Innovation and the ESS
Innovation is nothing new for the European Statistical System (ESS). In fact, Eurostat and the National Statistical Institutes have for decades worked innovatively, successfully implementing new solutions and business ideas, and creating genuine value for their partners and users.
Innovation is not an option for the ESS. It is a necessity. Today’s business environment, defined by competition from a large number of private data providers, an ever faster changing data ecosystem, and a rapid rise in increasingly urgent demands for new, timelier and more detailed statistics, makes innovation an even higher priority for all ESS partners.
This situation calls for ESS members to expand their use of digital technologies, widen the use of data sources including new digital sources, apply new technologies (e.g., AI), pursue more innovative practices and create conditions for successful innovation so that they can more quickly anticipate and respond to the challenges ahead. The ESS Innovation Agenda tackles these issues, with the ESS Directors’ Groups helping to implement it and the ESS Innovation Network (EIN) to coordinate it. The ESS Committee has emphasised the importance of ensuring adequate communication in the implementation of the ESS Innovation Agenda to make it better known within the European Statistical System.
Successful implementation of the ESS Innovation Agenda will bring tangible results and strengthen the position of official statistics at both national and European levels, through incremental and transformational innovation.
What are the goals and why?
In recent years, the ESS has been faced with increased demands from its users to be more responsive and agile especially in times of crises, to expand the range of its statistics, improve their timeliness and the level of their detail. The financial and Covid-19 crises have demonstrated like never before the value of accurate and timely data especially for democratic decision processes. They have also revealed that the ESS needs to improve its statistical production.
The main goals of the ESS Innovation Agenda are therefore to:
• strengthen the ESS ability to respond rapidly to new and urgent user needs;
• augment products and service portfolio for meeting policy needs (e.g., new metrics and statistical insights, more granularity, timelier statistics, better access to the portfolio of products);
• realise efficiency gains to free up resources;
• strengthen resilience to shocks and adapt to societal changes.
What are the opportunities?
Novel digital technologies provide opportunities to help address these challenges. Taking advantage of new technical and methodological developments, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, privacy enhancing techniques, use of smart devices, new methods for data integration, exploiting geospatial capabilities, developing data analytics, improving data literacy and skills, and collaborating with researchers, businesses and civil society are crucial for the implementation of the ESS Innovation Agenda.
Additionally, the increased use of new data sources across the ESS, including privately held data, shows how the existing data gaps can be filled to respond to new user needs and policy demands. It also allows the ESS to react faster in emergency situations and crises.
What is the approach?
The ESS Innovation Agenda covers both incremental short-term innovations and transformational ones that will require a longer time horizon. This dual approach aims at achieving maximum efficiency and high impact.
Rolling out the Innovation Agenda comprises activities of various types, i.e., developing new products and putting in place improved processes, cross cutting various statistical domains. These touch upon the use of a wide range of technologies, such as AI/ML, privacy enhancing technologies, smart devices and smart technologies, advanced methods for data integration and flexible technological environment, exploiting geospatial capabilities, the use of cloud native environment, etc. The portfolio of innovation activities of all types is reviewed and updated regularly.
Furthermore, successful implementation requires putting in place within the ESS the necessary structures that enable innovation, such as knowledge sharing, developing training programmes for capacity building, leveraging opportunities within existing programmes such as the European Master in Official Statistics (EMOS), effective communication with numerous stakeholders, modernisation of the legal framework of European statistics, engaging citizens and raising awareness of statistics thus improving statistical literacy, etc.
Investments that are required for the implementation of the ESS innovation agenda may benefit of the many EU funding programmes.
Spreading the word
To ensure the successful implementation of the ESS Innovation Agenda, Eurostat established the ESS Innovation Network (EIN) in spring 2023, comprising innovation champions from all ESS Member States. The EIN has a coordinating role to promote the activities and actions necessary to implement the ESS Innovation Agenda and also has a role of engaging with stakeholders. The guiding work principles of the EIN include:
- User information needs remains the key innovation driver.
- Innovation encompasses the entire European Statistical System (no NSI left behind).
- Innovation results are integrated in the ESS statistical production (from Lab to Fab).
- Participation by individual ESS members in the Innovation Agenda remains voluntary (NSIs decide on participation and focus of innovation activities) while seeking to find the optimal role distribution (Encouraging innovation and support by the ESS).
Engage with external stakeholders
The implementation of the Innovation Agenda also encompasses cooperation with stakeholders outside the ESS, other statistical offices outside Europe as well as with non-statistical organisations and their innovation centres and hubs.
Sharing knowledge and experiences, training material and resources, can be mutually beneficial. Universities and research institutes require specific attention, especially considering that they provide access to state-of-the-art data analytics research and can be critical to developing applied research in the domain of official statistics. Private sector data holders, start-up and providers of innovative ICT solutions are also part of the innovation ecosystem. The EIN will have a role in shaping the relationship with the external stakeholders with a view of expanding the network and maintaining the links.
Back to the main page on the ESS Innovation: https://cros.ec.europa.eu/dashboard/innovation-statistics
