Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics The statistical System in Palestine: Achievements and Challenges A Country Report submitted to Regional Forum on Strengthening Statistical Capacity of the Arab States Amman, Jordan September 8-10, 2003 August, 2003
1. Preface The Palestinian General Statistics Law Number (5) of 2000 mandated the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) to establish, maintain and update the official statistics system in Palestine. This included the legal basis to regulate data collection and their utilization for statistical purposes. It laid down PCBS main task is To establish a comprehensive and unified statistical system to serve the PNA as an instrument of guidance for diagnosing problems and evaluating progress made. The law called also for setting up a National Advisory Council for Statistics to review the annual plans of the official statistics program, and to advise the Palestinian President in the field of developing and upgrading official statistics system. Furthermore, the law stipulates that statistical units be established at every relevant ministry, and governmental institution to assist them in their work, and to coordinate their work in the field of statistics with PCBS. However, the Palestinian official statistics system is still at its early stages of development; the culture of using statistics in decision making and planning is new to the Palestinian society, henceforth, PCBS has the task of developing and strengthening the statistical system in terms of producing statistics, and the task of creating the culture of utilizing data (PCBS has to create the need for statistics in the first place, and then respond to it as a matter of fact). This document provides a brief description of the Palestinian official statistics system, with emphasis on PCBS as the cornerstone of the system. In particular, the document discusses the main axis related to the nature of the system and the sources and methods of statistical production and their relation to PCBS. The document dwells also on the infrastructure and the information technology, as well as the status international recommendations in the area of statistical production and dissemination in the country. User-producer interaction, sources of financing the statistical system, the strategic and annual planning, and the availability of advisory bodies are also discussed. 2. The structure of the statistical system PCBS is the cornerstone of the official statistics system in Palestine, as it is the official body mandated to produce official statistics. PCBS has a centralized approach of managing the official statistical program. PCBS collects, processes, and disseminates data from their primary sources (surveys and censuses) and their secondary sources (administrative records at ministries and other relevant public institutions). PCBS constitutes the central point where all official statistics are processed and published. Data flow to PCBS from its primary and secondary sources are technically and methodically processed and made accessible to the public in accordance with the law. This centralized approach of managing the official statistics guarantees that quality scientific requirements are adhered to. PCBS has allocated the task of producing the statistics of schools' database and publishing the yearbook of education statistics to the Ministry of Higher Education (MOE) within an environment of full coordination between PCBS and the MOE. The Palestinian official statistics system faces a number of challenges; the major challenge is to reach the goal of becoming a dynamic tool for information dissemination. This stage is still far away despite of a decade of PCBS' experience producing statistics. The central registers, which are the most important foundations of a routine statistics system, are still in a early stages of development with the exception of the population register, which is updated and maintained by the Ministry of Interior, and the establishments voters registers, which are updated and maintained by PCBS. Other central registers including the agricultural holding 2
register, buildings register, diseases register, and other relevant central registers, which are pillars of the dynamics of the statistics system and data flow, either do not exist or cannot be used for statistical purposes. This situation is connected with the Israeli occupation and its measures on the ground which hinders statistical operations, especially since the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada (Palestinian uprising) in late September 2000. The changes in the priorities of the Palestinian ministries and public institutions and the creation of new Palestinian institutions, along with a lack of legislation, existing laws not implemented have had an impact on the system. PCBS is directly accountable to the Palestinian Cabinet; the President of PCBS is the highest administrative authority in charge of managing the Bureau its financial and technical responsibilities. PCBS has a technical council supervising the statistical program which meets regularly to discuss statistical affairs. PCBS is currently working on implementing regulations for National Advisory Council representing all Palestinian sectors; there are also plans to establish specialized work committees from within and from outside PCBS in order to direct and rationalize work in the various statistical departments of PCBS. Additionally, in many statistical projects, PCBS establishes national steering committees to analyze national feedback and create guidelines. PCBS' organizational structure consists of two main parts: The statistical affairs section, which carries out the statistical program of the Bureau and includes four specialized directorates: The Economic Statistics Directorate, the Social and Population Statistics Directorate, the Area Statistics Directorate, and the Censuses Directorate. The second section is the supportive services including the Directorate of Administrative and Financial Affairs, the Directorate of Surveys and Fieldwork, The Directorate of Computer and Information Systems in addition to Internal Control, Public Relations and Aid Management Department. PCBS carries out its task according to short-term and long-term plans; planning takes into consideration availability of funds, qualified personnel, and the priorities of relevant stakeholders. Planning is based on the guiding principles of the General Statistics Law Master plan, and the UN fundamental principles of official statistics, in addition to other relevant international recommendations as well as users needs. Short-term plans are usually annual and include activities that are expected to be carried out by each department or program throughout one calendar year as well as the expected outputs, budgets, human resource needs, training, and equipment. Budgets are prepared in accordance with a special rating system developed by PCBS for this purpose. This system divides budget into five main parts; project management, field work, data processing, office services, and dissemination. 