NSCB Resolution No. 10
Series of 2010

ENJOINING AGENCIES IN THE PHILIPPINE STATISTICAL SYSTEM
TO ARCHIVE AND DOCUMENT MICRODATA
USING INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

WHEREAS, the overall mission of the Philippine Statistical System (PSS) is to provide adequate, relevant, reliable, timely and accessible statistical information and services to the public;

WHEREAS, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) issued Resolution No. 10 dated 29 October 1997 for the adoption of the Government Statistics Accessibility Program (GSAP) to widen knowledge and facilitate faster and sounder decision-making by making statistical information and services more accessible;

WHEREAS, under NSCB Resolution No. 11, Series of 1997, the adoption of data archiving measures by the PSS was identified as a key policy to ensure the preservation, systematic storage and retrieval of statistical data, including records and metadata;

WHEREAS, there is a need to: (a)  continuously improve the PSS to deliver current and emerging needs for quality statistical products and services;  and  (b)  define a common framework and direction for the PSS in order to attain its goals and objectives;

WHEREAS, the Marrakech Action Plan for Statistics (MAPS) recommended the creation of the International Household Survey Network (IHSN) to mobilize support for more efficient and effective approaches to conducting surveys in developing countries, among others;

WHEREAS, the IHSN developed tools and guidelines for data producers to foster documentation, dissemination and preservation of microdata according to international standards and best practices, such as the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI);

WHEREAS, the Accelerated Data Program (ADP) was also launched as a recommendation of the MAPS to provide technical and financial support to survey data documentation and dissemination and to survey programs in participating countries using the tools and guidelines of the IHSN;

WHEREAS, the ADP is one of the various programs implemented by the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (Paris21) to build statistical capacity of national statistical systems in the improvement of the availability, accessibility and quality of survey data within the framework of improved national strategies for the development of statistics;

WHEREAS, the ADP advocates the documentation of surveys in accordance with international metadata standards;

WHEREAS, the Philippines participated in the ADP through the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES), and the National Statistics Office (NSO), which are currently documenting and archiving their microdata using the IHSN Microdata Management Toolkit, and disseminating the information in their respective online data catalogs;

WHEREAS, the Interagency Committee on Statistical Information Management and Dissemination (IAC-SIMD), having reviewed and evaluated the form and content of the data catalogs of the three statistical agencies as being fairly responsive to the requirements of the PSS, and having been apprised of the positive experiences of these agencies in using the IHSN Toolkit in documenting their microdata, advocates that other PSS agencies likewise document and archive their microdata;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Board enjoin agencies in the PSS to document and archive microdata in accordance with international standards such as the tools and guidelines developed by the IHSN.

BE IT RESOLVED FURTHER, that the NSCB Technical Staff monitor the archiving and documentation of microdata of PSS agencies, particularly the use of the IHSN Toolkit in these activities.

Approved this 11th day of August 2010, in Pasig City.

Attested by:

ROMULO A. VIROLA
Secretary General