Central Statistical Office Advances Modernization Drive

The Central Statistical Office is laying the foundation for a modern, more responsive statistical system designed to meet the country's growing demand for reliable, timely, and internationally comparable data. Government ministries, statutory agencies, and development partners recently gathered for a two-day stakeholder consultation to help shape the future of the Central Statistical Office as part of a broader organizational development initiative. Director of Statistics, Sean Mathurin, noted that the consultation builds on an earlier exercise conducted with CSO staff and is intended to ensure that the perspective of stakeholders help guide the modernization process. >> What is intended during the next two days is that the perspectives, information, and discussion from these stakeholders will build on and complement um the information that we receive from the CSO members of staff. Um it would also intend it also intends to um identify practical ways where those respective stakeholders can support the modernization process as well as to strengthening the national statistical system. >> Mathurin explained that the modernization initiative is not about correcting deficiencies, but rather ensuring that the office keeps pace with changing data demands and international standards. He says the reform will be supported by a new statistical bill and the implementation of a national strategy for the development of statistics, creating a legal and institutional framework for stronger statistical system. The initiative is funded under the World Bank's data for decision-making project, which supports evidence-based decision-making across the region. Leading the technical work is the international consultancy DevStat. Senior statistician, Ramesh Paul, said his team has spent the past several months assessing the way official statistics are produced in St. Lucia using internationally recognized United Nations assessment tools. >> So, we are validating the challenges that the CSO has faced, the strengths of the current statistical system, and also what are the opportunities to modernize. So, this workshop will specifically look at the organization structure of the CSO. We have come up with a new organization structure to strengthen the existing structure in the short term for about within 2 years. And then we've also come up with a more wider organization structure to cover the wider statistical community, which is the statistical system of St. Lucia. >> They also examined staffing requirements, budgetary needs, and technological investments necessary to build a modern statistical office capable of meeting future demands. Particular emphasis is being placed on strengthening information technology capacity and preparing the office to take advantage of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. Among the participants was Paul Collymore, head of the statistics and research unit at the National Insurance Corporation. He believes the modernization effort is essential in improving the quality and accessibility of official statistics. >> What is being proposed now will enable the Central Statistical Office to be better organized as a unit to serve the nation better in terms of providing statistics key statistics on time and to provide accurate statistics. And they can do that by getting the support of all the other institutions within the country. >> Collymore added that agencies such as the National Insurance Corporation are committed to supporting the initiative through improved data sharing, classification, and dissemination. From the Media Communications Unit in the Department of Finance, Glenn Simon reporting.