Why communication matters in statistics?

Making numbers talk

In general, statisticians don’t know how to talk about the numbers their produce. They are trained to produce quality statistics but rarely to disseminate them and to communicate on them. On the other side, users, and journalists in particular, are not always at ease with using numbers. Using statistics in not necessarily in their training curriculum.

Thierry PACCOUD, Team Leader of the MEDSTAT IV statistical cooperation project in the ENP-South region, explains:

“Making statistical data more attractive to the users has been on the agenda of all the statistical offices of the MED countries for some years now. Everybody realises that an investment must be made on the presentation and attractiveness of the data, in particular to better fit with the new age in communication and the acceleration of and change in the consumption of information, including statistics. However, giving more emphasis on the presentation of the data may reveal to be challenging in an environment where the priority has always been put on production. Changing mentalities and practices is a long shot task and may also be costly in terms of technological development and human capacity building”.

Cooperation is key for improving the relations with data users

Establishing better relations with the journalists is a common goal for the statistics offices, not only to ensure a better interpretation of the data produced and disseminated but also to establish solid networks for more regular and efficient exchanges.

Each professional, the statisticians on the one hand and the users on the other hand, must stay within their role but must contribute to building a profitable mutual understanding on statistics on key issues such as how they are produced and how they can be used in the public debate.
 

Read also: Monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals: the challenges for official statistics

In the frame of the MEDSTAT IV project, a specific attention was paid to bringing closer statisticians and journalists. The project has developed a blended training course called Communication4Statistics (C4S) and launched some other initiatives focusing on the strengthening of capacities and processes for data visualisation or the production of a manual on how to develop infographics.

There is a large consensus on the usefulness of the work done in the frame of the MEDSTAT IV regional statistical project in the area of visibility for statistics and the relations with the users. One important point that came out from the C4S training initiative is the strong interest expressed by the journalists for these exchanges with the statisticians.
 

More about MEDSTAT IV

Efficient communication is an important issue for the future of official statistics in an environment where the competition with other sources of information will continue to increase. Training and capacity building provided, in particular through EU regional cooperation projects, are key to adequately and efficiently answer the new challenges. The regional approach may help in giving reality to the exchanges of experiences and of practices.

Synergies with using this particular “savoir-faire” for training and capacity building in the MED countries could also benefit to other regions such as Africa and ENP-East region where regional statistical cooperation projects are currently ongoing.

The view of our expert

Ms Nibal Mohamad Ahmad Thawabteh is the director of the Media Development Centre of Birzeit University in Palestine. In 2008, she was awarded the International Woman of Courage Award – Washington by the American Foreign Affairs Ministry, and is the author of several media related publications including a manual on Media, Elections and Women, and a study of Freedom of expression and opinion in Palestine. She has published a series of articles in Arabic and English and is a well-known media and journalism trainer in her country and in the Arab region.

Why do we keep on saying that statisticians and the media do not understand each other?

I think there are several reasons behind this. First of all, journalism and media is a field of human science that navigates somehow away from quantities and numbers. Also very few universities and media institutions pay enough attention to this specific science that we call "statistics". Last, there is no specialized economic journalism taught in Palestine and in the ENP-South countries to link these two worlds together.

I am convinced that, on one hand, the journalists of this region need to deepen their understanding of statistics that citizens need to understand in order to improve and facilitate their lives. On the other hand statisticians need to better understand the role of the media and try to improve the way for delivering their messages in a more concise and simple manner.

On which aspect the regional statistical project MEDSTAT IV has replied to this specific need? 

The project has developed a unique blended training course called “Communication4Statistics (C4S)”. The participation of journalists and statisticians in this training has created bridges between them and helped to analyse the obstacles for an efficient communication. The training has helped to develop practical solutions to these problems and has improved the ability of journalists to formulate messages that are more understandable and write press releases that are more attractive. It has also improved their performance in televised interviews with respect to their ability to understand the question, give a brief answer and control their body language.

Our projects

Our cooperation projects are evidences that international cooperation is an instrument that can definitely give a helping hand to improve communication on official statistics.

Expertise France, thanks to its significant experience in statistical assistance and its diversified network of experts, is devoted to the achievement of this goal. Within a strong coordination with INSEE and Statistical Offices in other EU countries, we participate in this global work of the statistical community.

Our regional cooperation projects are funded by the European Commission and implemented in close coordination with Eurostat. 

If you want to find out more about our cooperation projects visit our webpage:
Expertise France & official statistics

To discover the French Statistical Office visit: www.insee.fr