Enhancing Dissemination of Statistical Information in Uganda By Winny Nekesa Akullo 1

Abstract timely and readily available to policy makers and decision maker.

A quantitative study was undertaken to investigate ways of enhancing dissemination of statistical information in Uganda by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). The objectives of the study were: to establish the extent to which statistical information is available in the country; to establish the challenges UBOS faces in disseminating statistical information; to establish the users’ level of satisfaction in accessing statistical information; to identify the challenges users face in accessing statistical information; and propose strategies for enhancing dissemination of statistical information to the statistics users. A sample of 119 users of statistical information was randomly selected to participate in this study in addition to17 staff of UBOS that were purposively selected because of their roles in the dissemination of statistical information. Questionnaires, observation, document review and interviews were used to collect data. Data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel and presented in form of frequencies, figures and tables. The study established that the UBOS website was one of the main channels used for disseminating the statistical information, however, it is unknown to the public, difficulty in navigating the website which is slow. Worse still, most of the publications disseminated cannot be found on the website information. Among the recommendations, is that UBOS should use as many available channels as possible in disseminating statistical information in multiple formats and languages to increase access to the statistical information. In addition, they need to establish district/regional resource centres where this information can be accessed.

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics was established by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Act of 1998 as a semiautonomous body mandated to produce, co-ordinate, supervise, and disseminate official statistics in Uganda. It is the national agency which promotes the production of official reliable statistics and ensures the development and maintenance of the National Statistical System (NSS). In implementing this mandate, UBOS conducts various economic and social surveys and censuses to meet the ever growing demand for statistical data and information for government, the private sector, research institutions and international organizations.

Statement of the Problem Uganda’s National Statistical System (NSS) faces a number of challenges including under-utilization of existing statistical information, inadequate infrastructure, unpredictable and insufficient funding (UBOS, 2006). A lot of emphasis is put on data collection and production, but when it comes to dissemination and publication there are a lot of deficits (InWent, 2009). Therefore, the challenge is improving availability of statistical data to users. Despite the publication of statistical information, it is not disseminated widely throughout the country. Existing district public libraries are very few and even then, they do not have statistical information which is vital for decision making at parish or sub county or district levels. Therefore; it is important to carry out a study in order to enhance the dissemination of national statistical information in Uganda by UBOS. It is therefore, critical that UBOS helps users to find the information they need and in the format they need it.

Key words: Dissemination, statistical information, information, enhancing

Introduction Statistics provide useful information for policy analysis; policymaking, planning; businesses’ decisions and citizens’ possibility to hold their government accountable

As Wafula (2010) laments, “We still have to go to the UBOS Library Resource Centre and visit offices to get statistical information. That is a waste of time.” In his view, statistics should be more readily available. Extra effort should only be necessary for those who want to carry out profound analysis, not the numbers. Therefore, statistical information is inadequately disseminated in Uganda. It is

(Statistics Denmark, 2009). Dissemination of information is a key activity of any statistical agency because statistics are vital in policy formulation and evidence-based decision making only when there are 1

on this ground that this study is set to investigate and propose strategies for enhancing the dissemination of statistical information in Uganda.

Figure 1: Conceptual framework on enhancing the dissemination of statistical information in Uganda Independent

Dependent

Intervening

Purpose The purpose of the study was to investigate ways of enhancing dissemination of statistical information in Uganda.

Strategies for improving disseminat ion

Channels/Formats of disseminating statistical information  Mass media  Websites  Print media

Scope of the study The case study was Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Kampala district. The study focused on the extent of dissemination of statistical information and products by UBOS from 1998 when Bureau was established to date.

Challenges of accessing statistical information  Format  Illiteracy  Statistical tables  Confidentiality Challenges of disseminating statistical information  Infrastructure  Funding  Awareness  Interest in statistical information  Confidentiality

Conceptual Framework the dependent variables are benefits of accessing statistical information, which is the primary interest to the researcher. the inadequate dissemination channels and formats used contribute to the limited access to statistical information which when improved can contribute to easy access of statistical information. while the challenges faced by users in accessing this information maybe formats in which it is presented, the illiteracy levels of the population sometimes also affect access to the information which is in english. there is also the issue of confidentiality, where some data cannot be accessed, plus the issue of bureaucracy in accessing the information. this drives away the would-be potential users of this information. on the other hand, the challenges faced by ubos in disseminating the statistical information.

?

Source: Researcher, 2011

the relationship between the identified independent variables and the benefits of access of statistical information is however, dependent on the strategies used in improving dissemination of statistical information. usage of statistical information also depends on the channels/formats used when disseminating statistical information and funding availed to ubos to improve on the channels they currently use. the relationships are illustrated in figure 1.

