Diagnosing Dimensions of Modernization of National Statistical Systems

The proposed diagnostic fills a void between widely available quantitative indicators and detailed diagnostics of the capacity of an NSS. Statistical capacity can readily be ranked across countries using publicly available scoring instruments, like the SPI. However, these indicators are not able to provide a constructive way forward to improve statistical capacity, as part of a modernization process, given their lack of granularity. Frameworks for more detailed methodologies exist, like IPNOS, but often require substantial time and resources, including that of the NSO, to be applied. The proposed diagnostic fills the gap between those two types of diagnostics. It offers a constructive diagnostic, which can be implemented fast and at low cost. The results allow the identification of pathways towards higher maturity of the NSS, though it is not suggested to use it as comparison between countries