What: Panel discussion: Innovation in official statistics - hype or here to stay?
Who: African Development Bank
When: 8 June 2022, 14:00pm - 15:30 GMT
Where: Virtual - Register here.
The discipline of official statistics is poised for a revolution, with the emergence of data science. In its traditional form, official statistics have been about managing massive outbound and reverse logistics. This was particularly evident when conducting censuses and surveys, as massive numbers of people and materials were sent out to collect data. Previously, these exercises were conducted through paper-based methods, but are now executed with handheld digital instruments.
The digital transformation of official statistics should not stop at the data collection level, however; it should reform the entire production process through the exploitation of new digital means, frameworks, and approaches.
Therefore, the objective of this session will be to discuss:
The risks, challenges and opportunities associated with innovation in official statistics.
The digital and data skills needed by national and international statistical organizations to respond to the changing nature of work and society in the future.
The potential collaborative and open innovation to assist these institutions in the production of "augmented data".
The opportunities for partnership with civil society and stakeholders to implement digital tools and skills.
Shaping an innovation implementation pathway based on best practices and success stories.
Register for the webinar here.
Moderator
Mr. Koua Louis Kouakou
Acting Director, Statistics Department, African Development Bank
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Pali Lehohla is the former Statistician-General of South Africa, a position he held from 2000 up to 2017. Over the years, he has served as the chair of several notable associations and institutions, including PARIS21, the United Nations Statistics Commission, the Statistics Commission of Africa (StatCom Africa), and the African Symposium for Statistical Development. Since 2018, Dr. Lehohla has served as a Research Associate at Oxford University. For the past 20 years, he has also written a weekly column for Business Report that provides a lens on the functioning of society.
Panelists
Mr. Mark Hereward is the Chief Data Officer for UNICEF. Prior to this role, he worked as the Associate Director for Data and Analytics at UNICEF Headquarters and served in various capacities within the UN organization across the globe. Some of his previous positions include Deputy Regional Director for UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa, UNICEF Representative in Azerbaijan, and UNICEF Regional Planning Officer for East Asia and the Pacific. Before joining UNICEF, Mr. Hereward worked as Field-Based Post-Doctoral Research Fellow and Consultant for the Rockefeller Foundation in China.
Mr. Yusuf Murangwa is the Director General of the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. He is a professional statistician and operational researcher with more than 15 years of experience in statistics development. He has worked on a wide scope of statistics, including: labor, education, economic, prices, agriculture, population and censuses, and poverty statistics. Since he became Director General in 2009, he has focused on building the capacity of the national statistics system in Rwanda and advocating for the use of evidence in policy and decision-making. Mr. Murangwa is also playing the leading role in the application of new technology to improve and modernize the national civil registration and vital statistics systems in Rwanda.
Mr. Steve MacFeely is the Director of Data and Analytics at the World Health Organization (WHO). He is also Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Policy Studies at University College Cork in Ireland and the Director of the IASE International Statistical Literacy Program. Before joining WHO, Mr. MacFeely was the Head of Statistics and Information at UNCTAD. He is also co-chair of the Committee of the Chief Statisticians of the UN System (CCS-UN), chairs the Advisory Board of the Statistical Journal of the IAOS, and is a member of the statistical advisory panel to the UNDP Human Development Index and the International Statistics Institute.
Mr. James Tebrake is the Deputy Director of the Statistics Department at the International Monetary Fund. Prior to joining the IMF in August 2019, James held several positions at Statistics Canada, including Assistant Chief Statistician, Economic Statistics and Director General of the Macroeconomic Accounts Branch. Mr. Tebrake is a leading contributor in the development and implementation of international statistical standards; he is member of the Intersecretariat Working Group on National Accounts, former Chair of the UNECE Group of Experts on National Accounts and sits on the bureau of the United Nations Committee on environmental-economic accounting.
Mr. Saurabh Gupta currently leads the Data Strategy practice for ThoughtWorks, a global technology consulting company. Throughout his career, he has worked in the data space in both public and private sectors. Prior to ThoughtWorks, he led the data portfolio for the Washington DC government, Education Agency, where he led their data transformation initiative. He has played similar roles and been part of the international organizations, including IMF and World Bank, and contributed to the statistics community.