3. The sources and methods of statistical production and their relation to PCBS Producing official statistics relies on two main sources: primary sources including surveys and censuses, and secondary sources which are the statistics extracted from administrative records of governmental and other relevant public institutions. The General Statistics Law of 2000 and the master plan of preparation of the official Palestinian statistics determined the role of the central bodies of the Palestinian statistical system in the field of producing and disseminating the official statistics. The law emphasized the importance of coordination between PCBS and the various parties through field surveys before the production of statistics. The law also requires that all public and governmental institutions provide PCBS 3
with full access to their records for the purpose of extracting statistics from their secondary sources. Public institutions usually coordinate with PCBS before carrying out any specialized field surveys; however, such institutions reserve the right to keep their data in their administrative records. Such records would be accessible for PCBS for drawing specialized statistics which users and decision makers might need. PCBS looks forward to sharing the tasks of producing the statistics from the administrative records with the governmental institutions in order to create an integrated system that relies on scientific approaches and targets decision makers. PCBS is aware of the need for computerized connection between the administrative records and PCBS. However, the political situation prevents such steps from taking place; therefore, the process of transfer of data from administrative records to PCBS uses floppy disks; as in the case of agricultural statistics and the statistics of foreign trade, or on hard copies as in the case with registering marriages and divorces. 4. The nature of the infrastructure and the IT of PCBS The buildings of PCBS are rented; they have been equipped by PCBS to serve its various purposes. PCBS' headquarters consists of two buildings located in close proximity to each other. There is also a third building, a number of kilometers away from the head office. The third building is used to manage fieldwork. Consequently, PCBS faces difficulties in transporting staff and materials between the three buildings. PCBS is planning to construct one building that would accommodate the departments that are currently distributed among three buildings. In addition, PCBS runs offices that are located in the Governorates. The primary function of these offices is to supervise the process of field data collection. PCBS has gradually started to decentralize data processing in order to overcome the detrimental affects of the Israeli military siege and closure of the Palestinian Territory. Decentralization has been applied to a number of surveys. Additionally, PCBS is currently working on developing the IT infrastructure of its regional offices for the purpose of applying the fully decentralized approach in data processing for all surveys and projects of the regional offices, PCBS' head office is equipped with a main communication network connecting its internal offices and connecting it with the world outside. The computer infrastructure of PCBS is in need of continuous updating in order to keep up with the increase in the volume of data and the international development of IT. However, PCBS faces a lack of financial resources needed for continuous updating of the performance of its computerized system. PCBS has succeeded in past years in providing each staff member with a computer; however, some of these computers are outdated. The computers at PCBS are connected to an internal network used for data storage and exchange between staff members. However, the offices of PCBS that are spread over the Governorates are not connected to this network except through modems. PCBS is connected to the internet through leased lines and connected with its Governorates' offices through modems. PCBS provides a number of its staff with distant communication through modem access; PCBS also has a website (http://www.pcbs.org) which give the PCBS staff the ability to use the Webmail services. 5. Subject matters area of statistical production PCBS is the central point for the production of the official statistics. Therefore, the Bureau runs a developed statistical program covering all statistical fields included in the international recommendations and the universal experience of official statistics. PCBS uses international 4
recommendations as a conceptual framework for definitions, standards and measurements in the various fields of statistics with some minor changes to adapt to the Palestinian situation. Statistical data drawn from secondary sources do not necessarily comply with the international recommendations since they are drawn from records used for administrative purposes at governmental and public institutions. In any case, PCBS has worked with a number of institutions in order to maintain records in accordance with international recommendations, which is part of PCBS' efforts to achieve coherent official statistics. The Palestinian statistics system faces challenges resulting from inexperience and coordination and integration among the various components of the system is still weak. Some data producers, for instance, believe that opening their records for PCBS harms their work; henceforth, PCBS asserts that there is a need for training data users to understand the approaches and the ideas behind statistics system. Official statistics in Palestine includes all traditional fields of statistical production, as are covered by statistics systems of other countries. Such fields include demography, vital statistics, social and economic statistics, and area and environmental statistics. Moreover, the official statistical system in Palestine contains custom fields and methods that correspond to the dynamics of Palestinian users' needs, particularly under the current political environment of uprising, such as data about the impact of the Israeli measures on the Palestinian society and the marginalized groups as well as a social and economic monitoring system. Besides PCBS, there are other parties producing statistics for mainly internal usage such as Ministry of Health, Ministry of Higher Education, and the Palestinian Monitory Authority. Other research institutions also produce