Literature Review Channels and formats statistical information.

of

disseminating

The main objective of statistical offices is to inform society by providing high quality, timely and impartial statistical information. Amirova and Khuduzade (2006) noted that one of the main channels of disseminating of statistical information in the Republic of Azerbaijan is the mass media. This is because non-state organizations’ need for statistical information increases every year. Practically, the presentation of statistical results to the public would not be possible without the mass media. Press conferences are organized with the mass media quarterly. Progress in the development of e-technology is focused on e-distribution of statistical materials, which meet the requirements of users. There is also a statistical library where users have the opportunity to take statistical documents home, work in the reading room, or make copies.

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Benefits of access to statistical information -Better decisions made -Level of satisfaction. -Help in predicting the future basing ofprevious data gathered.

information is complicated for users who never specialised in statistics, who often do not find what they are seeking and end up turning to the customer services of the organization in order to dispel any specific doubts (conference of european statisticians, 2011).

The use of social media by National Statistical Institutes has been developing quickly in recent years and will most certainly continue to evolve in years to come. Statistics Estonia opened its accounts on Twitter and Face book and launched its statistics blog in 2010. Information on these sites is provided in Estonian. The main purpose is to make statistical information available to the Estonian people in Estonia and abroad (Statistics Estonia, 2010). Similarly, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Ireland announced new statistical releases via Twitter (Costello, 2011). This allowed users to receive messages about releases on their phones via SMS or to use a standard Twitter phone app to access the information.

the social media has become a very useful tool in the dissemination and discussion of official statistics as it offers tailor-made solutions to reaching individuals interested in official data. however, it involves regular searches and preparing search terms to avoid missing relevant articles on blogs or tweets as reported by the federal statistical office of germany (2010). statistics canada is increasingly having difficulty in reaching large numbers of canadians through traditional communications channels. with the plethora of media choices and the advent of social media, communication has shifted from broadcasting to what could be considered “narrowcasting.” in addition, almost 20% of canada’s population are born outside canada, creating language and cultural challenges in communicating with large segments of the population (massey-smith, 2009).

In Singapore, the Department of Statistics Singapore uses websites and conventional hard copy publications to disseminate official statistics and press briefings on significant statistical information releases such as rebasing of national accounts. Press releases are availed in both local and foreign media while SingStat Express delivers notices of publications, occasional/information papers and newsletters via email as soon as the information is released. Subscribers request for the notification to be delivered via SMS (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2002). In Botswana, the Central Statistics Office’s statistical outputs are disseminated through regular (monthly, quarterly and annual) publications which are sold at subsidized prices to users. Dissemination is also done through seminars and the media (newspapers, radio, television, and website (Mothibi, 2009).

according to the african union (2009), statistical agencies in africa face a number of challenges which may hinder dissemination of statistical information as identified below; • low appreciation of the value and importance of statistics across the society; • low level of political support for statistics; • low priority and inadequate funding for statistics; • inadequate institutional capacity (values and norms, bureaucracy, performance management and accountability, etc) • Inadequate coordination, collaboration, networking and information sharing; • Insufficient use of data for policy and decision making.

The Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (TNBS) on the other hand uses it TNBS Library to disseminate new information released at time and date announced in the release calendar and the TNBS Bookshop is used is to display the publications on the shelves and sell them (Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics, 2010). Kabushenga (2003:9) noted that the mass media has several options of transmitting statistics and these include the news bulletins, talk shows and other radio programmes. The radio has the advantage of being widespread and can be accessed by the majority of the population. In addition, the World Wide Web is also a

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) is the government department that is responsible for collecting, analyzing and disseminating information about individuals, businesses and households across South Africa. However, according to Ralehlaka (2008), the Information Officers charged with dissemination of statistical information at Stats SA face the following challenges: • Establishment of public trust in official statistics • Users questioning the accuracy and timelines of data from Stats SA • Promotion of Stats SA website • Users’ ignorance of the free Stats SA products available on the website • Prioritization of requests • Seniority influence to receive preferential treatment over other requests

disseminating media that has the advantage of very wide distribution worldwide.

Challenges information

of

disseminating

statistical

although thewebsite was noted as one of the main channels of disseminating statistical information the most common problems statistics offices face is how to package this information on their websites, especially considering the diversity of users to whom they must transmit. the

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• Interaction with subject matter experts • More technical requests • No central system in place which affects turnaround time to respond to technical requests.

makes maximum use of on-line dissemination possibilities. This ensures that the user community in general has free access to “basic” statistical information collected and/or originally produced by the Organisation. It also maximises co-operation with other national and international data providers. In particular, free access to all statistical products is given to all national governmental bodies, as well as, to other international organizations subject to reciprocal arrangements, (OECD, 2006).

