Unreported data sources in public sector organizations

Abstract

Almost every public sector department produces some statistics and accumulates its share in the formulation of National Statistics. The accurate and timely statistics are vital for planning and development, budgeting and evaluation of the implemented programs. It may be reasonable to assume that datasets are being produced at almost all levels of the departments; nonetheless, a substantial number of valuable data-items are left unreported and hence they are unable to play their role in evidence-based planning and decision-making. There is a need to uncover these sources, to explore the reasons behind the non-reporting of data and to devise strategies to utilize these sources in the production of official statistics. In this paper, we present the results of a national-level survey conducted to collect information on data-processing and reporting mechanisms of public-sector organizations in Pakistan. Along with presenting the survey results, the paper discusses the potential sources of unreported data (including Big Data), the reasons for non-reporting at different sectoral levels and the confidentiality, privacy, and data-sharing constraints. Based on the above, the paper ends by proposing the compilation of a Directory of Administrative Data Sources (DADS) in order to establish an improved administrative infrastructure in the country.