Page 180 - Special Topic Session (STS) - Volume 2

STS479 Saidi H.
programming and planning, design, processing, dissemination, statistical
information management, and coordination work takes place centrally. The
role of the regional level is reserved solely for data collection and data entry.
Statistical production is based largely on traditional sources such as surveys
and censuses, both within the National Institute of Statistics (NIS), the main
producer in the country, and in other statistical structures (SSP). Despite the
advances made in the field of statistics, both in terms of production and
dissemination, the system still suffers from some shortcomings and problems,
thus necessitating a modernization of the production structures, including the
INS. This modernization is also dictated by the challenges faced by the INS,
particularly in relation to the country's commitments regarding the various
development agendas. It is in this context that the country embarked on a
heavy twinning project with the European Union (EU) in 2016, involving
European statistical production institutions to support and assist the NSI in
priority areas for modernization of the Tunisian statistical production
apparatus and overcome, therefore, the various deficiencies observed.
We will try in this paper to focus on the functioning of the NSS, its
strengths, its weaknesses and the main axes apprehended within the
framework of the twinning. We will also focus on the achievements of this
twinning and other work to modernize the Tunisian statistical system while
focusing on the NIS.

2. Methodology
I. Challenges of the NSS
Recognizing the inadequacies and shortcomings of the NSS, particularly at
the NIS level, as well as the challenges to meet a growing demand for statistics,
the NIS conducted a series of internal and external evaluations to identify
strengths as well as the real problems and dysfunctions that hinder the smooth
functioning of the statistical production process in the country. In this context,
a peer assessment was carried out by the EU based on a request from NIS
Tunisia, which included two main components:
 The administrative and technical capacity of the statistical system to
respond to different requirements, focusing mainly on the effectiveness
of the NSS, including the NIS, the quality of statistical production and
technical coordination between the different actors;
 The legislative framework governing the statistical activity through in-
depth examination of the 1999 Statistical Law, in particular as regards
compliance with the fundamental principles of official statistics as well
as international standards and best practices.
The main recommendations of this evaluation are as follows:
 Revision of the legislative framework governing statistical activities to
ensure good governance of the national statistical system;

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