MSA
Blog

Blog

ESGAB and the ESS

During a recent meeting of the Malta Statistics Authority (MSA) Board, Mr Aurel Schubert, Chairperson of the European Statistical Governance Advisory Board (ESGAB) was invited to address the Board, with the scope of understanding better the work of ESGAB in the context of the European Statistical System.

 

During his very interesting address, Mr Schubert explained how first and foremost, the role of ESGAB is to ensure that the principles of the European Statistical Code of Practice are being implemented correctly across the European Statistical System (ESS). He made mention of the Peer Reviews carried out by Eurostat as a tool built around maintaining the Code of Practice and how in turn it is ESGAB’s role to act as Peer Reviewer to Eurostat itself, in an egalitarian system which sees nobody as being above the law. In this case the law in question is Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics, a law which Mr Schubert explained is in the process of being replaced and ESGAB is actively involved in seeing this task accomplished before the European Parliament elections in 2024.

 

Also, on the agenda of ESGAB is access to privately held data for official statistics, a tool which would enable National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) to improve the quality of official statistics. Mr Schubert emphasised how the use of Big Data held by private entities is one of the ways in which NSIs can counteract the challenges posed by what he described as a new “Data Ecosystem” in which employing and maintaining personnel with the right skills is a constant challenge. In this context he explained how a new law for European Statistics will also need to make provision for new ways of obtaining information useful for official statistics. Increased data exchange among NSIs is another way in which institutions may strengthen their resilience in a bid to find more pragmatic solutions to the difficulties they are encountering. While ESGAB cannot intervene directly in this respect it is in full support of institutes taking this route and views it as being very much in line with the principles of the Code of Practice.

 

Lastly as independent reviewers of the ESS, Mr Schubert explained that it is ESGAB’s job to look closely at the work Eurostat is doing and how this aligns with the European Statistical Programme. In performing this task ESGAB will consider principles such as how users are being involved, how agility is being foreseen and how the European Statistical Code of Practice is being affected. In turn ESGAB will also produce its own Annual Report summarising its work.

 

Readers who wish to know more about ESGAB may visit: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/esgab

MSA Rebranding

In 2022, the Malta Statistics Authority (MSA) embarked on a rebranding project upon the initiative of the Director General of the NSO, Mr Etienne Caruana. Official statistics have always played an important role in national policy development. With this rebranding exercise we aimed to give the organisation a modern and more appealing front while maintaining intact the vision, mission and values that make its core.

In the process of developing our branding strategy we were forward looking and forward thinking, without forgetting our past, building upon the strong goodwill the MSA enjoys, both locally and overseas.

The principal driver of the rebranding exercise is the National Statistics Office, it being the executive branch of the MSA. Over the years, thanks to Eurostat grants and funds allocated by central government, the NSO had already embarked on a path that would eventually lead to modernisation of the office. Now that we are firmly on this course, the NSO can start to reap the fruit of its endeavours. Some of these returns will also be delivered to users in the form of improved website navigation and access to information.

Shifting focus back to the MSA. Through its new web portal, the MSA intends to portray the difference between the mission of the Authority and that of the NSO. The former is an advisor to the latter through monthly Board meeting and its Sub-committees.

MSA also does the best it can to facilitate NSO’s work by pushing for the provision of necessary administrative data particularly from central government to the NSO. These are a keystone of official statistics and form part of a body of initiatives undertaken to reduce burden on both individuals and firms.
Throughout the year initiatives are taken to foster statistical awareness across the Maltese islands by meeting journalists, students, researchers, policy makers and many others.

Our new portal will strive to keep all and sundry informed of our proceedings, our initiatives, and our participation in both national and international meetings.

I conclude by providing some dynamics about our new logo: The logo is roundish, which reminds us that the Authority represents the whole community. We recognise that official statistics are a representation of our lives in numbers. The Maltese cross was retained from our previous logo but modernised, as a reminder that this is a corporate institution. The eight-pointed cross is a symbol used by many in this regard. Finally, the background is white to represent our motto, Trust, Governance and Competence.

Finally, I thank all staff for their hard and dedicated work and I hope that our new brand is embraced by the public and as always we remain open to any suggestions how we can serve you better.

Audios

Promoting statistical literacy is among the responsibilities of the Malta Statistics Authority (MSA). To do so, the Authority will engage in diverse activities. The below are recordings of radio programs done by the MSA in collaboration with Campus FM which spoke about a sample of the information compiled and distributed by NSO – the executive arm of the MSA.

Skip to content