Page 47 - Invited Paper Session (IPS) - Volume 2

IPS178 Stephan Müller
Eurostat, IMF, BIS, OECD) for the production of a wide range of international
statistics.

3. Taking the user perspective into account
In terms of the Bundesbank’s internal communication between the
compilers and users of statistical products, questions are raised regarding the
users’ specific needs and focuses – the user perspective. Users of statistical
products can be found, in particular, in the areas of monetary policy, economic
research, financial stability, markets, payments, and banking supervision. They
value the exchange of information with statisticians and actively promote it.
Intensive contact usually takes place at the operational level. Users can make
use of centralised functional email addresses belonging to the respective
statistical departments for their requests. Subsequent in-depth discussions are
usually carried out by telephone in direct contact between the user and the
producer. Relationships are also fostered through informal communication in
the form of joint lunches or other personal meetings. Users are especially
interested in new developments in the statistical survey methodology, time
series, or emerging technologies. In order to introduce users to these types of
topics, personal contact is particularly important in order to remove ambiguity,
become acquainted with the right contact persons, and gain a better
understanding of the data and its relevance.
Regular cooperation also takes place in the production of joint reports or
articles, for example in the context of the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report.
However, even texts written only by economists can convey new
developments from the world of statistics, provided that these topics have
been discussed with statisticians. Therefore, information about such messages
must be actively shared with the users. This includes information on new
findings in international bodies such as the Irving Fisher Committee on Central
Bank Statistics (IFC), the Committee on Monetary, Financial and Balance of
Payments Statistics (CMFB), or the European Statistical Forum (ESF). In this
context, the exchange of information works in both directions. Innovations
and new insights from the various areas in which the users operate can thus
also be shared with the statistical community by providing them via these
bodies. Other key areas in which intensive communication is important from
the user’s perspective are the production processes of statistical
questionnaires and surveys, the interpretation of statistical developments in
the context of the overall economic situation, as well as the provision of
statistical data from internal and external databases. Especially in the latter
case, users often lack a precise overview of the available data.

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