Workshop on Measuring and Comparing the Quality of Life within Europe Professor Denise Lievesley...

Workshop on Measuring and Comparing the Quality of Life

within EuropeProfessor Denise LievesleyHead of School of Social Science and Public Policy, King’s College London andChair, European Statistical Advisory Committee

The European Statistical Advisory

Committee

European Statistics Code of Practice 2005

PRINCIPLE 11: RELEVANCEEuropean statistics must meet the needs of users.- Processes are in place to consult users, monitor the relevance and practical utility ofexisting statistics in meeting their needs, and advise on their emerging needs andpriorities.– Priority needs are being met and reflected in the work programme.– User satisfaction surveys are undertaken periodically.

Brussels January 2013 3


The ESAC – Mandate

Committee shall assist the European Parliament / Council / Commission in ensuring that user requirements and the costs borne by information providers and producers are taken into account in coordinating the strategic objectives and priorities of the Community’s statistical information policy

Inaugural meeting on June 2009


The ESAC – Tasks

OPINIONon Community statistical programme, in particular on its

relevance to requirements of European integration relevance to Community activities balance as regards priorities and resources and possibility to re-prioritise statistical work

adequacy of resources for its implementation and appropriateness to users’ needs

costs and possibilities of reducing response burdenown-initiative opinions/reports on user requirements and costs borne by data providers


The ESAC – Tasks (continued)

ADVICE Point out necessary new statistical

activities Advise the Commission how to

improve the relevance of Community statistics to users


Relations with Community institutions/other bodies

At request of the EP/Council/Commission, ESAC shall deliver an opinion relating to user requirements and costs incurred by data suppliers in

development of the Community’s statistical information policy

priorities of the Community statistical programme evaluation of existing statistics data quality and dissemination policy


The ESAC – TOOLS

Plenary meetings Establishment of temporary working

parties Commission of studies Organisation of seminars

For more information: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/

portal/page/portal/esac/introduction


The ESAC – Composition

24 members, appointed for 5 years, renewable once:

12 appointed by Commission

• users• respondents

• other stakeholders

11 directly appointed by

• European Parliament • Council

• Eur. Economic and Social Committee• Committee of the Regions• European Central Bank

• ESSC (2 members)• Businesseurope

• ETUC • UEAPME

• Eur. Data Protection SupervisorDirector-General of ESTAT

Importance of partnership between official statisticians and a broader ‘user’ community

Building trust – a prerequisite for the collection and use of data

Advocating for the resources Sharing data – not all collected by

official agencies Creating expertise, adding value Communicating the data (even if they

are uncomfortable for our governments) Building statistically literate

communities 10Brussels January 2013

Welcome this consultation

What are the needs for data across Europe which focus on the quality of life?

What do we mean by the quality of life? What data already exist which can be utilised? How do we measure quality of life? Who will use the data and for what purposes? How will the data be made available?

11Brussels January 2013

European dimension

Understanding needs for European data

Influencing the decisions concerning European practice

Sharing experiences across countries


Purposes of cross-national (ie European)data

To aggregate across national boundaries for a regional picture which meets European policy needs and which provides a resource for European research

To learn from one another (contrast and similarity)

To build a greater global understanding through comparison

To accelerate progress through sharing resources

To make research more credible/ defensible To distance the research from the political

process (tension – policy relevance v. autonomy)


We already have a rich array of data describing the social circumstances of our populations

Over-attention on economic variables to the exclusion of others

Over-attention on nation as unit of analysis


Evidence that inequalities within our societies are growing, exacerbated by the recessions

Leading to disruption and insecurity Countries with the greatest homogeneity achieve

the most Why should the poor and disadvantaged, whether in

rich or poor countries, not have the opportunities to experience positive emotions and life satisfaction?


Concern about an unrelenting pursuit of growth

At the expense of the poorest And of the environment(the two are interconnected)


What you measure matters


Sridhar Venkatapuram there is now political interest in developing new indicators to

assess how well or poorly the lives of citizens are going that are more informative than macro-economic indicators such as GDP.

there have been advances in measurement techniques to more efficiently capture people’s daily experiences of emotions.

researchers are identifying different dimensions or kinds of subjective wellbeing, and their links to health, mortality, productivity, cost-savings and environmental sustainability.

economists and policy makers see potential for using subjective wellbeing data in policy design, monitoring and evaluation of programs, and to better target scarce resources.

there is excitement about the potential for behavioural economics research--the psychology of decision making under uncertainty--to inform the design of wellbeing public policy.


Better utilisation of what we have

Fresh data collection takes time and resources

Current financial constraints are impacting upon our ability to collect new data

Secondary data analysis can take place in resource–constrained (including a time-constrained) environment

Compliance costs important especially in small countries and in surveys of elites, businesses, institutions


Conclusion

So essential to build policies in our countries which address the quality of life of our citizens as well as environmental degradation

Developments must be underpinned by sound statistical methodology

Partnership with user community is vital to build the trust necessary to enhance our understanding of the progress of our societies


Workshop on Measuring and Comparing the Quality of Life within Europe Professor Denise Lievesley...

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