LAHORE: In order to enhance data accessibility to users for informed decision making, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (SBP) has started a nationwide series of dialogue workshops between data users and data producers at national and provincial level in collaboration with UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). The PBS being national statistics office of Pakistan is mandated to produce reliable statistics for evidence-based policy making and planning.
For dissemination of this statistics, a National Data Dissemination Policy is being formulated. The workshops would be helpful in identifying the requirements of data users, finding gaps and improve data dissemination system. First workshop of the series was held at a local hotel on Monday that was attended by data users, researchers, demographers and other stakeholders while Member (SS/RM), Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, Member (C and S) Ayaz-ud-Din and other senior PBS officers, and Dr.Luay Shabaneh from UNFPA spoke on the occasion. Member (SS/RM), Muhamma
d Sarwar Gondal, presented the vision of PBS for data dissemination and apprised the forum that keeping in view the emerging needs of data users and challenges faced in accessibility of required data, the initiative to host nationwide workshops has been taken by the PBS.
Member (C and S) Ayaz-ud-Din was of the view that these workshops would not only devise strategies for web-based data dissemination but also provide partners for data dissemination. Hence, a mechanism for systematic feedback on data dissemination would be formulated in Pakistan. While, interacting with data users key challenges in census data accessibility could be discussed. The easily accessed data is helpful in quick decision making. Dr.Luay Shabaneh from UNFPA said that by sharing and disseminating data with public; ‘we are not only helping public but staying relevant to data needs.’ The participants showed keen interest in the workshop.
They discussed the issues related to the subject, provided their valuable feedback to
improve the system and anticipated that this initiative would strengthen the collaboration between data producers and data users. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has successfully achieved the milestone of successful completion of first-ever Digital Census of Pakistan. Stakeholders especially data users became partners of PBS at planning stage of 7th Population and Housing Census, their valuable feedback guided PBS in important decisions during field enumeration and data cleaning and analysis stage. Now, their input during data dissemination stage would further enhance their confidence on census data.