User engagement and official statistics: action guidance

Action guide for analysts

Purpose

This guide is for analysts who produce, develop or communicate official statistics. It is based on the OSR user engagement framework and public involvement and engagement toolkit. It shows practical steps analysts can take to understand the needs of users and other interested stakeholders, choose proportionate methods, use insight in decisions and record what has been learned.

In this guide, users are people or organisations who use, may use or rely on the statistics. Other interested stakeholders may not use the statistics directly, but have an interest in how they are collected, produced, presented or used. People or communities represented in the data may also need to be involved where their perspectives are needed.

Who this guide is for

Use this guide if you are planning, producing, improving, publishing or communicating official statistics and need practical prompts for engaging users and considering public perspectives.

Summary of actions

1. Plan and be proportionate: start with the decision and evidence needed, then choose a suitable approach
2. Listen and understand: identify who uses, may use or relies on the statistics, and give them space to explain their needs
3. Be inclusive and accessible: reach beyond familiar contacts and make engagement easy to take part in
4. Use insight and act: use feedback to improve priorities, methods, outputs and communication
5. Be open and explain: close the loop by explaining what changed, what did not change and why
6. Collaborate and share learning: work with others to broaden reach and keep a record of what you learn

1. Plan and be proportionate

• Build engagement into your work from the start
• Be clear about why you are engaging, what people can influence and what is outside scope. Avoid over-burdening the same groups with repeated requests
• Use lightweight methods when you need quick feedback, validation or evidence of trends
• Use targeted methods when you need detail, explanation or input from specific groups
• Combine methods where this gives better evidence, such as using a survey to identify a pattern and interviews or workshops to understand the reasons behind it

2. Listen and understand

• Think broadly about users, other interested stakeholders and, where appropriate, people or communities represented in the data
• Ask who is represented in the data, who is affected by decisions informed by the statistics and who might be missing from existing feedback
• Engage before key decisions are finalised where possible, so users and the public can identify issues and test assumptions
• Ask open questions that help people explain their needs, concerns, experiences and practical uses of the statistics

3. Be inclusive and accessible

• Go beyond familiar contacts and consider under-represented groups, people or communities represented in the data and people whose views may be missing from existing evidence
• Take extra care when topics involve identity, privacy, harm or trust
• Use intermediary users, community organisations or specialist colleagues where they can help you reach wider or less visible audiences
• Make participation straightforward by using clear language and suitable formats
• For in-depth engagement, prepare clear information on the decision, evidence, constraints, trade-offs, impacts, trust and acceptability

4. Use insight and act

• Treat feedback as evidence, not instruction: look for patterns, listen for concerns and consider what action may be needed
• Use feedback to inform your judgement, alongside quality evidence, methods, feasibility, comparability, legal or ethical requirements, the intended use of the statistics and the wider public interest
• Use insight to improve statistics, prioritise work, shape methods, develop outputs and improve communication
• Where feedback identifies a new issue or gap, consider whether further targeted engagement is needed
• Keep a proportionate record of who you engaged, what you heard, what decisions were made and what changed as a result

5. Be open and explain

• Close the loop by explaining what you heard, what changed, what did not change and why
• Be honest about constraints such as resources, legal requirements, feasibility, quality, comparability or burden
• Use clear and constructive explanations when user needs cannot be met
• Publish summaries of engagement findings and actions where this is proportionate and useful

6. Collaborate and share learning

• Work with policy, communications, operational and user research colleagues where they can help you understand users and improve engagement
• Use external partners, user groups and community organisations where they can help broaden reach and improve understanding
• Share what you learn with other teams, so engagement evidence is not lost and future work builds on it
• Keep listening channels open through feedback inboxes, user groups, events or surveys so needs can be reviewed over time

Questions to reflect on

• Do I know who uses, may use or relies on these statistics?
• Have I explained what people can influence and what is outside scope?
• Have I given people enough accessible information to contribute before key decisions are finalised?
• Have I chosen a method that gives the evidence needed and is proportionate?
• Have I recorded what I heard and how it influenced the work?
• Have I explained how feedback was weighed alongside quality, feasibility, comparability and public interest considerations?
• Have I explained what changed, what did not change and why?
• Have I shared what I learned so engagement evidence can be reused by others?