The responses of societies and economies to the short and long term consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic are taking place within the challenges of climate change and the international commitments to leave no one behind. Data, and in particular Official Statistics, are key to these responses.

Yet with multiple sources and providers, it is often difficult to differentiate the good from the bad, the trustworthy from the unreliable, the relevant from the noise.

In these times, achieving relevance and enhancing trust in information is a fundamental challenge facing Official Statistics. It requires a multi-strand approach.

The seven strands for the conference reflect this approach, recognising that Official Statistics needs to respond to:

-    the need to build shared data governance in a time of the data deluge

-    ethical challenges that go with the booming role played by data in societies and economies

-    producing valuable information for policy-making and for public debate, in ways that bring value to users

-    new and emerging statistical methodologies and technologies able to provide good statistics

The strands are:

1 - Integrating available Data Sources for Official Statistics: Challenges and Opportunities

This strand will include challenges in dealing with “not-statistically oriented” data sources, and integrating these across the different domains (economic, social and environment).

2 - Backbone of Official Statistics: Critical Sources, Infrastructure, Resources

This strand will examine challenges and responses in ensuring that the unique assets of Official Statistics can take advantage of the data deluge.

3 - Official Statistics Addressing Global Objectives (SDGs, Climate change…)

This strand will focus on interactions between Official Statistics outputs and global agendas.

4 - Official Statistics and Covid-19: key takeaways

This strand will review how the responses to the major disruptions experienced by Official Statistics due to the pandemic have been relevant and how they might have positive long-lasting benefits.

5 - Abundance of Data for Official Statistics’ Uses: Meeting the Ethical Challenges

Availability and possible use of new data sources is raising ethical challenges for Official Statistics. The pandemic has highlighted some of them. This strand focuses on understanding these challenges and responses.

6 - Statistics in a Time of Distrust and Misuse: The Communication Challenge

This strand will examine challenges in communicating Official Statistics at a time of data desire but also data rejection. It will review the respective contributions played by reputation, independence, reliability and relevance.

7 - Official Statistics Contribution for a Global Data Governance

In an ever-expanding data ecosystem, Official Statistics aims at taking a pivotal role in Data Governance. This strand will examine the implications for Official Statistics from local, national and international perspectives.