Statistical information produced and disseminated in the rural sector in Cameroon, in general comes from different sources and is often incoherent. Methods of collection or processing of statistical data are not harmonized. This raises a problem of comparability and usefulness of data produced. Data dissemination does not usually follow general and international standards. New technologies are not fully used in dissemination of information. This situation is more difficult since authorities and other data users do not quickly develop a culture of evidence-based decision-making (Ayissi, 2008).

Argueso (2002) advised that, one of the ways to reach a wider public is to make publications easier to consult and to design attractive new publications. In addition, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, launched Statistics Explained, a new way of publishing statistics in 2009 to solve two major problems of traditional methods using paper or pdf output; Workflows are long and cumbersome; and non-specialists cannot find or use the publications easily (Eurostat, 2010).

In Uganda, Kabushenga (2003) noted that commercial television stations would also be an avenue of disseminating statistical information. However, they are commercially oriented and thus typically would not be interested in disseminating statistical information as such.

Users need for statistical information. Cook and Cowan (2005) argue that provision of statistical information should be done in ways that are certain to meet the users’ needs so as to maintain the goodwill of users and the overall standing of the statistics office. This

Eurostat also monitors the use of its website in various ways that include; (number of visits, page views, number of PDF, data and table downloads, etc). Eurostat also conducts periodic user satisfaction surveys on the web to solicit feedback. User support activity carried out jointly with the National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) is also an excellent source of feedback on user satisfaction and future needs (Munoz, 2008).

requires statistics offices to engage regularly with the users in order to understand their requirements and to provide them with information on how the statistical information can be used.

Statistics Finland established a special Information Desk with a staff to answer all sorts of questions by phone, fax or mail. It also carries out orders for special compilations and data searches. It delivers information as print outs. It demonstrates and sells Statistics Finland's products and publications as well as a home page created on the internet data network both in Finnish and English (Melkas, 1996).

In Austria, Statistics Austria uses the on-line user survey in order to evaluate its website (www.statistik.at) from the user’s point of view and to ask them for potential improvements. In addition to this, an expert review with an external consultant group and usability testing were carried out to reveal further issues concerning usability and to optimize the user experience (Tomascheck, 2011).

In addition, Statistics Finland simultaneously avails news materials to all who wish to receive it through the electronic dissemination of data. It also has a distribution system by which bulletins can be accessed simultaneously, be mailed through the public postal system, faxed or sent to clients by electronic mail. The client can choose which way she/he wishes to receive the information. The quickest way is by electronic mail and the slowest is by the conventional postal system (Melkas, 1996)

Wide and easy access to official statistical information/data is a standing priority of Statistics Portugal, as well as the commitment to quality improvement of the service provided. In this vein, access to statistical data is made available using modern information and communication technology in order to meet user needs and permitting easy access to information (Statistics Portugal, 2008).

To enhance the dissemination of statistical information the National Government of Japan established the "Portal Site of Official Statistics of Japan (e-Stat)" which provides a one-stop online service for obtaining statistical information published by ministries on the Internet. This enables users to view and download official statistics with

Strategies for enhancing dissemination of statistical information With the statistics dissemination policy, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 4

convenient features such as retrieving data by prefecture and municipality and drawing statistical maps (Statistics Bureau Japan, 2011).

Sample Size To determine the required sample size for the users of statistical information, the researcher used the following formula according to Yamane (1967).

In addition, summary Statistics Digest booklets are released in dynamic series for more than 15 years, which simplifies the process of searching for statistical information in the dynamics of age. In May 2009, a special unit the Division of the Dissemination of Statistical Information was created and it consists of 5 people. The main purpose of the new Division is to support and promote the website and disseminate statistical information in electronic format (Kozhakhmetova, 2010). A Database of subscribers for the electronic dissemination of statistical information has been created and is

n=

N 1+N (e) 2 n= 170 1+170(0.05)2 n= 170 1.425 n = 119 Whereby,

constantly updated. Upon the request of users, the necessary statistical information is availed to them.

n = sample size N =Population under study e =level of precision (95% confidence

level) Out of the 9 Directors, 5 Managers, 10 Principals who either Head the Directorates, Divisions or Sections respectively in UBOS participated. The researcher purposively sampled out 17 respondents who included 7 Directors, 2 Managers and 8 Principal Statisticians because they are charged with dissemination of statistical information at UBOS.

