Description

How well countries approached data handling during the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the trajectory of their response. However, the global crisis laid bare the challenges of regulatory and legal mechanisms in official data collection in many countries. Faced with rising data demand from policymakers, governments had to ensure business continuity and innovate while adapting to lockdown conditions. Remote work, online systems and an increased use of data have increased the risks to data protection, while legal and regulatory provisions are not always in place to safeguard against the misuse of data. Updating statistics laws can strengthen the ability of countries to handle data amidst a rapidly evolving digital and operational landscape, and support reengineered statistical systems that coordinate various stakeholders around a common goal of addressing data user needs. The regional session will discuss the crucial elements of data governance through a lens of national statistical system legal frameworks and coordination mechanisms, with a focus on new developments that are taking place amidst the pandemic. All sessions will feature simultaneous translation in English, French and Spanish.