Peer Review
Statistics produced by the Office of Statistics are based on the Code of Practice of the European Statistical System. This Code of Practice provides guidance on the institutional environment, statistical processes, and statistical output. It comprises 16 principles with 84 indicators. Compliance with these principles is monitored by international teams of experts through peer reviews (audits).
Short video on the quality of European Statistics and ESS peer reviews:
Peer Review 2023 in Liechtenstein
The first two steps of the Peer Review 2023 have already been completed with the expert team's visit to the Office of Statistics from August 29 to September 1, 2023. The final recommendations of the expert team can be found in the Peer Review report.
1. Self-assessment
In the first phase, a questionnaire is completed that focuses on compliance with the 84 indicators of the Code of Practice. In addition, questions on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks related to each of the 16 principles must be answered, and progress made in implementation since the last report must be demonstrated. The completed questionnaire, together with supplementary documents such as legal texts and guidelines, is sent to the team of experts three months before their visit for analysis and preparation of the visit.
2. Visit of the expert team
The visit took place from August 29 to September 1, 2023. During this visit, in-depth interviews were conducted with various stakeholders (employees of the Office of Statistics, users of statistics, media, data providers). In addition to checking compliance with the principles, one of the main objectives of the peer review is to identify possible improvements and make recommendations on the institutional environment, statistical processes, and statistical output.
3. Report of the expert team
Following the visit, the expert team draws up a report on compliance with the principles or corresponding recommendations for better compliance with the principles. This report is compiled within three months and published on the website of the Office of Statistics.
4. Follow-up, measures, implementation
The recommendations from the peer review report lead to the improvement action plan. Progress is then documented in annual reports, sent to Eurostat and published on the website.
Further information
- [pdf] Final report on the third round of the ESS Peer Reviews PDF of Final report on the third round of the ESS Peer Reviews
- [pdf] Fact sheet general introduction to the ESS Peer Review PDF document Fact sheet general introduction to the ESS Peer Review
- [pdf] Fact sheet ESS Peer Review process PDF document Fact sheet ESS Peer Review process
Previous Peer Reviews
The peer review took place in Liechtenstein from January 26 to 30, 2015. The peer review was conducted by three statistical experts on behalf of Eurostat: Mr. Priit Potisepp (Chair), Mr. Jozsef Karpati and Mr. Jan Matejcek. In addition to employees of the Office of Statistics, they interviewed representatives of main users, media, data providers, and the scientific community.
Results
The peer review report from April 2015 concludes that the Liechtenstein Office of Statistics largely fulfills the fifteen principles of the Code of Practice. Among other things, the report highlights the Office of Statistics' quality guidelines as a strength. However, the report also notes that there is still room for improvement. The peers list a total of 22 recommendations, which they summarize in four areas:
- Human resources and efficiency improvements
- Strengthening relevance and user orientation
- Use of administrative data
- Methodology and the quality of production processes
Documents
From December 3 to 5, 2007, European statistical experts audited the Statistics Division of the Office of Economic Affairs for compliance with quality principles.
Results
According to the peer review report, Liechtenstein's official statistics pay great attention to statistical quality in their daily work. On the negative side, the experts noted that the institutional independence of statistics as a department within the Office of Economic Affairs is not yet a given. On the positive side, the experts noted that statistical confidentiality is guaranteed by law and that all users of statistics have equal access to statistical information. Impartiality and objectivity are guaranteed, as are the accessibility and clarity of the statistics. The user survey showed a very high level of trust in the quality of statistical publications. All interviews during the peer review also pointed to this high level of user satisfaction.