The Kenya Economic and Statistical Association introduced the use of journals for disseminating statistical information in a more user friendly way. This has promoted information sharing between the economists, statisticians and researchers. It is also to provide a forum for peer review for statistical research work and establishment of a peer reviewed working paper series (WPS) as well as running a monthly guest lecture series and hosting of annual conferences as forums for members to present their research findings to the public. Such associations will further provide frameworks for liaising with policy makers in setting a priority research agenda as well as linking policy makers and researchers. It will also create a database for Kenyan Economic and Statistics experts (Nalo, 2005).

Of the targeted sample of 119 users of statistical information, 110 participated in the study – giving a response rate of 92.4 %; and of the targeted 17 UBOS staff, 13 participated in the study, giving a response rate of 82.4 %. Generally, the rates indicate a very positive response from the respondents.

Sampling strategy

Methodology

The study used random sampling to protect against bias being introduced in the sampling process and to ensure representativeness of the sample (Kumar, 1999). A random sample of 119 UBOS Resource Centre users of statistical information was selected for the study.

Research Design The study employed a quantitative methodology to get respondents’ experiences, views and suggestions concerning enhancing dissemination of statistical information.

Purposive sampling was also used in the study to select 17 UBOS Staff. The strategy was to select information rich cases for the study. Information rich cases are those from which one can learn a great deal about issues of central importance to the research (Patton 1990:169)..

Geographical Area The research was carried out at Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). It is located on Plot 9, Colville Street, Kampala next to Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

Data Collection Methods Self administeredQuestionnaire

Study Population

The study used self-administered questionnaire which were distributed to targeted respondents. The researcher distributed majority of the questionnaires, a Library Assistant also engaged to deliver and follow-up on the completing of the questionnaires to the selected users of statistical information at the Resource Centre.

The study population included 24 staff of UBOS and 170 users of statistical information (UBOS Resource Centre Register, 2011).

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In-depth Face-to –Face Interview

Quantitative data

In addition to the questionnaire, in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data from key informants. This method allowed the researcher to have flexible approach to questioning and in-depth knowledge (Kothari, 2004).

The questionnaires were edited on return by the respondents and after the data entered into the computer. Editing means that the complete data, errorfree, readable and worthy being assigned a code (Ahuja, 2001). The findings were then presented in frequencies, pie-charts and discussed in chapter four and five respectively of the research report.

Document Review The researcher reviewed both primary and secondary documents, grey literature, professional journals, books, reports, abstracts and articles from the internet. These documents provided an opportunity for making in-depth understanding of dissemination at UBOS.

Qualitative data Data from the open-ended questions was first edited for possible errors to ensure completeness, accuracy, uniformity and consistency. This was carefully done to avoid changing the meaning of what the respondents had given. The data was further sorted and coded into categories in order to bring together related items and then tallied. Descriptive, narrative and explanatory approach was used to present the findings.

Observation Direct observation was made on the UBOS website to find out what kind of statistical information is disseminated and to find out the problems of accessing statistical information on the website. The observation is vital in any research because the researcher cites areas of his/her

Validity and Reliability of the Instruments To ensure that quality data was collected, a triangulation of methods were used. That is both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the study (Sekaran, 2000).

Research Instruments In collecting data related to the study, the researcher used questionnaires to generate the required information for the study.

Validity Questionnaire

The validity of the contents of the instruments was determined by two supervisors in order to ensure their appropriateness in gathering the required data and irrelevant information was removed.

This constituted the main research instrument with both open-ended and closed-ended questions consisting of predetermined responses of the researcher’s perceived ideas about the problems faced by users in accessing statistical information. The questionnaires were suitable because they helped the researcher to gain greater access to the users of statistical information who are capable of responding to the questions with ease (Kothari, 2004).

Reliability Quality control (up datedness and accuracy of data) was achieved through the rigorous applicability of method logical triangulation. The reliability of the research instruments was established before conducting the study. The questionnaire was pre-tested on some of the users of statistical information and the UBOS Staff to determine the reliability of the instruments. After the pre-test, corrections were made on errors, poor wording, and some of the questions were revised. Before data analysis was undertaken further data quality checking was done.

Key Informant Interview Guide Open-ended semi structured questions were used to aid in the interview process with UBOS staff. The purpose was to obtain their views and opinions using their expertise and experience regarding disseminating statistical information in UBOS.

