Decision No 2367/2002/EC of the European\nParliament and of the Council on the Community statistical\nprogramme 2003 to 2007 (CSP) was adopted on 16 December 2002.\nThe programme was to be guided by the principal Community policy\npriorities of economic and monetary union, European Union\nenlargement and competitiveness, sustainable development and the\nsocial agenda. It was structured around the objectives of\nEurostat's mission statement, of high-quality statistics for all\nEU-policy purposes and of the efficient use of resources and\nbudgetary implementation.
\nThis document constitutes the required evaluation\nreport on the implementation of the programme. It is based on the\nmid-term evaluation prepared by Eurostat in 2006 and on a report\nprovided by an external evaluation company as required in Article 4\nof the CSP.
\nThe report presents the main findings concerning the\nachievements of the objectives stated in the programme. The\nCommission points out that almost all the objectives were\naccomplished. It emphasises the demonstrated ability of the\nEuropean Statistical System (ESS) to ensure that new and emerging\npolicy needs were underpinned with additional statistical\ninformation. Furthermore, a multiannual programme on the\nmodernisation of European Enterprise and Trade statistics was\nprepared. This progress was possible due to intensive work on\nissuing new or revising legislation and by developing and\nimplementing new methodologies and tools. A relatively large number\nof activities concentrated on quality assurance and on the\ndevelopment of the ESS as well as the development and\nimplementation of the Code of Practice, the opening of free access\nto all Eurostat statistical data on its web-site and actions linked\nto better priority setting and reducing the response\nburden.
\nIn this context, the following recommendations\nwere drawn up by the independent experts during the evaluation of\nthis CSP:
\nImprove the link between the CSP and annual work\nprogrammes: the CSP is designed to be\na framework programme formulating a strategic vision for five years\nand ensuring, together with the annual work programmes, the CSP's\nflexibility and relevance over the entire period. In using the CSP\nas a reference, the annual work programmes should make explicit\nmention of and be based on the respective CSP. Key objectives\nincluded in the CSP should be reflected in corresponding\nhierarchical objectives in the annual programmes. This will make it\npossible to use the full potential of both kinds of programme and\nensure better monitoring of the strategic objectives.
\nImprove the monitoring of CSP\nimplementation: a number of\nmonitoring instruments already exist in Eurostat, such as\nmonitoring of data quality, the website, compliance with legal\nacts, user satisfaction surveys and staff opinion surveys. However,\nthese instruments are not part of an integrated system yet and,\nmoreover; there is no monitoring of the CSP in terms of objectives.\nOverall monitoring of the CSP should be implemented by defining a\nkey set of indicators that provide sufficient information on the\nachievement of operational and strategic objectives over the\nprogramme period. Monitoring activities in place should be\nstreamlined and integrated into a system of monitoring.
\nBalance demand and resources: Eurostat has the task of being the intermediary\nbetween the main users at the European level (mainly other\nCommission services) and NSIs and other providers of national\ninformation. Together with those, many instruments were put in\nplace to increase the efficiency of working together. The demand\nfor frequent and detailed data expressed by users will increase in\nthe future because of the launch of new policies and the monitoring\nneeds for implementation and evaluation of ongoing policies.\nHowever, there is a limit to using further productivity gains in\nthe ESS to continuously fulfil the increasing demand for\nsophisticated and complex data. This situation requires strategic\nreflection regarding demand, combined with modernisation of\nproduction systems and further harmonisation of processes and\npossibly an increase in (human and financial) resources throughout\nthe ESS. Efforts should be deployed to address this ESS-wide\nchallenge by improving priority-setting, simplifying legislation,\nevaluating the impacts of new demand beforehand and reviewing\nresource needs.
\nFurther enhance trust and partnership in the\nESS: trust and partnership between\nthe different stakeholders is crucial for the well functioning of\nthe ESS. Eurostat as the intermediary between the NSIs and the\nCommission services is faced with sometimes opposing interests from\nthe different actors in the system. Several bodies and\ninstitutionalised instruments exist to stimulate dialogue among all\nactors and thus create trust and foster partnership. This trust and\npartnership form the cornerstone of the system and Eurostat should\ncontinue to reinforce them in the future.
\nThis Commission staff working document contains the\nexecutive summary of the evaluation report on the Community\nstatistical programme (CSP) 2003-2007 which was conducted over a\nperiod of 13 months, starting in October 2007. In March 2008, an\ninterim evaluation report was submitted which presented facts and\nfactual trends, but no evaluative conclusions. In the ensuing\nperiod, more qualitative information was gathered and processed.\nThis whole process resulted in an evaluation report, of which this\ndocument is the executive summary.
\nThe summary provides an overview of the main findings\nin relation to: (i) the relevance of the programme; (ii) progress\nof activities; (iii) user satisfaction and user needs; (iv)\ndevelopment of the European Statistical System (ESS) and\nsubsidiarity; (v) staff and internal productivity; (vi) dialogue\nand interaction between users and partners; (vii) quality of\nproducts and services; and (viii) monitoring of\nimplementation.
