Page 52 - Invited Paper Session (IPS) - Volume 2

IPS178 Stephan Müller
potential growth and determining the output gap. In this way, the user
requirements can be introduced to the relevant expert committees in order to
further develop the respective statistics. In the case of the aforementioned
working group on MNEs, the results were presented to the CMFB (Kirchner
2018). This offered an excellent opportunity to bring the user requirements
that were discovered to a high-level committee. The relevant question with
regard to meeting the users’ needs was: “What should data tell us?” The open
communication in the working group led to the corresponding answers: use
and utilisation of domestic productive factors, changes in production capacity,
imbalance in b.o.p. or unit labour costs, interdependencies between countries,
and analysis of spillovers. The joint cooperation in such a working group also
highlights the limitations of statistics. As the final results of the working group
were published in a contribution to the Bundesbank’s Monthly Report, the
public was also informed about the potential, but also possible restrictions, of
statistical work (Deutsche Bundesbank 2018).
DG Payments and Settlement Systems set up an internal exchange of
ideas on the current developments in the areas of fintech and crypto assets.
This format can be considered a kind of informal expert group with
participants from DG Payments and Settlement Systems, DG Banking and
Financial Supervision, DG Financial Stability, DG Markets, and DG Statistics. It
is therefore not a working group in the true sense, but still provides a suitable
framework for conceptual work on fintech-related issues. Here, too,
interdisciplinary communication is key to success. In particular, the forum
facilitates cooperation at the operational level. Each member of the group
keeps all experts informed about current proceedings in their department. This
allows each participant to gain an overview of new insights in order to
disseminate them throughout the different areas of the bank that deal with
fintech-related topics. The group also has a “living document”, in which all new
insights and current developments are registered. Thus, there is always an up-
to-date document for tracking the latest findings. Statisticians can use the
exchange of information to find out what is expected from them. At the same
time, users can be informed about the range of statistical products. Since such
platforms also ensure that statisticians and users become acquainted with
each other, they also learn what their colleagues are currently working on. This
therefore also helps to avoid duplication of work and can be understood as
being linked to the statistical principle of collecting data only once.

c) Institutionalised forms of communication
Communication between the compilers and users of statistical
information also works beyond direct face-to-face communication and
personal contact. Of course, personal contact should be preferred where
possible, as it offers the highest potential for improving statistics and analytics,

39 | I S I W S C 2 0 1 9