SDMX at United Nations Statistics Division - PowerPoint Presentation

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SDMX at United Nations Statistics Division

Experience, Challenges, StrategiesSlide2

Background

United Nations Statistics Division is an SDMX Sponsor agency

Has used SDMX in its business processes since

2005 (UN Comtrade)Participates in the development of global Data Structure Definitions (DSDs)Uses SDMX in dissemination

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Development of Global Data Structures

Under the auspices of Interagency Expert Group on Millennium Indicators, led the development of DSD for MDG indicators

Participates in the development of DSD for National Accounts

Leads the development of DSD for International Merchandise Trade StatisticsDevelopment of DSD for Demography is in the initial stages

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SDMX Exchange

Exchange of IMTS data between UNSD and

OECD

Pilot project underway to exchange National Accounts data with IMF, Eurostat, OECD; full-scale exchange to be established after the pilotAs part of the UNSD-DfID CountryData

project, exchange of development indicator data was established with 11 countries

Several non-project countries have also joined the exchange

The system has been in production since 2011 and receives new data on a regular basis

SDMX-related modules (mapping, registry) were developed for the

DevInfo

software

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SDMX Dissemination

Commodity Trade web site has disseminated international merchandise trade data since 2005

CountryData

disseminates development indicator data supplied by approximately 100 countriesImplementation of SDMX is underway at UNdata, UNSD’s flagship dissemination platform6 UNdata

datasets are currently available, including World Population Prospects and Millennium Development Goals

Eurostat’s SDMX Reference Infrastructure is used as the engine

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SDMX Issues: Technology

Extensibility

Countries very often wish to extend a standard DSD to customize it for their own needs, while some classifications explicitly provide for user-defined codes.

MetadataIn terms of tools available, limited support for metadata exchange in versions prior to SDMX 2.1

Metadata is often stored and maintained outside of a database, which complicates the automation of metadata exchange.

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SDMX Issues: National Statistical Office

Lack of IT expertise

Many of the developing countries are unfamiliar with SDMX or underlying technologies, as well as with the principles of data modeling.

Lack of established aggregated data processing and dissemination

Many countries do not use databases to store aggregated data, which complicates both reporting and dissemination.

Standards

Not all countries adhere to the latest versions of international classifications.

Lack of coordination between IT and Statisticians

SDMX is often treated as a technology project, and statisticians are not involved to the extent required – or at all.

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SDMX Exchange Issues: International Agency

Complexity of data structures

Global Data

Structure Definitions can be very comprehensive but also difficult to have the countries adopt and use them.Mapping errorsCan

lead to issues such as incorrectly coded or duplicate series, etc. This is a problem even for moderately complex DSDs

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Uncertainty

Scepticism

about SDMX applicability at the global level given its perceived complexity

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SDMX Exchange Solutions:Technology

Further refinement of the standard

Improve support for modern and emerging technological standards.

Better documentationBetter support for metadataNew tools oriented at beginnersImplementing SDMX support for existing tools

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SDMX Exchange Solutions: National Statistical Office

Capacity building with assistance from international agencies

Improving data processing and dissemination

Formulating and implementing aggregated data dissemination strategyUsing standard tools and platformsAs a way to lower the barrier to entry

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SDMX Exchange Solutions:International Agency

Address the complexity of comprehensive data structures

IMTS Working Group (UNSD, Eurostat, OECD, UNCTAD and ITC) broke data exchange into manageable data-flows, which results in less complexity than a single overarching DSD would create.

Support capacity building at national levelSupport further development of the standard

Support further development of tools

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SDMX Exchange: Recent Developments

Many capacity building projects underway (Eurostat, IMF, UNSD, ADB, …)

New tools greatly simplify dissemination and help lower the costs of implementation

SDMX Reference Infrastructure, Fusion Registry, DevInfo

Eurostat’s SDMX

InfoSpace

is an excellent resource to help master the technology

Global DSDs gradually become available

Greater awareness of SDMX and willingness to participate in exchange on the part of both countries and international agencies

Rapidly growing disseminationGlobal SDMX Registry

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SDMX Exchange: The Future

It is expected that SDMX Exchange will be established for Post-2015 development indicators, both with international agencies and countries

Building on MDG and

CountryData experienceOpportunities for capacity building and increasing SDMX adoption rates at country levelBrings to the fore sub-national geography issues

Gradual implementation of exchange with Member States

Reducing reporting burden

Eurotrace

software (used by 80 developing countries) planned

to be adapted for SDMX Exchange in International Merchandise Trade Statistics

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SDMX Exchange: The Future (2)

Expanding dissemination

Not only popularizes SDMX but enables and encourages use of advanced technologies such as API/Web

servicesExpanding exchange using the DevInfo software, available for over 100 countriesSDMX tools developed for the UNSD-DfID

project are now part of the standard

DevInfo

package

Explore the possibilities for the use of SDMX in the context of Data Revolution

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Thank you!

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