Last year, ESCAP’s research on the uses of big data for official statistics across countries in Asia and the Pacific discovered many challenges the NSOs face when exploring the potential of big data for official statistics. Among the biggest issues are data governance, including regulatory framework impeding the use of alternative sources of data in the production of official statistics and forming new partnerships with the private sector. The Expert Group Meeting on the Uses of Big Data for Official Statistics focused on these two main issues. One of the recommendations of that meeting was the development of a guidance on the uses of big data for official statistics.

Therefore, we are now pleased to share with you the draft Key considerations for using big data for official statistics on the DI-CoP platform for your kind review and comments. We would sincerely appreciate receiving your comments and suggestions by the end of June 2022 to ensure this can be a useful resource for NSOs in Asia and the Pacific. Please submit any questions or edits directly on the page in the comment line, or feel free to reach out to Ms Tanja Sejersen, Statistician, Statistics Division (sejersent@un.org) directly.