat if you wish to participate in the project.
CONTEXT
Many NSOs are adopting Cloud approaches to a varied degree. It can directly contribute to modernising statistical production, and complements themes explored previously/currently under the HLG, such as Big Data, privacy-preserving techniques and governance, and may have synergies with current work on Data Science and Machine Learning. NSOs will benefit from informed approaches.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The objective is to develop a set of guidelines and recommendations, across multiple themes, to assist each statistical organisation on their cloud adoption journey. The initial five themes that were identified are:
- Common set of Considerations needed relating to the procurement of Cloud Services, assessing areas such as intellectual property, migration to another provider / vendor lock-in/ exit strategy / terms and conditions.
- Understanding the behavioural nudges needed to adopt cloud. This theme will review indigenous/minority people’s perspectives on Cloud, public perception, Data Sovereignty, challenges relating to convincing an organisation’s executive board to approve the use of Cloud Services, the impact of cloud use on the official statistics brand.
- The types of Cloud service models and services which exist, and which are suitable for organisations in which context. Topics for consideration include Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a service, Software as a Service, Hybrid Cloud, Public Cloud, Private Cloud
- Explore the security and privacy considerations relating to the use of Cloud which may enhance or inhibit its adoption across statistical organisations
- The skillsets needed for the utilisation Cloud. Topics for review will include staff retraining efforts needed, the challenge for public sector organisations in a competitive marketplace for Cloud skills, and how could knowledge be shared between organisations.
Participation is open to staff from statistical organisations and others interested in Official Statistics. Please contact the UNECE secretariat if you wish to participate in the project.
CONTEXT
The ModernStats Carpentries project draws from the lessons learned in the context of the 2022 Meta Academy project (see the short Annex explaining the main takeaways from the Meta Academy project, including a definition of the gaps and potential capabilities that would make for a Meta Academy, and how the Carpentries initiative is well positioned to support them).
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the project is to pilot a partnership with the Carpentries organization to create the ModernStats Carpentry. The Carpentries are a non-profit organization, registered in the US, funded by membership and workshop fees, and grants from donors. Their vision is to be the “leading inclusive community teaching data and coding skills.” In order to engage[1] with the Carpentries, the HLG-MOS and/or member organizations will need to pay a membership fee; however, in the context of a ModernStats Carpentry, participating organisations could organise as many trainings as they wish (within national context or in the context of a cross-national initiative) at no fee; also, all Carpentries contents and training materials (data samples, codes, documents, etc.) are open and free under CC license, stored in the open Github platform, and can be reused at no cost
The Carpentries business model addresses several of the needs identified in the Meta Academy project in the following ways:
- A common understanding of the training needs, a shared methodology or pedagogic approach to create learning content:
- A forum or community for ‘academy managers’ or ‘trainers’
- A forum and method to ensure training content and delivery evolve with the industry.
WP 1 will focus on repurposing existing Carpentries content for select key personas within statistical agencies as well as exploring how to put traditional official statistics courses into the Carpentries framework. WP2 will explore membership, collaboration and organizational models between the HLG-MOS and the Carpentries.
Participation is open to staff from statistical organisations and others interested in Official Statistics. Please contact the UNECE secretariat if you wish to participate in the project.
Previous Modernisation Projects
For project outputs, please see HLG-MOS Outputs
Earlier Projects (no text):