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Official Statistics Section – Terms of reference
1. The Remit of the Section
The Section shall be concerned with the collection, analysis and interpretation of official statistics of all kinds.
2. The Aims of the Section
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To provide a forum for discussion and critical examination of Official Statistics and to organise activities for this.
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To assist the National Statistics Working Party (NSWP) in the development of RSS policy on official statistics.
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To liaise with other sections of the RSS and the User Forum where there are areas of overlap and arrange joint meetings wherever possible.
3. Areas of Interest
The terms “official statistics” should be interpreted in a broad sense. Under the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 official statistics are defined as statistics produced by the Board [effectively the ONS], a government department, the Scottish Administration, a Welsh ministerial authority, a Northern Ireland department or any other person acting on behalf of the Crown. This should include social, economic and environmental statistics.
Some issues of relevance to the Section will also be of relevance to other Sections. That should not prevent the Section from taking an active interest. Indeed, collaboration and communication with other Sections is to be encouraged.
4. Activities
The section provides a forum for the dissemination and discussion of issues, ideas, theories, methods, and substantive findings. The main means by which this should be achieved is through an annual programme of meetings. Other means include participation in the conferences of the Society and communication in RSS publications.
5. Meetings
The Section should aim to hold up to ten meetings a year. Meetings are open to members of the Section and others with a bona fide interest. It is expected that meetings will generally be held in London, with at least one meeting outside of London.
Meetings can be evening meetings, half-days, or whole days. Evening meetings usually consist of a single read paper, plus time for questions and discussion. They start at 1700 (tea from 1630) and finish around 1830. Half-day meetings typically consist of three read papers plus discussion, starting at 1400 and finishing around 1730. Whole day meetings allow greater flexibility of format, but also require greater organisation. [In recent years, a charge has been made for attendance at whole day meetings, to include a buffet lunch, but all other meetings have been free.]
6. Conference
The Section does not have a direct role in the organisation of the RSS Conference, which is overseen by the RSS Programme Committee. However, the Section can submit proposals to the Programme Committee.
The Section should also consider the use of posters and leaflets at conference to publicise its aims and activities.
7. Publications
The Section should communicate with its members through the RSS Website and pages of RSS News where appropriate. The Section has no editorial jurisdiction, but the editor is usually sympathetic to the publication of articles and announcements regarding the interests and activities of Sections. The Section should submit reports of its meetings, announcements of meetings, invitations for applications to the Campion Fellowship, invitations to express interest in joining the committee, and other reports and announcements as appropriate.
Series A of the RSS Journal (JRSSA) is the obvious forum for formal papers on matters falling within the Section’s remit. Presenters of papers to Section meetings and at RSS conferences should be encouraged to submit their papers to the Journal. The Section should also consider offering editorials on appropriate topics.
8. Membership
All fellows of the Society are automatically deemed members of the Section. Others can elect to join just the Section. For this, they pay a subscription equal to one quarter of the current RSS “basic subscription”, and receive only RSS News. (Members of RSS Local Groups who are not fellows are not automatically deemed members of the Section, but can join the Section free of charge.)
The remit and activities of the Section are also likely to be of interest to many people who would not consider themselves primarily (or at all) as “statisticians” and are not members of the Section. The Section should encourage such people to get involved in its activities. It should not consider that its remit is to serve just its current members, but rather to serve all those with an interest in the areas described in section 3 above. The Section should also encourage non-members to join the Section and/or the Society.
April 2010.
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