\nThe evaluation also gives rise to the following main\nrecommendations:
\nDecision No 2367/2002/EC of the European\nParliament and of the Council on the Community statistical\nprogramme 2003 to 2007 (CSP) was adopted on 16 December 2002.\nThe programme was to be guided by the principal Community policy\npriorities of economic and monetary union, European Union\nenlargement and competitiveness, sustainable development and the\nsocial agenda. It was structured around the objectives of\nEurostat's mission statement, of high-quality statistics for all\nEU-policy purposes and of the efficient use of resources and\nbudgetary implementation.
\nThis document constitutes the required evaluation\nreport on the implementation of the programme. It is based on the\nmid-term evaluation prepared by Eurostat in 2006 and on a report\nprovided by an external evaluation company as required in Article 4\nof the CSP.
\nThe report presents the main findings concerning the\nachievements of the objectives stated in the programme. The\nCommission points out that almost all the objectives were\naccomplished. It emphasises the demonstrated ability of the\nEuropean Statistical System (ESS) to ensure that new and emerging\npolicy needs were underpinned with additional statistical\ninformation. Furthermore, a multiannual programme on the\nmodernisation of European Enterprise and Trade statistics was\nprepared. This progress was possible due to intensive work on\nissuing new or revising legislation and by developing and\nimplementing new methodologies and tools. A relatively large number\nof activities concentrated on quality assurance and on the\ndevelopment of the ESS as well as the development and\nimplementation of the Code of Practice, the opening of free access\nto all Eurostat statistical data on its web-site and actions linked\nto better priority setting and reducing the response\nburden.
\nIn this context, the following recommendations\nwere drawn up by the independent experts during the evaluation of\nthis CSP:
\nImprove the link between the CSP and annual work\nprogrammes: the CSP is designed to be\na framework programme formulating a strategic vision for five years\nand ensuring, together with the annual work programmes, the CSP's\nflexibility and relevance over the entire period. In using the CSP\nas a reference, the annual work programmes should make explicit\nmention of and be based on the respective CSP. Key objectives\nincluded in the CSP should be reflected in corresponding\nhierarchical objectives in the annual programmes. This will make it\npossible to use the full potential of both kinds of programme and\nensure better monitoring of the strategic objectives.
\nImprove the monitoring of CSP\nimplementation: a number of\nmonitoring instruments already exist in Eurostat, such as\nmonitoring of data quality, the website, compliance with legal\nacts, user satisfaction surveys and staff opinion surveys. However,\nthese instruments are not part of an integrated system yet and,\nmoreover; there is no monitoring of the CSP in terms of objectives.\nOverall monitoring of the CSP should be implemented by defining a\nkey set of indicators that provide sufficient information on the\nachievement of operational and strategic objectives over the\nprogramme period. Monitoring activities in place should be\nstreamlined and integrated into a system of monitoring.
\nBalance demand and resources: Eurostat has the task of being the intermediary\nbetween the main users at the European level (mainly other\nCommission services) and NSIs and other providers of national\ninformation. Together with those, many instruments were put in\nplace to increase the efficiency of working together. The demand\nfor frequent and detailed data expressed by users will increase in\nthe future because of the launch of new policies and the monitoring\nneeds for implementation and evaluation of ongoing policies.\nHowever, there is a limit to using further productivity gains in\nthe ESS to continuously fulfil the increasing demand for\nsophisticated and complex data. This situation requires strategic\nreflection regarding demand, combined with modernisation of\nproduction systems and further harmonisation of processes and\npossibly an increase in (human and financial) resources throughout\nthe ESS. Efforts should be deployed to address this ESS-wide\nchallenge by improving priority-setting, simplifying legislation,\nevaluating the impacts of new demand beforehand and reviewing\nresource needs.
\nFurther enhance trust and partnership in the\nESS: trust and partnership between\nthe different stakeholders is crucial for the well functioning of\nthe ESS. Eurostat as the intermediary between the NSIs and the\nCommission services is faced with sometimes opposing interests from\nthe different actors in the system. Several bodies and\ninstitutionalised instruments exist to stimulate dialogue among all\nactors and thus create trust and foster partnership. This trust and\npartnership form the cornerstone of the system and Eurostat should\ncontinue to reinforce them in the future.
\nThis Commission staff working document contains the\nexecutive summary of the evaluation report on the Community\nstatistical programme (CSP) 2003-2007 which was conducted over a\nperiod of 13 months, starting in October 2007. In March 2008, an\ninterim evaluation report was submitted which presented facts and\nfactual trends, but no evaluative conclusions. In the ensuing\nperiod, more qualitative information was gathered and processed.\nThis whole process resulted in an evaluation report, of which this\ndocument is the executive summary.
\nThe summary provides an overview of the main findings\nin relation to: (i) the relevance of the programme; (ii) progress\nof activities; (iii) user satisfaction and user needs; (iv)\ndevelopment of the European Statistical System (ESS) and\nsubsidiarity; (v) staff and internal productivity; (vi) dialogue\nand interaction between users and partners; (vii) quality of\nproducts and services; and (viii) monitoring of\nimplementation.
\nThe evaluation also gives rise to the following main\nrecommendations:
\n