EUROSTAT
Directorate A:Cooperation in the European Statistical System;International cooperation;Resources
RDG 2016/item number10/EN
5th Meeting of the
ESS ResourceDirectors Group
Luxembourg, 27-28 June 2016
Guiding methodological principles for the 2nd round of the Cost assessment survey of production of statistics
inthe MSs and EFTA countries
Items10of the Agenda
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Guiding methodological principles for the 2nd round of theCost assessment survey of production of statistics in the MSs and EFTA countries
1.Recommendation for action by the RDG
The RDGis invited toapprove the proposed guiding principles for the 2nd round of the Cost assessment survey in the MSs and EFTA countries and agree to the next steps.
2.Cost assessment surveyon official statistics
2.1.Background
The first cost assessment survey on official statistics was launched at the end of May 2015 by Eurostat, as a follow up of thediscussions held by a small group of Director Generals of NSIs and Eurostat in the 'Vienna meeting'.The survey was aimed at better assessing the resources used for production of official statistics by NSIs and ONAs; recognizing the need of supporting initiatives improving statistical infrastructures in order to ensure appropriate funding. The survey was addressed to the Member States as well as to the EFTA countries.
All Member States and EFTA countries contributed to this exercise and submitted data on financial and human resources for the time period 2010-2014.Preliminary results presented in the June RDG meeting (a room document) reflected on the existing gaps in the survey methodology, in particular as concerns data coverage.Therefore, the survey results have been treated as confidential and used for discussions by ESS RDG only.
The December RDG recognized a need for further harmonization of methodological issues and agreed on them in the June RDG meeting.
In order to ensure a consistent approach, the methodology of the two projects on costs (“cost assessment survey” and the “cost analysis of European statistics by products)” is aligned as much as possible.
2.2.Guiding methodological principles
The aim of the 2nd round cost assessment survey is to collect information on the cost of production of official statistics in the ESS as precise as possible so that at the end the ESS has two figures: total cost and total FTE incurred by the ESS for the production of official statistics. Better harmonization of the methodologies should also lead sharing the survey results inside the ESS.
The RDG discussed a number of methodological issues in its meeting in December 2015. It was proposed to elaborate a set of principles which will guide the countries in the 2nd round of the cost assessment survey. 11 NSIs (Slovenia, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Germany, Estonia, Portugal, Croatia, and Slovakia) volunteered to work on methodological issues and provided comments on the proposals elaborated by Eurostat.
Majority of the countries positively reacted to the proposed principles. However, they also expressed some concerns, which are mainly linked to the coverage of the survey, in particular coverage of ONAs. Questions were raised in relation to the research programmes as well as other big activities undertaken by the NSIs, such as elections.
Thesecond round surveywill be based on the agreed guiding principles (Annex 1)and will cover official statistics for the period 2012-2015. Submitteddata on costs and FTE will include the NSIs (including regional offices) and ONAs. It will be based on national currencies and follow the accrual accounting principles.The reference period will be the calendar year.Non-recurrent expenditures (e.g. Census or Research) will be included as well.
Taking into consideration that the situation differs in the countries in terms of ONAs, regional offices, accounting principles, Eurostat strongly encourages the NSIs to provide with the best possible estimate on human/financial resources.
Based on the results the 2nd cost assessment survey the RDG will decide whether the survey should be conducted on an annual basis with the view to follow the developmentsof human/financial resources in the ESS.
2.3.Next steps
Based on the conclusions of the June RDG, the2nd round of the cost assessment survey will be launched in early July (Annex1).
NSIs will be asked to provide the figures on costsfor official statistics for 2012-2015. To have a complete picture of the cost for production of official statistics in the ESS, Eurostat data on human and financial resources will be also included.
The table below summarizes the deliverables and milestones for the 2nd round of the cost assessment survey in the MSs and EFTA countries.
Who / What / WhenNSIs andEurostat / Agree to the guiding methodological principles in ESS RDG / 27-28 June 2016
Eurostat / Launch of a second round
of cost assessment survey / Early July 2016
NSIs / Complete the survey questionnaire / By the end of September 2016
Eurostat / Analyse the survey questionnaire / October – November 2016
Eurostat / Present the survey results
to the ESS RDG / Next RDG meeting
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