Safeguarding trust in statistics and the new statistical voice

Issue title: Getting Our Messages Across

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Nymand-Andersen, Per

Affiliations: European Central Bank, Directorate General Statistics, Kaiserstrasse 29, 60311 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. E-mail: Per.Nymand@ecb.europa.eu

Abstract: The world of statistics is continually challenged by its remit to reflect and explain complex financial and economic phenomena, as well as their relative importance in, and impact on, society. Furthermore, changes to users' needs and working patterns – which stem from the increased use of collaborative technologies – also present challenges in terms of the way that statistics are communicated to users, be they the political establishment, professional users, the media, academia or the general public. In contributing to an involved, knowledge-based society, trustworthy, reliable and independent statistics represent a fundamental cornerstone of modern democracies. This cannot be taken for granted and further efforts are needed, in the context of democratic development, to permanently shield statistics from short-term electoral cycles. This article highlights the principal components of generating trust in statistics within modern democracies and furthermore highlights that a new two-way statistical communication strategy is needed designed to reach and engage users in statistics.

Keywords: Trust, statistics communication, democracies

DOI: 10.3233/SJI-130788

Journal: Statistical Journal of the IAOS, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 233-246, 2013