Data Analysis

Respondents’ consent was first sought before an interview was carried out. There was a brief introductory statement as part of the questionnaire, which assured the respondent of confidentiality of the information to be collected. The respondents were assured that this study was meant for only academic purposes and that permission will be sought for any further future use of the findings. The purpose of the data collection was clearly explained to the respondents to ensure that their

The data was collected in March, 2012. The collected data was recorded and capturedin Microsoft Excel in order to come up with frequencies, figures, tables and pie-charts which were used to analyse the data due to the fact that they could be prepared manually and/or by computers and there is nothing like statistical sophistication in tabulation (Ahuja,2001).

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responses were not biased but genuine. The respondents’ privacy of information was kept and every effort made not to exploit the respondents’ responses.

Table 2: Response by years at UBOS (n=13) No. of Years at UBOS 4 6 8 9 10 11 12 15 Total

Limitations of the Study To a certain extent the following limitations hindered the progress of this study: (i) Interviews were interrupted by telephone calls, visits from friends these made the interviews longer than what was expected. (ii) In addition, there was absenteeism of the officers due to various meetings they attended.

Presentation of Findings

Table 3: Statistical products from UBOS

Of the targeted 119 users of statistical information, 110 participated in the study giving a response rate of 92.4%. Out of a total of 17 targeted UBOS staff, 13 participated in the study giving a response rate of 76%. The majority of the users of statistical information were males (80.9%) while 19.1% were female. These are indicated in Table 1below.

S/N 1 2 3

4

Table 1: Response rate %

5

119

Actual Sample 110

92.4

6 7

17

13

76.2

Sample

Percent (%) 23.7 15.3 15.3 7.6 15.3 7.6 7.6 7.6 100

Table 3 below indicates statistical products produced by UBOS and their frequencies.

Characteristics of the respondents

Category of respondents Users of Statistical Information UBOS Staff

Frequency 3 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 13

8 9 The findings in Table 2 below, further show that 23.7% of staff interviewed had worked for the organization for at least 4 years, while 15.3% had worked in the organisation for 12 years, 10 years and 8 years respectively and 7.7 % had worked in the institution for 15 years, 12 years , 11 years respectively.

10 11 12

Statistical Product District Profiles Annual District Statistical Abstracts Socio-economic reports based on Community and Information System data. Gross Domestic Product and National Accounts National Housing and Population Census Consumer Price Index Annual Ministries, Departments and Agencies Statistical Abstracts Statistical Abstract Uganda National Household Survey Uganda Demographic and Health Survey National Livestock Census Localization of MDG Reports

Frequency Every 2yrs Annually Annually

Quarterly Decennial Monthly Annually

Annually Every after 2yrs Every 5years Every 5years Irregular

Users’ education levels The education levels were also established for the users of statistical information as indicated in Table 3. Of these, 50% had a Bachelor’s degree, 29% had a Postgraduate/ Masters Degree, 16% had a Diploma and 13% had a Certificate. The findings indicate that majority of the respondents were literate and, therefore, in better position to internalize planning and policy issues which need Official statistics as evidence.

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Table 3: Response by the highest level of education (N=110) Highest Level of Education Attained Certificate Degree Diploma Post graduate or Masters Missing Total

Frequency 13 50 16 29 2 110

Need for Statistical information During the study, the respondents were asked whether they used statistical information for their daily work. The results in figure 3show that 89.1% of the respondents used statistical information regularly for their daily work while 10.9% did not use statistical information on a regular basis.

Percent (%) 11.8 45.5 14.5 26.4 1.8 100

Figure 3: Response on need of statistical information (N=110) 10.9%

Table 4 below represents the statistical origins of the user groups, the highest percentage of respondents was from the District Local Governments which included the district officials (35.5%) followed by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) (20.9%) while the lowest percentage of users were from Development Partners (2.7%).

89.1%

The Reason information

Table 4: Response by user group (N=110) User group Frequency Percent (%) Ministries, Departments and 23 20.9 Agencies (MDAs) Training and Research Institution 14 12.7 District Local Government 39 35.5 Development Partners 3 2.7 NGOs 5 4.5 Private Sector 19 17.3 Others 7 6.4 Total 110 100 The Figure 2 below represents the kind of statistical publications used. The results indicate majority are the UBOS reports (67%) followed by books from other institutions (17%) , CDROMs (8%), journals from other institutions ( 6%) while the least statistical publications accessed were from the website and other sources (1%)

Table 5: Reasons Information Reason Policy Formulation Research and Education Decision Making Purposes Business Plans Personal Consumption Political Interest Monitoring Government Policy Providing Requested information to others (e.g. media)) Total

80 74% 60

20 0

19%

9% 7% 1% 1%

(s) for

using

statistical

Respondents were asked the reason for using statistical information. The results show that most of the respondents (47%) were using it for research and educational purposes. The rest used it for policy formulation (15.5%), while only about 6 percent each used it for personal consumption and business plans. This is shown in figure 7 below.

