Descrizione: 

 
Reflections about the role of official statistics
 
 
Opening: Maurizio Vichi, Head of the Department of Statistical Sciences
 
 
 
Walter J. Radermacher

               
 
What the future, even the very near future, has in store for us is, of course, not easily predictable. Certainly, foresight does not lie in the very nature of statisticians, who usually look in the rear-view mirror. Nevertheless, there are some trends or megatrends, the effects of which are not yet known in detail, to which one will undoubtedly have to adapt. Above all, because official statistics have the characteristics of an ocean liner whose course and speed can only be manoeuvred slowly, all trends must be interpreted in a forward-looking manner. If official statistics are to be sustained in their current position in five years’ time, then the necessary strategy must be established now. A simple continuation of the previous way of doing things, but including some ‘softer’ changes, is therefore not an option, even if this smooth manner of adaptation has been successful in the past. The megatrends digitisation and globalisation need to be addressed with a sound analysis of their impact. Obviously, this presupposes first dealing with their methodological, conceptual or technical aspects. However, it would be strategically wrong to stop at this point. Rather, official statisticians must reinterpret their mandate and policies in the light of a profound understanding of their own core business under changing social conditions.
The digital age is not just a gradual evolution of previous phases of information and communication technology. Rather, a profound change is taking place in society, which fundamentally changes personal behaviour in everyday life, and leads to completely new mixtures of risks and opportunities, of winners and losers and of consumers and producers concerning data or information. It is spoken of as a data revolution, to clarify the extent of the current structural change; however, technological changes do not happen in a vacuum, but are continually influenced by, and influence themselves social and political conditions, both of which are witnessing major changes.
In this context, a profound epistemological shift is needed since complexity and irreversibility undermine the idea that science (and statistics) can provide single, objective, and exhaustive answers.
In the late modernity of risk societies, there is the epistemic and methodological necessity to empower people – citizens and policy makers – with the appropriate insight, to enable them to make the best possible decisions for achieving sustainability and pursuing resilience in a complex world.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Data: 
15-10-2018
Luogo: 
ore 11, sala 34, IV piano, Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche (Edificio CU002). Città Universitaria, P.le A.Moro 5.