SCAD, government entities team up to develop an integrated framework

Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD) has organised a ceremony to honour strategic partners from government entities in appreciation of their contributions to the statistical ecosystem development. The recognition coincides with SCAD’s endeavour to enhance strategic partnerships with government entities being the main pillars of the decentralised statistical ecosystem and major support for SCAD’s statistical projects and initiatives.

Yousuf Fahad, Executive Director - Statistics in SCAD, said: “The decentralised statistical ecosystem reflects SCAD’s robust and sustainable collaboration with concerned government entities in Abu Dhabi. The Statistical Capability Development Programmes are also part of SCAD’s commitment to developing an integrated and advanced statistical ecosystem in Abu Dhabi. Our partnerships with government entities accelerate cooperation in data fields applying the latest scientific criteria and standards to provide accurate and reliable indicators, with the vision of achieving the goals of statistical maturity towards well-founded decisions and strategic development plans to the foresight of Abu Dhabi’s future.

“SCAD is collaborating with government entities to develop an integrated statistical framework, considering the importance of system integration and necessary capabilities. Planning and mutual coordination with the government entities are key factors to the project’s success, which opens the possibility to benefit from government records to produce register-based statistical indicators to devise well-informed policymaking.”

The statistical decentralized ecosystem project was launched in 2021 to enable government entities and upgrade their readiness towards producing high-quality official statistics, being the organisers of strategic sectors, and implementing development plans based on the available data. The project will benefit government entities through the flexible approach to producing in-depth statistical products in shorter periods to coincide with the instant decision-making process.

The first two phases of the decentralised statistical ecosystem in Abu Dhabi included integration with more than 12 government entities, while a number of the targeted government entities will follow in 2032 to integrate with the ecosystem with the vision of adopting the same standards, improving the quality of administrative records, ensuring the quality of statistical outputs and to disseminate under a unified framework to achieve the ultimate goal of building a comprehensive statistical system.

The honoured government entities are the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, Department of Education and Knowledge, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, Department of Community Development, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, Department of Municipalities and Transport, Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs, and Abu Dhabi Waste Management PJSC (Tadweer).

SCAD also organised a graduation ceremony for the first cohort of the Statistical Capability Development Programme, delivered by SCAD’s Statistical Training Institute for Abu Dhabi government employees. The programmes are part of SCAD’s strategy to develop the statistical ecosystem in Abu Dhabi. The first batch included more than 80 graduates from 30 government entities. The programmes consist of three training certificates: The Abu Dhabi Statistical Fellowship Programme, The Certification in Official Statistics, and the Executive Programme in Strategic Leadership.

 Mozah Suhail Al Muhairi, Executive Director of Policy and Regulation Sector at Abu Dhabi Agriculture And Food Safety Authority (ADFSA) said: “We recognise the important role of statistical data in supporting decision-making, building a foresight vision based on scientific foundations, and to utilise AI and modern techniques in Big Data analysis.”

She also commended the initiative of SCAD, aiming to build and develop the statistical capabilities of employees in government entities to increase efficiency and enhance contribution to the production of high-quality data that is consistent with Abu Dhabi’s vision to build a comprehensive statistical system. She stressed that ADAFSA is keen to cooperate with SCAD to increase the efficiency and accelerate the production of official statistics since ADAFSA is inspired by the government’s vision of leveraging statistical data over short, medium and long-term planning to build a sophisticated database that supports agricultural sustainability.

Engineer Sheikha Al-Hosni, Executive Director of the Oversight and Innovation Sector - Department of Community Development (DCD), praised the role of SCAD: “We value SCAD’s efforts to provide all statistical services and to give an opportunity to take part in pivotal projects, including the Transformation Project in Statistical Work, which reflects SCAD’s vision to keep pace with the instant developments in Abu Dhabi.”