Good progress is being made with the review of the Official Statistics System (OSS). Involvement from OSS partners across government has contributed to the development of proposals for the OSS going forward.
It is timely to review the strategy. It has been six years since the direction for the OSS was established as part of a review of the OSS and Statistics NZ. The OSS has made considerable progress over that time, with increased collaboration between partners leading to improved access to information, increased statistical capability across government, and shared tools which reduce the cost to government.
There are still areas for improvement however. There is a renewed focus on reducing compliance costs for business and increasing value for money for taxpayers, and these issues need to be addressed across the OSS.
There is a stronger concern to improve public access to good information, in order to strengthen government accountability, and improve the quality of decision-making throughout the economy.
Alongside these areas of focus is the ongoing change in demand (and opportunities to meet that demand) due to changes in technology. As OSS partners, we already share our expertise in meeting these demands with other producers of statistics, and this needs to continue and build over time.
Thank you to all OSS partners who have been involved in the refresh of the OSS strategy, including the Tier 1 review. Following initial consultation on Tier 1 we are now analysing and responding to feedback, with a view to a definition change which will eventually lead to a revised Tier 1 list after further consultation with OSS partners.
The OSS is a national resource for all New Zealanders and your contribution and commitment to the quality, comprehensiveness, and relevance of official statistics across government will help shape the OSS over the next few years. The full OSS review will be considered by Cabinet and is due to be completed later this year.