Due to the large number of existing normative documents about the development, production, and dissemination of official statistics, the ESSC has agreed on a process for the review of candidate standards by the Standards Working Group (SWG) as well as the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC). The workflow supporting the standardisation process, which accounts for the adoption, maintenance, and review of normative documents in the standardisation process, is depicted in the attached file.
In this process, a proposed standard must fit several criteria in order to be considered for the Catalogue of ESS Standards. First, candidate standards must fit the definition of a standard, which means that they must be normative documents that are not part of EU legislation.
Furthermore, the proposed documents need to meet the priority threshold set by the ESSC, which is defined in relation to two criteria of generality.
Generality of the normative document with regard to phases in the statistical process
For the definition of generality in regard to different phases of the statistical process, the ESS refers to the phases of the Generic Statistic Business Process Model (GSBPM) as defined by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The GSBPM defines eight phases of the statistical process: specifying needs, designing, building, collecting, processing, analysing, disseminating, and evaluating. Based on how many of these phases a proposed document refers to, it is assigned a score:
- The score is 1 if the normative document contributes to one GSBPM phase
- The score is 2 if the normative document contributes to two GSBPM phases
- The score is 3 if the normative document contributes to more than two GSBPM phases
Note: GSBPM "Overarching" category counts for 3
Generality of the normative document with regard to statistical domains
In addition to process generality, candidate standards for the ESS Catalogue are given a score based on their relevance for different statistical domains in the production of European statistics, as defined by the Classification of Statistical Activities (CSA).
- The score is 1 if the normative document contributes to one level 2 category of the CSA
- The score is 2 if the normative document contributes to more than one level 2 category but to only one level 1 category of the CSA
- The score is 3 if the normative document contributes to more than one level 1 category of the CSA
Based on the document’s scores for process generality and domain generality, a candidate is assigned a priority rank which is calculated by multiplying both generality scores. If the candidate standard’s priority rank exceeds the threshold of 3 points, it can be further considered for inclusion in the Catalogue of ESS Standards.
The only exceptions to this ranking process are statistical classifications, which may be further considered for inclusion regardless of their priority rank.
Documents passing the threshold are scrutinised by the relevant expert group or groups. To build a valid justification for adopting a candidate standard, the Standards Working Group shall develop targeted inquiries for the relevant expert groups. Such inquiries will be tailored to the content of the standard, and the purpose of these inquiries is to clarify aspects of the business case. These aspects include but are not limited to:
- the extent to which the document is normative
- whether it’s implementation and impact can be measured;
- the expected impact of the document on collaboration in the ESS;
- the resources needed for the ESS members to implement it.
The expert group members shall also be asked for an opinion on whether a standard should be adopted as an ESS standard or not.
Based on the minimum priority scores, consensus amongst expert group members and the justification of the candidate standard, the Standards Working Group prepares a substantiated proposal for the ESSC, which decides on the inclusion of documents in the Catalogue of ESS Standards.
