Workshop aims to show why data is important

A TWO-day workshop in Port Moresby aims to convince government agencies about the importance of providing data which are needed for planning national development.
National Statistical Office acting head of corporate services Paiwa Bogella told The National at the Statistical Stakeholders workshop that stakeholders needed to understand that under the Statistical Act, they were at liberty to provide administrative data.
“There has to be collaboration between the National Statistical Office and the (government) agencies so that data is made available to all users,” he said.
Bogella said the lack of collaboration with government agencies and other statistical stakeholders impeded the process of providing timely statistics.
He said collecting data though surveys was a very costly exercise and it would be more efficient and less costly to have government departments and agencies provide administrative data.
“We want to cut down on costs and use what is available,” he said.
“That is the administrative data of these government agencies and departments.
What is important is for all stakeholders in the statistical system is to work together to make data available for all users.”
Bogella said the workshop was attended by officers from Health, Education and National Planning.
Bogella said private sector organisations were also key providers of data.
He said the challenge with the private sector companies was the response time.
“When we send out questionnaires to them, we don’t get timely responses.
They need to understand that the information we require is vital for development planning,” he said.