some statistics such as the Palestinian Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), the Development Studies Program, and other research institutions attached to ministries or universities 6. Compliance with international standards PCBS produces official statistics derived from primary sources (surveys and censuses) according to the well recognized international standards. In addition, PCBS manages the statistical program in the spirit of the fundamental principles of official statistics. But it should be mentioned that data derived from secondary sources is not fully compliant with international standards and definitions. Therefore, a national effort was made by PCBS in coordination with other stakeholders to modify forms and procedures to comply with international standards, but still a lot has to be done. PCBS complies fully with international recommendations and standards; such compliance also stems from the spirit of the Palestinian General Statistics Law of 2000 and the complete awareness of the significance of such compliance. This law clearly calls for PCBS full compliance with the international recommendations and standards in order to ensure Palestinian membership in the international statistical community. UN standards and classifications are the basic reference of PCBS in compilation of official statistics. Moreover, PCBS has established a specialized unit for statistical coordination responsible for monitoring and ensuring that all international standards, definitions and measurements are adhered to by PCBS s statistical programs. This unit is also responsible for responding to all questionnaires and data requests made by relevant international organizations. The director of statistical coordination is responsible for following up the publications issued by relevant UN bodies in respect to recommendations in the field of 5
statistics in order to integrate them into PCBS statistical programs. The ten fundamental principles of official statistics form the backbone for codes and professional ethics at PCBS. Palestine is not officially one of the member countries or a signatory to standards of dissemination recommended by the International Monetary Fund (GDDS and SDDS), however, Palestine meets the requirements of these standards; for instance, the activities of PCBS fully observe these standards with regard to being comprehensive, accurate, up-to-date, providing public access to the data, providing a description of the quality of the data and the methodology of data collection, and punctuality in dissemination. Nonetheless, working with other institutions provides difficulties in meeting the terms of the dissemination standards since such institutions fail to be accurate, fail to provide a description of their data, or fail to provide comprehensive data. However, PCBS provides a description of the work methodology of the data it publishes whether such data come from surveys or from the administrative records. PCBS has been providing users with full access to data in accordance with certain standards that protect confidentiality. The Bureau allows users access to primary data within a legal and professional framework. It is worth noting that PCBS is currently working on a study on the possibility of officially taking part in GDDS and SDDS; the study will be completed in 2004. 7. The Palestinian experience in data dissemination The general policy of PCBS is to establish a national statistical system capable of reaching all types of data users and beneficiaries through disseminating and publicizing the statistical data in traditional methods (i.e. statistical report) and through modern methods such as the Internet, CDs, and digital data files. For traditional dissemination, PCBS publishes collected statistical data in statistical reports, brochures, posters, booklets, executive summaries, press reports, and fax transmissions. The Bureau takes care that the published data are presented in a simple and easy to understand format. Drawings and colors are added to increase the readers in understanding of the data contained in PCBS publications. PCBS has a short term goal of reducing the size of the published data and to add small paragraphs about statistical analysis. PCBS has published a number of annual reports including (Palestine Statistical Yearbook, the Jerusalem Statistical Yearbook) and other specialized annual books on education and labour. PCBS has certain standards and regulations governing preparation and producing its publications (The Manual for Dissemination of Statistical Reports). PCBS publications during October 1, 1993 and July 31, 2003 by type of publication Method Number % Publications and reports 501 67.5 Newspapers 13 1.8 News bulletins and brochures 21 2.8 Executive summaries 143 19.3 Posters 15 2.0 Reports for internal use 49 6.6 Total 742 100 6
PCBS experience relies on the use of internet dissemination as the first and the best channel of electronic dissemination because it allows equal opportunities for all users of public official statistics. Moreover, the internet is widely available, cost effective, and large detailed publications can be presented. PCBS developed its website (http://www.pcbs.org) in 1996. Palestinian official statistics are published to the website. PCBS statistical reports are published on CDs quarterly. Publications are displayed easily and efficiently through modern software techniques to ease navigation through publications using PDF. Exchange of Publications Palestinian official reports are marketed through publication of statistics and exchange of publications. PCBS has a number of local and foreign agreements for exchange of publications such as agreements with the Norwegian Bureau of Statistics, Hamburg Association, and the Palestinian Center for Research and Studies. PCBS is working on signing more publication exchange agreements with other local and international statistics producing associations. Organizing Exhibitions for PCBS Publications PCBS organizes a number of exhibitions for its publications annually. Such exhibitions are held at universities and colleges in the various parts of the Palestinian Territory. The Bureau provides 40% discount on its publications at these exhibitions providing the opportunity for all people to possess and benefit from the publications of PCBS. PCBS has a statistical library used by staff members as well as external users such as students, researchers, and journalists. The library has all of PCBS publications in addition to statistics related references and other fields. PCBS library currently contains more than 14,000 books. Since it s establishment, PCBS has sought to achieve partnership and integration in the production and use of statistics. This is accomplished by encouraging the largest