Figure 2: Response on statistical publications used

40

Need Statistical Information for their daily work

for

Using

Frequency 17 52 14 3 3 7 8 6

110

Statistical Percent (%) 15.5 47.3 12.7 2.7 2.7 5.2 7.3 5.5

100

Frequency

Awareness of Statistical Information from UBOS.

Percent (%)

The respondents were asked how they get to know about the information produced by UBOS and their responses are shown in Table 6.

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However, when asked whether they were contented with the channels they used for dissemination, 76.9 % indicated that they were not contented because the channels used only reached a few people while 23.1 % were contented with the channels they use to disseminate their statistical products.

Table 6: Awareness of Statistical Information from UBOS. Awareness Channel Media (Newspaper, TV) From lecturers or people working at the University From people working at UBOS Friends, Colleagues Politicians Personal visit to UBOS resource centre UBOS website Total

Frequency 15 22

Percent (%) 13.6 20.0

25

22.7

17 4 17

15.5 4.0 15.4

10 110

9.1 100

Figure 5: Response on content of channels used in disseminating statistical information 23.1%

76.9%

About 23% reported that they got to know about availability of statistical information from the people working at UBOS. This is mainly because they inquire about the availability of this information, while some are invited to attend press releases/conferences and others get updates.

Contended with the channels

Challenges of disseminating statistical information Key informants (staff of UBOS) were asked about the challenges they face while disseminating statistical information. . Below are the findings:

Twenty percent reported that they got to know about it from their lecturers and people working in the University. About 16% got to know about it from their friends or colleagues from their places of work, and only 4% reported that they got to know from politicians during FM Talk Shows.

Inaccessibility of the UBOS Website About 87.6 % of the respondents reported that while the website is the main channel of dissemination, the users have reported that they have not been able to access or download products from the website. In addition, 80% of the staff also reported Internet failure, which hinder dissemination of the statistical information. This results into delay into responding to information requests because they are not given modems to use in such emergencies.

Dissemination of statistical information by UBOS Channels used in disseminating statistical information From Figure 4below, 32% of the UBOS staff disseminate statistical information during Press Conferences, 25% used the UBOS Website and 23.3% used the mass media, and email. About 12% used workshops and 7.7% used district notice boards in disseminating their statistical products.

Disputing of Figures In addition, about 7.6% of the respondents also noted that although UBOS produces the statistical information, some tend to dispute the figures provided and this makes the public to doubt the figures produced by the institution. This is in agreement with one of the staff who noted that “There are contradicting figures from the different publications produced by different Directorate, and, this made the statistical information unreliable”.

Figure 4: Channels used in disseminating statistical information by UBOS

32% 40 30 23.3% 15% 20 7.7% 12% 12 10 0

Not contended with the channels used

Inadequate funding About 15.4% of the staff noted that inadequate funding does not allow for wider dissemination of statistical information at the lower levels. This limits production of many publications to be disseminated to different institutions.

Frequency Percent (%)

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Demand for detailed statistical information

Discussion of Findings

About 15% of the staff also noted that the users demand for more detailed data than what is produced and disseminated. For example, when population figures are produced or projected the results are displayed up at parish level, yet the user would want the information up to village level especially when he is targeting disaggregated at that level.

Introduction Statistics provide the information or the evidence, needed for governments’ daily administration and policy analysis, policymakers planning, businesses decisions and citizens’ possibility to hold their government accountable (Statistics Denmark, 2009).This chapter discusses the key findings of the study on enhancing dissemination of statistical information in Uganda.

Strategies for enhancing dissemination of statistical information

Statistical products used From the findings, the majority of publications used are from UBOS (67%) while the rest are from other institutions and online publications with the lowest usage. The lowest usage of the online publications on the UBOS website is consistent with the finding of Ssewakiryanga (2003) who found out that accessing the UBOS website is a nightmare because the publications there are inaccessible and some of the publications are not on the website.

During the study, the users of statistical information were required to propose other channels that UBOS could use to enhance the dissemination of statistical information. According to Table 13, 26.9% suggested use of Radio/TV for regular updates on statistical information produced by UBOS. Twenty six percent of users of statistical information proposed seminars/workshops to sensitize the public on the different statistical information produced by UBOS, 20.8% of respondents suggested the pinning of the current statistical information on Government, Ministries notice boards and public places where they can easily be seen by the public. About 17% of respondents proposed updates on Mobile Phones (SMS) on new statistical information released to keep the public informed.

