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Identifying Data Needs:
Workshop on Household Surveys and Measurement of Labour Force with Focus on Informal Economy
Maseru, Lesotho, 14-18 April 2008
User-Producer Collaboration
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Overview
• Introduction
• Benefits of user-producer collaboration
• Scope of user-producer collaboration
• Identifying key users
• Bringing producers to the table
• Collaboration arrangements
• Challenges
• Current practices among SADC countries
• Concluding remarks
• Discussion points
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Introduction
• Scope of data collection often pre-determined with limited data needs assessment
• Wealth of data collected but relevance is limited or little understood by users
• Data collected but not tabulated to address specific needs
• Limited resources to conduct extensive data analysis• Dissemination strategies reach selected audiences• Lack of awareness by users about data availability• Data collected not fully utilized
Common problems faced by data producers
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Benefits of user-producer collaboration
• Identify and prioritize key issues and data needs
• Identify relevant policy documents
• Improve relevance of data collected
• Identify strengths and weaknesses of data
• Improve quality of data collected
• Improve relevance and quality of statistical publications and other products
• Improve users’ understanding of data collected
• Develop more realistic expectations among users
• Improve use of data in the design, monitoring and assessment of policies and programmes
• Promote partnerships for data analysis
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Scope of user-producer collaboration
Effective user-producer collaboration requires
• Continuous two-way collaboration throughout data production process
– Understand users’ needs
– Learn to communicate in the language of users
– Bring statistics to different technical levels
– Make producers’ constraints known
– Respond to and appreciate feedback
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Data production process
Scope of user-producer collaboration
Define issues
Identify statistical
needs
Identify gaps
Supportanalysis
Identifygaps
Feedback onproductsQuestionnaire
design
Concepts andmethods
User-producer dialogue
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Identify key users
• Planners• Managers• Researchers• Legislators• Workers’ advocates• Women’s advocates• Programme designers• Policy and decision makers• Media• International organizations,
development partners, bilateral aid agencies
• Ministries• Women’s machineries• Universities• Research centers• Non-governmental organizations• National, sub-national associations• Regional networks• Private corporations• Regional and international
organizations• Trainings, conferences
Who Where
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Know your users
• Understand their needs and requirements• Appreciate their special skills and potentials• Determine how best to capitalize on those skills
Users
Aware of gender issues Not aware of gender issues
Trained in statistics
Trained in statistics
Not trained in statistics
Not trained in statistics
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Develop a strong user network
• Develop and maintain list of data users and organize them by:– Geographic location, organization type, main
interests, strengths
• Keep users abreast of developments• Keep log of user requests• Set up clear and efficient system for users to
contact your office
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Bringing producers to the table
• Maximize in-house knowledge and resources• Strengthen collaboration across units and
institutions involved in production of official statistics
• Increase synergies between work-plans and programmes
• Increase awareness of strengths, resources available, and constraints
• Develop coherent information infrastructure
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Bringing producers to the table
• Statisticians– Labour– Gender– National accounts– Economics– Education
• Accountants– National accountants
• Information custodians– Administrative data– Business registers
• National statistical offices• Ministries• Enterprises
Who Where
Consider those inside and outside your unit within your institution and in other institutions
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Collaboration arrangements
• Informal discussions• Individual consultations• Request for comments, feedback on draft materials• Technical workshops, seminars
– Data analysis– Report Drafting
• Meetings of consultative/advisory committees• Dissemination workshops• Establishment of a statistics user-producer association
Key: keep continuous communication with a diverse user base through multiple channels
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Challenges
• Managing the wide range of users
• Reconciling different interests and purposes
• Responding to varying levels of understanding of technical issues and gender awareness
• Meeting diversity of needs
• Time/scheduling conflicts
• Institutionalizing the process
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Current practices among SADC countries
Has your NSO identified key labour issues and gender issues in the labour market for which statistics are needed that you are currently working on?
Labour issues Gender issues in labour market
Yes 11 5
No 2 8
NR 1 1
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Current practices among SADC countries
Is there a focal point, unit, desk, or advisory, steering, or working group on gender statistics in your NSO?
Gender statistics
focal point/group
Yes 7
No 6
NR 1
If yes, areas of collaboration
•Little, ad-hoc•Questionnaire design•Publications•Tabulation•Data analysis•Staff training•Assess availability of gender statistics•Recommend improvements
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Current practices among SADC countries
User-producer collaboration to identify key issues in labour market or gender issues in labour market for which data are needed.
User-producer
collaboration
Yes 7
No 6
NR 1
If yes, format
•Project/survey oriented•Consultative meetings•User workshops
–Consensus building–Dissemination
•Regular symposium•Regular communication•Review of data requests
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Current practices among SADC countries
If yes, purpose
•Questionnaire review•Gender analysis and report writing •Help stakeholders understand data•Strategic planning for data collection•Mobilize funds•Promote dialogue•Assessment of data relevance•Identify priority areas, data needs, and government programmes needing monitoring
User-producer collaboration
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Current practices among SADC countries
If yes, members
•Various data producers•Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs•Planners•Business institutions•Political authorities•Researchers, academic Staff •NGOs, advocacy groups
•Development partners
User-producer collaboration
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Current practices among SADC countries
Degree of interaction with National Women’s Machinery
National Women’s
Machinery
Yes, regularly 2
Yes, occasionally 4
No 6
NR 1
If yes, areas of collaboration
•Input in questionnaire•Data collection•Analysis•Stakeholder meetings
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Current practices among SADC countries
Collaboration with other institutions
Yes
Regularly Occasionally No N/A
Ministry of Labour/NSO 8 5 0 0
Ministry of Planning 6 4 3 0
Business Chamber 1 1 11 0
Research Institutions 2 7 4 0
Academic Institutions 3 6 4 0
Other: National workers association, Treasury, Reserve Bank, Development partners, International org.
5 1 0 0
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Current practices among SADC countries
• Some degree of collaboration with users, but• Scope of interaction is limited to specific activities• Focuses primarily in questionnaire review, data
dissemination and data requests• Limited on-going communication to identify issues and
improve overall production process • Interaction is primarily with key producers of statistics and
planners, but• Limited interaction with researchers and academic
institutions• Poor interaction with main gender stakeholders
– Gender statistics units/group in-house– National Women’s Machineries
Summary
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Concluding Remarks
• Institutionalizing user-producer collaboration is central to improve the relevance and quality of official statistics
• Engaging gender stakeholders in-house and externally is central to improving understanding of gender issues and quality of data
• Collaboration needs to be bi-directional, we all have something to give and learn
• It is part of the planning process to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the national statistical infrastructure
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Reflection Points
• How can we improve user-producer dialogue?• How can we extend our network of producers
and users? Who are we not yet talking to?• How can we reach out and establish contact?• What can we learn from users?• What challenges do we expect?
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Thank you !
