[Forum SIS] Autumn Seminars in Official Statistics, 15 Ottobre 2018 ore 11, sala 34, IV Piano Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche

[Maurizio Vichi]

[image: image.png]



*Autumn Seminars in Official Statistics*



*Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche*

Sapienza Università di Roma,

*15 October 2018*

Sala 34, ore 11, IV Piano Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche (Edificio
CU002),

Città Universitaria, P.le A Moro 5





Opening: Maurizio Vichi, Head of the Department of Statistical Sciences





*Reflections about the role of official statistics1*



*Walter J. Radermacher**, *walterjosef.radermacher a uniroma1.it



What the future, even the very near future, has in store for us is, of
course, not easily predictable. Certainly, foresight does not lie in the
very nature of statisticians, who usually look in the rear-view mirror.
Nevertheless, there are some trends or megatrends, the effects of which are
not yet known in detail, to which one will undoubtedly have to adapt. Above
all, because official statistics have the characteristics of an ocean liner
whose course and speed can only be manoeuvred slowly, all trends must be
interpreted in a forward-looking manner. If official statistics are to be
sustained in their current position in five years’ time, then the necessary
strategy must be established now. A simple continuation of the previous way
of doing things, but including some ‘softer’ changes, is therefore not an
option, even if this smooth manner of adaptation has been successful in the
past. The megatrends digitisation and globalisation need to be addressed
with a sound analysis of their impact. Obviously, this presupposes first
dealing with their methodological, conceptual or technical aspects.
However, it would be strategically wrong to stop at this point. Rather,
official statisticians must reinterpret their mandate and policies in the
light of a profound understanding of their own core business under changing
social conditions.

The digital age is not just a gradual evolution of previous phases of
information and communication technology. Rather, a profound change is
taking place in society, which fundamentally changes personal behaviour in
everyday life, and leads to completely new mixtures of risks and
opportunities, of winners and losers and of consumers and producers
concerning data or information. It is spoken of as a data revolution, to
clarify the extent of the current structural change; however, technological
changes do not happen in a vacuum, but are continually influenced by, and
influence themselves social and political conditions, both of which are
witnessing major changes.

In this context, a profound epistemological shift is needed since
complexity and irreversibility undermine the idea that science (and
statistics) can provide single, objective, and exhaustive answers.

In the late modernity of risk societies, there is the epistemic and
methodological necessity to empower people – citizens and policy makers –
with the appropriate insight, to enable them to make the best possible
decisions for achieving sustainability and pursuing resilience in a complex
world.



1 See also the EMOS Webinar site
http://konference.ef.uni-lj.si/emos/reflections-about-the-role-of
officialstatistics/
<http://konference.ef.uni-lj.si/emos/reflections-about-the-role-of%20officialstatistics/>
-------------- parte successiva --------------
Un allegato HTML è stato rimosso...
URL: <http://www.stat.unipg.it/pipermail/sis/attachments/20181010/ebb7fae5/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- parte successiva --------------
Un allegato non testuale è stato rimosso....
Nome:        image.png
Tipo:        image/png
Dimensione:  14115 bytes
Descrizione: non disponibile
URL:         <http://www.stat.unipg.it/pipermail/sis/attachments/20181010/ebb7fae5/attachment-0001.png>