- 2010 OECS Population and Housing Census;
- OECS Labour Force Survey;
- OECS Multi-Poverty Measurement Framework;
- OECS Labour Administration Application;
- OECS Info;
- OECS Education Statistics Digest.
II thank the development partners who have helped in this regard – CDB, UNECLAC, World Bank, EU, UNDP, ILO, UNICEF to name a few.
The OECS Member States have also standardised the use of computer-aided devices for e-collection of data from households and businesses. This change from paper to tablets promises to reduce the time from data collection to data dissemination; and to significantly enhance the quality of the statistical product. This innovation is very promising.
Much more, however, remains to be done. We need to tap into new sources of data – big data; social media data and open data; widen the scope, such as collecting disability, youth and gender disaggregated data; deepen the details so that we get to micro issues; and increase the frequency so that we address current and emerging development issues and other social and environmental phenomena when and where it is occurring; and whom and what it is affecting.
Fourth, it is an occasion to broadcast our plans to address the data gaps, capacity weaknesses; user satisfaction; and to dispel myths about the intention of the statistical business process that frustrate efforts to collect the raw data.
The urgency for bringing about needed change justifies why the Commission is uniquely well-placed to help the Member States overcome perennial statistical development challenges.
Official statistics are organic as their characteristics respond to external triggers and environmental conditions. Political ideologies inscribed in manifestos; regional regimes such as free movement of people; and global initiatives such as 2030 Agenda influence which statistics are produced.
The importance of investing in statistical capacity can no longer be procrastinated by policy-makers.
In that regard, our collective resources and capacity to make available and accessible the relevant quality statistics has to be continuously measured, updated and modernised.
Fifth, observance of Caribbean Statistics Day sends a clear message to all partners in statistics – national, regional and global, about our resolve and commitment to rollout a bold and broad transformative agenda for official statistics - our pledge to produce and disseminate objective evidence that comes from us, about us and for us - to develop our societies in a single economic and financial space.
Finally, and above all else, we must ensure that official statistics are used by policy-makers and politicians, and also by entrepreneurs and investors, by national development workers, and by citizens themselves – constantly, proudly and responsibly. Once they are available and accessible, then there is no excuse for not using them.
New technologies are offering easy and fast ways to disseminate, mine and interrogate these data. We now have tools and techniques that can support fascinating exposition of trends, patterns; and phenomena; geographically locating them at the community, district/parish, national or electoral constituency level – where it is happening, vividly and tangibly.
Geo-visualisation integrates geospatial data and official statistics to make them “alive” and almost immediately actionable using images such as infographics and maps.
By making use of these and other new information and communication technologies in a networked single financial and economic space - where no one dominates and everyone can and should play a part - we can multiply the power of our knowledge; intensify our efforts to deepen integration; and the share the benefits of our success.
In so doing, we can realise an accelerated pace at arriving at the day we can have truly achieve a data-smart society.
Join me now in celebrating Caribbean Statistics Day as we trumpet our achievements despite severe resource constraints, and commit to pushing through to produce the statistics that are indispensable for our economic and social well-being; and for a sustainable environment. Thank you.