IAOS-OECD 2018 conference, 19-21 September 2018, Paris. More information at: http://www.oecd.org/iaos2018/

1. Official statistics standing out in the data avalanche:
Mexico´s experience encouraging its use and increasing trust
Julio A. Santaella
President of INEGI
September 19, 2018
11
Conference of IAOS: Better Statistics for Better Lives
Plenary Session: “Statistics as a trusted source of information”

2. Trust
takes years
to build
seconds
to break
and forever
to repair

3. NSO’s are already perceived as
trusted sources that generate
quality statistics
Credibility is our must important
asset

4. Mexico is the first OECD member to request a peer review of its
statistical system by the OECD’s CCSSP, and was conducted in
September 2017…
“One of the main findings was that Mexico´s framework has
proven effective in avoiding political interference with
Mexico’s statistics…”
“Also, that INEGI, has full technical and substantial
budgetary autonomy, good access to administrative data,
and tools available to improve overall national co-
ordination of statistics…”

5. National Autonomous University of Mexico
INEGI
Ministry of Education
National Commission of Human Rights
Tax Administration Service
Mexican Social Security Institute
National Electoral Institute
Central Bank
Ministry of Finance
N.I. for the Evaluation of Education
Ministry of Economic Affairs
8.1
7.6
7.2
7.1
6.8
6.7
6.7
6.7
6.7
6.6
6.4
Average trust in selected institutions in
economic units, 2017
Source: UNAM. Study on Social Perceptions of INEGI (2017)
In addition, INEGI asked the Mexico´s National
University to carry out a study to measure
perceptions about the Institute, its performance
and credibility…

6. But credibility is only a necessary
but not a sufficient condition for
people to use statistics, specially
when there are many players
producing information

7. The challenge:
If people do not
come to
statistics, lets
take statistics to
people…

8. The strategy:
Develop statistical literacy
among young generations
to expand our users base
Young generations are building
their decision making
processes

9. 72%
84%
52%
34%
28%
16%
48%
66%
6 to 17 years 18 to 34 years 35 to 54 years 55 years or more
Population that uses intenet Population that doesn´t use internet
In Mexico there where
71.3m internet users in
2017…
90% reported a
smartphone as their
main device to connect
To develop statistical literacy among young generations, we must
take advantage of their preferred tools…
Internet users by age groups in Mexico, 2017
Source: INEGI. National Survey on Availability and Use of Information Technology in Households (2017)

10. New generations
learn about the world
in a different way
Less text more images

11. Statistics must tell stories to
people, people should be able to
relate to the statistics

12. Although some statistics may seem very technical, it is easy for
people to relate to them…
Source: INEGI. National Household Income and Expenditure Survey (2016)
$10.0
$1.7
$3.0 $4.0 $5.0
$6.2
$7.5
$9.1
$11.4
$15.4
$36.1
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
$30
$35
$40
Thousands
Average annual household income by decile
(thousands of 2016 U.S dollars)
2.3 2.2 2.1
0.2 0.3
0.2
2013 2015 2017
Not allowed Allowed
Children in the workforce by type of labour, 2013 - 2017
(millions of people)
2.5 2.5
2.3
Source: INEGI. Child Labour Module 2013-2017

13. If NSO’s information reach young
generations, possibilities for them
to incorporate its use into their
decision making process increase

14. 14
Social media plays an enormous role in
how new generations acquire information
It gives us the opportunity to develop
proactive communication
It is the channel to interact with our
users
In today´s world, data dissemination is
where communication starts

15. We must communicate our statistics in the best formats for
each of them…
and develop a two-way communication (real-time interaction)

16. New technologies and the use of
internet and social media open
possibilities for NSO to exploit new
sources of information

17. Traditional vs new sources
Official Statistics
Big Data
Long tradition (centuries!)
Structured data
Sound methodologies
Refined models
Chaotic
Experimental
More timely
Lower production cost
How not to lose the essence of Official Statistics but make it more like Big Data?

18. “It is not the strongest of the
species that survives, nor the
most intelligent that survives.
It is the one that is most
adaptable to change”
Charles Darwin

19. What has INEGI done about
these matters?

20. 5
14
42
92
144
191
227
391
421
6 16
37
97
121
144
166
189
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018*
Thousands
Twitter Facebook
We have strengthened our interaction with users in our different
social media…
INEGI's institutional social media followers,
Facebook and Twitter (2010 – 2018*)
This year we opened an
Instagram account and we are
starting to develop content
*Figures as of August 31, 2018

21. disseminating our information with non-traditional content…
with audiovisual material that transmits information at a glance
and tells a story…

22. Experimenting with storytelling to communicate official statistics
UNECE’s Virtual Hackathon on Telling Stories (Sep-2017)
This story was picked as one of the
“winners” of the Hackathon
Subject: SDG indicator 8.6.1 Proportion of youth (aged 15–24 years) not in education, employment or training (NEET)
Using a tool that combines
maps with images and
multimedia, INEGI told a
story of the limitations of
SDG indicator 8.6.1 as a
meaningful measure of
youth problems
Storyline
The overrepresentation of young women as NEET: a rate of 30% vs. an adjusted rate
of just over 15% when:
• household unpaid and caring work is considered as productive
• youth non-adults at work are added up (since they should be at school, not in
the labor market)

23. We want that our users relate to
our information in order to catch
their interest

24. This means that our ways to interact with our users have had to
change and will keep changing…
12%
80% 8%
2008
68%
13%
19%
2018
Attention to information requirements by channel, 2008 vs 2018
Digital (Chat, Email, Facebook and Twitter)*
Traditional (Users Information Service Centers)
Call-center
*Chat began in 2009, Twitter in 2010 and
Facebook in 2011

25. Final thoughts….

26. NSO must:
• Strengthen their branding as a reliable source
• Show they produce statistics users can relate
to
• Change their communication tools, make them
more visual adapting them to the new channels

27. NSO must:
• Engage common citizens by telling stories &
using statistics in order to gain their trust
• Make young people interested in statistics
now, so they maintain this engagement
throughout their lives

28. How to make statistics entertaining
and rigorous at the same time?
To what extent are NSOs willing to
sacrifice technical rigor to gain
timeliness by using new sources?

29. Official statistics standing out in the data avalanche:
Mexico´s experience encouraging its use and increasing trust
Julio A. Santaella
President of INEGI
September 19, 2018
2929
Conference of IAOS: Better Statistics for Better Lives
Plenary Session: “Statistics as a trusted source of information”