ABU DHABI, 21st August, 2023 (WAM) — The Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD) has launched the fifth cycle of the Statistical Maturity Index (SMI) project, which measures Abu Dhabi government entities' capabilities in producing and disseminating statistics that adhere to SCAD's approved methodologies and standards.
The SMI is an important tool for ensuring the quality and reliability of official statistics produced by government entities in Abu Dhabi.
During the launch event, SCAD awarded 28 government entities for their achievements during the fourth cycle of the SMI project.
Abdulla Gharib Alqemzi, Acting Director-General of SCAD, said, "The remarkable progress achieved by the participating entities is a significant step towards enabling the Abu Dhabi Government to use reliable statistics and insights. The substantial improvement in the statistical maturity levels reflects our government's true commitment and dedication to harness the power of data to make informed decisions and policies.
"The SMI is aligned with the Abu Dhabi Government's efforts to enhance the performance of key sectors, including the knowledge-based economy in Abu Dhabi. The project comes from our unwavering dedication to fostering close collaboration with government entities to enable decision-makers through an advanced statistical ecosystem."
At a workshop for participating entities, SCAD introduced the SMI's evaluation criteria and methodologies and the project's fifth-cycle timeline.
The evaluation is based on two main criteria, measuring government entities' statistical maturity. The first assesses the entities' compliance with the laws and regulations to build statistical capabilities and produce indicators. The second measures the commitment of government entities to the highest quality standards, which SCAD aligns with international standards and best practices for data quality.
The index helps government entities identify improvement opportunities, with the results being used to ensure the quality and reliability of official statistics in Abu Dhabi.