Channels/formats of statistical information

dissemination

of

The research established that 23.1% of the UBOS staff disseminated their information in the mass media; the majority of the public are able to access statistical information through the mass media (Amirova and Khuduzade, 2006). Kassoma (2009) emphasizes that media is relevant in the dissemination of statistical information in order to increase statistical literacy for efficient decisionmaking. The least channel used was the UBOS Website (7.7%), which is becoming the most important way of disseminating official statistics to both the community and more regular users of statistics (Trewin, 2007).

Similarly, 9% suggested other channels which included use of face book/twitter, targeting religious leaders to disseminate the information in churches, create an online resource centre and have quarterly publications on economic performance updated, UBOS should also regularly participate at Exhibitions and Fairs, open regional offices for easy and affordable access to information (data), also establish sub UBOS suggestion boxes at each sub county and community libraries and display posters in trading centres among others.

Challenges of Information

Suggestions to improve dissemination of statistical information

Disseminating

Statistical

Inaccessibility of the UBOS website About 87.6 % of the UBOS staff reported that while the website is considered as one of the main channel of dissemination, the users reported that they have not been able to access or download products from the website. This finding is consistent with the findings of the Conference of European Statisticians (2011) which noted that although websites are one of the main channels of disseminating statistical information by Statistics Offices, users face a challenge of accessing the information, especially, considering the diversity of users to whom they must transmit. The information is complicated to users who never specialized in statistics and often do not find what they are seeking, and end up turning to the customer

The UBOS staff suggested the following strategies to improve on dissemination of statistical information in the Bureau. i. There is need to identify other stakeholders to participate in the dissemination of statistical information; ii. Consider lower level dissemination; iii. The department responsible needs to develop and implement a dissemination strategy; iv. Wider dissemination of statistical publications.

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services of the organisation in order to dispel any specific information (Zheng, 2007).

Lack of trust disseminated

of

statistical

Strategies for Enhancing the Dissemination of Statistical Information The study established that 40.9% of the users of statistical information suggested the translation of statistical information into multiple languages in order to provide a wider access to the information. This is true and useful for the public dialogue. Statistical Information needs to be easily accessible to the national and international community in multiple languages (DevInfo Support Group, 2011). Potential users need easy, quick access to data for purposes of analysis, comparison, research and evidence planning.

information

In addition, about 7.6% of the staff of UBOS staff noted that although UBOS produces the statistical information politicians tend to dispute the figures provided and this makes the general public to doubt the figures produced by the institution. Heriawan (2006) concurs with this finding, because Statistical Offices like the Central Statistics Office in Indonesia, which is facing similar increasing challenges, in its quest to provide complete, accurate, and up to date statistical information. Ralehlaka (2008) reveals that the Information Officers charged with dissemination of statistical information at Stats SA are also faced with the challenge of establishing the public trust in official statistics.

The users of statistical information (26.4%) suggested the use of summaries for ease of reference and interpretation instead of the bulky reports. This is consistent with the finding of Kozhakhmetova (2010) who noted that with summary statistics digests, booklets can be released in a dynamic series to simplify the process of searching for statistical information. In Kenya, a special unit was established for the dissemination of statistical information and is providing support and promoting the use of the website and dissemination of statistical information in electronic format as well as encourage introduction of journals for disseminating statistical information in a more user friendly way (Nalo, 2005). Government agencies are urged to publish simpler versions of statistical data to help the public make sense of it (Bwambale, 2010).

Inadequate funding About 15.4% of the staff noted that inadequate funding does not allow for wider dissemination of statistical information at the lower levels. This limits production of many publications to be disseminated to different institutions. This finding is consistent with African Union (2009) that noted that there is low priority and inadequate funding for statistics which hinders dissemination of statistical information. Kabushenga (2003) noted that commercial television stations would also be an avenue of disseminating statistical information however, they are commercially oriented and thus typically not interested in disseminating statistical information.

Twenty six percent of users of statistical information recommended seminars/workshops to sensitize the different stakeholders including the general public on the different statistical information UBOS produces. Statistical information is of limited value unless it reaches those who need it, who can easily internalize it and actually apply it (Kiregyera, 2000). It is, therefore, important that UBOS has a clear data dissemination programme that utilizes the services of the existing professional Public Relations companies to market her products because they have the skills and means to repackage statistical information and make it suitable and useful for public consumption (Kiregyera, 2000).

Demand for detailed statistical information About 15% of the staff also noted that the users demand for more detailed data than what is produced and disseminated. This occurs with the finding of Kasaija (2012) who attributed the country’s lack of sufficient statistics to limited funding and research capacity and hence achieving faster development is a challenge for the country.

