This document discusses Eurostat's plans to implement SDMX standards to improve data sharing and reuse across statistical domains. Currently, Eurostat statistical production is organized in "stovepipes" by domain, using different conventions and IT tools. Eurostat aims to establish shared statistical services and an interoperability architecture using common standards like SDMX to enable cross-domain data usage, increase transparency, and allow efficient sharing of IT resources. SDMX tools will be implemented for tasks like metadata management, data validation, loading, and dissemination to achieve these goals and benefits like reduced production time, greater transparency, and economies of scale.

1. Eurostat
National Accounts business case
(validation, data cooperation) and
its SDMX implementation through
shared services
October, 2016 1SDMX Experts meeting, Mexico
Daniel SURANYI
Eurostat, Directorate C: “National Accounts, prices & key indicators”
Alvaro DIEZ SOTO
Eurostat, Unit B3: “IT solutions for statistical production”

2. Eurostat
National Accounts
Business Case
Daniel
SURANYI
2

3. Eurostat
Official statistics: the challenge…
3
More timely policies
Commercial providers
GDP T+30
Official reference
Cross-domain usage
Shrinking resources
€ 🙎

4. Eurostat
Stovepipe production: the reality…
4
SurveyB
Collect Process Analyse Disseminate
SurveyASurveyB

5. Eurostat
Stovepipe production: the reality…
5
• Customised for a specific domain
• Conventions used within domains / surveys
• Hampering cross-domain usage
• Leading to low level of transparency
• Not possible to share IT tools efficiently
• Difficult to share data across domains / organisations

6. Eurostat
Example: National Accounts
production in Eurostat
6
Business
process

7. Eurostat
Target: flexible use of statistical services
8

8. Eurostat
Target: flexible use of statistical services
11
• Customised for a specific domain
• Conventions used within domains / surveys
• Hampering cross-domain usage
• Leading to low level of transparency
• Not possible to share IT tools efficiently
• Difficult to share data across domains / organisations

9. Eurostat
Target: flexible use of statistical services
12
• Customised for a specific domain
• Conventions used within domains / surveys
• Hampering cross-domain usage
• Leading to low level of transparency
• Not possible to share IT tools efficiently
• Difficult to share data across domains / organisations

10. Eurostat
Target: flexible use of statistical services
13
• Architecture for cross-domain usage
• Standards used across domains / surveys
• Enabling cross-domain usage
• Leading to transparency
• Encouraged to share IT tools efficiently
• Facilitates sharing data across domains / organisations

11. Eurostat
The big picture: using standards
GSBPM
Process step
categories
GSIM
Reference
information
model
☑ Statistical
Production
CSPA
Service specification
SDMX
Data ModellingVTL
Validation
expressions

12. SDMX compliance
• Valid SDMX-ML file
• Coded according to the DSD
• Mandatory fields present
• Correct data types
• Dataflow definition
Basic logical checks
• Sender ID and REF_AREA
• Table ID is present
• Value "NaN" and OBS_STATUS
• EMBARGO_DATE and CONF_STATUS
• PRICES and REF_YEAR_PRICE
Basic content checks
• Missing or unexpected series
• Hole in series
• Zero values
• Negative values
General plausibility and
consistency (within file)
• Additivity of breakdowns
• Outliers
• Consistency between prices
• Unadjusted and adjusted series
Advanced plausability and
consistency (across files)
• Revisions
• Quarterly versus Annual
• Same series across tables
Cross-domain or source
checks
• Balance of Payments
• Trade statistics
• Labour market statistics
• Data pulished by NSI or IO
SDMX
Registry
Structural
Validation
Content
Validation
VTL
Repository
?

13. Eurostat
National Accounts
& IT Tools
Alvaro
DIEZ SOTO
16

14. Eurostat
Eurostat SDMX tools
October, 2016 17SDMX Experts meeting, Mexico
Where is SDMX?
Metadata design and build
Data compliance
Collection
Validation
Data loading and storage
Disseminate
DSW; SDMX Registry
SDMX Converter; SDMX-RI
EDAMIS; SDMX-RI;
Census/Data Hub; ESS-MH
STRUVAL; CONVAL
DLBB
DSWS; SDMX-RI; Census Hub
SDMX tools Input Used in
More information here

15. Eurostat
Our target - Interoperability Architecture
 Support and service improvements
 EU Public Licence and others
 Community and forum pages
 Shared/collaborative development
October, 2016 18SDMX Experts meeting, Mexico
 Security and availability
 Shared services, housing, hosting
 Auditing & Operations
 Modular & interoperable
 Reference architecture
 Strategy

16. Eurostat
Implementation: use of SDMX tools
19
SDMX Converter
SDMX-RI
Web & Test Client
EDAMIS
SDMX-RI
Web Services
Struval, Conval

17. Eurostat
National Accounts
Business Case &
IT Tools
Conclusions
20

18. Eurostat
Standardisation incl. SDMX deliver…
22
Shorter throughput
from producer to user
Transparent
• production process
• validation rules
Economy of
scale & scope
€ 🙌

19. Eurostat
THANK YOU!
ESTAT-SUPPORT-SDMX@ec.europa.eu
October, 2016 23SDMX Experts meeting, Mexico