possible number of concerned users to take part in the statistical field and utilization of data to contribute to the general framework, the nature of data produced, and the methods and mechanisms of their dissemination. The stakeholders needs are determined through implementation of a number of activities including workshops, and distribution of questionnaires to the largest possible number of interested users. This allows national consensus on the nature of data that needs to be made available. In accordance with the ten principles of statistics and the international statistical practices, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics successfully achieved the User - Producer Dialogue (UPD) through workshops, which aimed at enhancing PCBS relationships with different user segments of the Palestinian society and institutions. It helped PCBS to gain feedback from users regarding its statistical production of various indicators. PCBS has from it s inception established a customer service section that provides the public with the data they need. This section receives a number of customer inquiries and provides answers to their inquiries through via fax or email messages. This section also coordinates with the technical directorates of PCBS in order to provide the requested data. User requests come from various sectors of the Palestinian society as well as from foreign users (international organizations, researchers, students, etc). 7
PCBS also carries out promotional campaigns in accompaniment with its various statistical activities. The promotional campaigns are designed to coordinate with the nature and size of the statistical activity. The aim is to raise public awareness regarding PCBS s statistical activity. The promotional campaign is implemented through the media as well as symposiums, meetings, festivals at schools and universities and sports clubs, and mosques and churches. The Palestinian media has appreciated the activities of PCBS and shown a willingness to provide spots on certain statistical fields. PCBS has a good relationship with local and international media. PCBS provides users with raw data that is tailored to their needs. Confidentiality is taken into consideration as stipulated by the General Statistics Law. Based on PCBS policy on publishing and disseminating statistical data in accordance with the General Statistics Law of 2000, the Bureau started an experiment in 1999 in providing public access to micro data (Public Use files) following a number of administrative procedures. Production and marketing of micro data files on CD-Rom began in late 2001. The data is qualified for public use confidentiality is taken into consideration. 8. Sources of funding the statistical system PCBS relies on two sources of funding: The Palestinian treasury covers most of full time staff salaries and a big part of the current and capital spending; donor countries and organizations that cover the salaries of the part-time staff, the cost of dissemination and publicizing, the remainder of the current expenses and some capital expenses. However, with the Israeli measures, which started in the 4 th quarter of 2000, PCBS was faced with a situation that crippled its efforts to move on. Government allocations dropped and international donations were directed towards relief efforts. PCBS managed to continue producing statistics despite these difficulties due to the PNA belief in its capacities and the importance of its productions as well as the support of the international partners. A committee of current and potential donors has been established. This committee is called Core Funding Group (CFG). The CFG aims at obtaining more transparency, preventing duplicity, and ensuring the continuity of the funding of the statistical programs and activities of PCBS and to protect the continuity and capacity building of PCBS. 9. Advisory committees and the principals of annual and strategic planning With respect to strategic planning, PCBS developed a master plan covering 1995-2000. The master plan included basic guidelines for developing Palestinian official statistics. A second ten-year strategic plan covering 2001-2010 was developed in 2000. This plan determined the characteristics of the statistical program in the post-establishment stage (stable inputs). Annual planning takes place on regular basis according to certain detailed procedure based on a participatory approach of different management and professional levels. PCBS has developed a three year program which includes statistical activities, IT and capacity building activities. The planning process starts by developing the main themes and guidelines derived from the master plan. However, due to the restrictive environment caused by Israeli occupation and the lack of timely funding, difficulties are encountered in adhering to the plan. A proposal was made by PCBS to form an advisory council. This proposal will be submitted soon to the Palestinian Cabinet for ratification. This council will be composed of knowledgeable representatives of stakeholders, including public, non-governmental and private sectors, in addition to universities and research community. The main task of the 8
council is as advisor on the main guidelines of the official statistics, relationships with other national programs, and the Palestinian development plan. The council will also consider PCBS strategic and annual plans, and provide advise regarding development and upgrading the Palestinian statistics system. Until the advisory council is established, PCBS is conducting a continuous user-produce dialogue in order to get feedback from users on the content of its statistical program. Steering and advisory committees are usually formed for large-scale and important surveys. A number of national committees were formed during the census to determine the work priorities and the main inputs. PCBS also has a discussion program between users and producers used as a tool to obtain detailed guidelines for each activity. Holding workshops for the data users is a perquisite within the project cycle of each field survey. However, there is still a need to train data users to express their needs, determine their priorities and utilize statistics for policymaking and planning. PCBS also discusses its statistical programs through conferences and workshops on strategic plans. PCBS held the first conference on official Palestinian statistics at the UN headquarters in 1994, and the second conference was held in Palestine in 1995. A third conference on statistics and policy-making was held in 1999. All conferences discussed the priorities of the statistical work and its directions. These measures provided PCBS with needed feedback and consultation at the national, regional and international levels. 9