Building the reputation of a statistical office through effective communication

Abstract

Independent and trustworthy statistics are the cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Statistics encourage debate, inform decision-making, both inside and outside government and allow people to judge whether the Government is delivering on its promises. For official statistics to play that key role effectively a very high level of public trust is needed, both in the organisation that produces statistics and in the quality and integrity of the information it produces. Building public recognition for the importance, independence, professionalism and good reputation of a statistical office is a long-term undertaking that depends on a complex range of interactions in order to succeed. Confidence is critical to the willingness of the public to trust statistics, to take part in government surveys and to follow policy recommendations based on official statistics. Statistical information now has a role and a prominence it has never had before. Governments are making more strategic use of statistics in their performance measures and evidence-based decision-making. Citizens are looking to statistics both to help make sense of the world around them and to help judge the performance of their Government. The media are ever more cynical and reluctant to take Government produced information at face value. All of this presents special challenges for the communication function, which is responsible for a large part of the interface between a statistical office and the outside world. Communication via the web and news media are two crucial aspects. This paper offers some thoughts, suggestions and examples of how this complex and demanding challenge can be addressed.