Disputing of figures In addition, about 7.6% of the UBOS staff also noted that although UBOS produces statistical information, some targets tend to dispute the figures provided and this makes the public doubt the statistical information produced by the institution. Ayissi (2008) notes that data produced and disseminated comes from different sources which are often incoherent. This results into doubting which figures to take as the right statistical information.

About 20.8% of users of statistical information also suggested the pinning of the latest statistical information on Government Ministries notice boards and public places where they can be easily seen. This, however, can be improved by establishing a “Portal Site of Official Statistics (e-Stat)" which would provide a one-stop online service for obtaining statistical information published by the different ministries, departments and agencies on the Internet. It

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will enable users to view and download official statistics with convenient features such as retrieving data by prefecture and municipality, and drawing statistical maps as done by Japan Statistical Office (Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2011). The Central Statistical Office in Poland (2009) provides latest statistical information to the media houses, which avails it on the Internet as well as to the Government Information Centre. It is published in the form of public announcements and disseminated whenever there appears any such request or order.

Proposed strategies by the UBOS Staff in enhancing dissemination of statistical information. UBOS staff recommended many ways of enhancing dissemination of statistical information. These include; regular participation of UBOS at different Exhibitions and Trade Fairs, opening regional offices for easy and affordable access to information (data), establishing sub UBOS suggestion boxes at each Sub County and community libraries and display posters in trading centers for visibility in the public domain.

Seventeen percent of users of statistical information suggested the use of SMS updates on new statistical information released, sent to the mobile phones subscribers to keep the public informed. This has been implemented by some statistical offices including, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), which uses the SMS and Teletext channels through national television broadcast where main headlines of the news bulletins are available on national television. In addition, the Automatic Telephone Information Line was established where TURKSTAT provides information consultancy service to its users by telephone. Users are also allowed to get some basic statistical indicators by means of automation sound responding system via TURKSTAT telephone station line without charging an extra price (Dorsan, 2007).

It was also recommended that management of UBOS should identify other stakeholders with whom they can join hands together to enhance the dissemination of statistical information. It was further suggested that the department responsible for information management and dissemination should develop and implement the dissemination strategy. This will make maximum use of on-line dissemination possibilities; ensure that the user community in general has free access to “basic” statistical information collected and/or originally produced by the Organization; maximizes co-operation with other national and international data provide.

On the other hand, 9% of the users of statistical information recommended the use of various channels which could be used like face book/twitter, targeting religious leaders to disseminate the information in churches, create an online resource centre and have quarterly publications on economic performance updated. This finding is consistent with the US. Bureau (2010) which created a twitter account and provided numerous ways the public could engage with and participate in the communications campaign. Government officials, community leaders, and other advocates would frequently retweet. The United States’ rap star Ludacris helped promote participation through his tweets. Like on Face book, Twitter users would send direct questions to the Census Bureau account and receive answers. The Mongolian National Statistical Organization recommended use of the Social Media such as Twitter, Face book or YouTube to reach individuals interested in official data, both as a dissemination technique and as a producer-user communication tool as well as using social and portable media in the dissemination of official statistics to ensure users easy and appropriate access to data (Urtnasan, 2001).

Summary of the Findings Of the targeted sample of 119 users of statistical information, 110 participated in the study, giving a response rate of 73.9 %; and of the targeted 17 UBOS staff, 13 participated in the study, giving a response rate of 76 %. As indicated in the findings presented in Chapter Four, District Local Governments and Ministries, Departments and Agencies are the main users of the statistical information. The setbacks to dissemination of statistical information are subjected to and can be generalised as: Inadequate funding; absence of UBOS regional outlets/offices; inaccessibility of statistical information on the website; bureaucracy and translation of the statistical information.

Conclusions Most of the users expressed that the information published on the UBOS website is inaccessible and there are no UBOS regional outlets which forces them to travel to the Bureau in Kampala. Additionally, there is lack of awareness of availability of statistical information,

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bureaucratic issues as well statistics published only in English, making it difficult for the local people to understand. Other issues worthy noting are:

Melkas, J. (1996). Objectives, Principles and Management. Work Session on Statistical Output for Dissemination to Information - Media Working Paper (18-20 March, 1996) (pp. 6-8). Geneva: Statistical Commission and Economic Commission.

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NOTES 1.

Winny Nekesa Akullo is Senior Library and Documentation Officer at Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority. Correspondence may be addressed to [email protected] or P.O.BOX 28529, Kampala, Uganda.

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