By Santhosh V Perumal/Business Reporter


The Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) will prepare a new National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) for 2013 to 2018 as part of strengthening and improving the data quality in the country.
“The QSA embraces the challenges of implementing the next stage of the national strategy and will remain committed to work in close partnership with government ministries and agencies, data producers and users, private sector and international bodies to ensure reliable and accurate statistics is provided to Qatar,” a spokesman of the statistical body said.
The aim of the new strategy, which will be an improvement on its 2008-12 strategy, seeks to address the important challenges such as strengthening the co-ordination of the statistical system to increase data quality and improving the ways of making statistics available to users, making use of new technology and social networks.
“All statistical processes and procedures will need to be fully documented and a comprehensive data archive system (to be) developed,” the QSA said, adding the proposed strategy also aims at developing a national data quality framework so as to maintain standards to ensure that all statistics are compiled in line with international standards and recommendations.
Even with all the progress that has been achieved, QSA is well aware that there are a number of challenges facing the development of statistics in Qatar over the next few years, it said.
“Qatar is continuing to develop very rapidly and this implies that the increasing demand for statistics seen recently is likely to continue,” it added.
An interim evaluation of the NSDS found that progress has been made towards all the seven strategic goals, with the overall level of achievement across all seven goals were assessed at two thirds completed.
The goals included satisfying the demand for statistical information and meeting the data needs of the nation, institutionalising standards for statistical methodology and quality, strengthening statistical agencies organisationally and building capacity, improving co-ordination among data producers and co-operation with data suppliers and respondents, promoting statistical literacy through advocacy and education, expanding dissemination of data and the utility of statistical products and designing and implementing supporting sub-strategies in key areas.