Conference of European Statisticians Statistical Standards and Studies – serie

The rapidly expanding and evolving landscape of data production and sharing is an opportunity for National Statistical Offices (NSOs) to exercise expertise in the larger statistical as well as national data community. NSOs must expand their role into data stewardship to fully carry out their mandate. As the transformation is multifaceted, there are different interpretations of how the NSO role can and should change, and what data stewardship means in this context. This work focuses on defining and explaining the foundational concepts and frameworks relevant to data stewardship. It aims to serve as a guide to statistical offices regardless of data or structural maturity. It will help offices decide whether they should extend their role as government data stewards, as well as provide inspiration and ideas to those who are already performing this function.

This publication clarifies the conceptual understanding of a circular economy from both the policy and the monitoring perspectives. The starting point is a short "headline definition" which highlights the interrelated features of all circular economy definitions: maintaining the value of materials in the economy for as long as possible whilst ensuring a positive outcome to society, and preserving natural capital (natural resources, environmental quality) and human health. The conceptual framework has four main components (material life cycle and value chain, interactions with the environment, socio-economic opportunities, and responses and actions). It is complemented with an initial set of indicators for monitoring progress towards a circular economy and a monitoring framework which discusses important measurement considerations, in particular the use of the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) for measuring circular economy. The document also includes examples of measurement frameworks used by countries and other regional and national case examples on measuring the circular economy.

This publication aims to explore the specific barriers and challenges faced by National Statistical Organisations (NSOs) in adopting cloud technology, while also highlighting the experiences and lessons learned from official statistics organisations. By addressing these challenges and leveraging best practices, NSOs can effectively navigate the cloud adoption landscape and drive meaningful transformation in their operations. This publication shares the work of experts drawn from research on cloud adoption in organisational contexts.

This publication assesses progress of UNECE countries towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, relying on the data available in the United Nations global SDG indicators database. Stories on specific topics provide a closer look at how various regional and country level actions relate to sustainable development outcomes.

Across the world, statistical organisations undertake similar activities, albeit with variations in the processes that they use. Each of those activities uses and produces similar information. Although the information used by statistical organisations is at its core the same, all organisations tend to describe it slightly differently and sometimes in different ways within each organisation. The Generic Statistical Information Model (GSIM) is a reference framework for statistical information. It provides a set of standardised, consistentl described information classes, which can be used as inputs and outputs in the design and the production of statistics. As a reference framework, GSIM explains significant relationships among the entities involved in statistical production and can be used to guide the development and use of consistent implementation standards or specifications. As a common language to describe statistical information, GSIM can facilitate communication within and between statistical organisations. It can provide the foundation for in-depth collaboration, standardisation, or sharing of tools and methods, and thereby plays an important role in modernising, streamlining and, aligning standards and production associated with official statistics at both national and international levels. The modernisation of statistical production is needed for statistical organisations to remain relevant and flexible in a dynamic and competitive information environment. It is hoped that this User Guide for version 2.0 of GSIM will enable statistical organisations to realise the full benefits from its adoption and implementation.

To address the current and future information demands related to climate action, data producers need to understand the policy context, key stakeholders and their information needs, and be able to communicate effectively how their data can be used for policy applications. This report aims to provide the staff of national statistical offices (NSOs) with such knowledge, showcase what statistical systems already offer to support climate action, and provide ideas, inspiration and recommendations on how NSOs can make their offering more valuable for data users. The document examines a number of areas, such as the reporting under the Paris Agreement, climate change mitigation and adaptation, just transition, informing the public and financial aspects of climate action. The report identifies concrete ways in which national statistical offices (NSOs) can be involved and showcases what the statistical systems already offer to support climate action. The document's primary audience is NSO staff, including domain experts and managers. The Guidance aims to inspire and support those who want to start to work in this area or want to do more. The report may also benefit data users, other producers of climate change-related data in countries and international organizations involved in climate change-related statistics.

This publication assesses progress of UNECE countries towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, relying on the data available in the United Nations global SDG indicators database in 2025. Stories on specific topics provide a closer look at how various regional and country level actions relate to sustainable development outcomes.

This Guide recommends suitable methods and practices for implementing changes in the classification of goods and services in the CPI. It complements the 2020 CPI Manual by presenting additional and more detailed guidance and examples of good practices for implementing classification changes in the CPI. Compilers of the CPI should continue to refer to the CPI Manual as the definitive reference for CPI compilation.

The publication describes concepts of exclusion or inclusion, equalities and well-being, and leaving no one behind, in the context of individual societies. It considers specific policy examples from across the world which have impetus for measurement of these concepts. It also provides different approaches and examples of a range of different measurement frameworks to social exclusion, social inclusion, multiple deprivations or multiple inequalities, and well-being.

The Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for the 2030 Round of Population and Housing Censuses provide guidance and assistance to countries in the planning and execution of their population and housing censuses, with the objective to facilitate and improve the comparability of census at the UN regional level through the identification of a core set of census topics and the harmonization of concepts, definitions and classifications.

The Guidelines are targeted at national statistical offices. The guidelines focus on the measurement of well-being ‘here and now’, a subset of a broader conception of well-being that also considers well-being ‘elsewhere’ and ‘later’. The Guidelines provide recommendations on the dimensions of well-being, on the selection and compilation of statistical indicators, data sources and the dissemination and communication of well-being indicators to the public.