Looking ahead

We have published our business plan and associated work programme to share our focus for 2021/22. We have planned in a way that allows us to retain flexibility so we can respond to the changing environment in-year, building on the lessons we have learned and the ways we have adapted in 2020/21.

We see 2021/22 as a year of consolidation. This reflects the strong performance of the statistical system since the start of the pandemic, and the role OSR has played. To call it a year of consolidation is far from proposing a quiet year of limited ambition. On the contrary, to consolidate the performance seen during the pandemic will involve significant effort – to make the extraordinary become the norm.

While the pandemic is likely to remain a central issue in public and policy debate, other issues like regional imbalances and net zero may well gain greater prominence. We want to see the statistical system consolidate the huge gains it has made in terms of data collection and publication; consolidate the progress OSR has made on our role in data, for example, through the exams review; and through our research, we want to consolidate on the higher public interest in statistics and data in general.

So our focuses for the year ahead include:

• the impact of the pandemic on data and statistics, including use of new sources, and the impacts of the pandemic on data collection
• granularity of statistics, including on how to form a better picture of regional performance
• research into the public good provided by statistics
• data gaps – ensuring producers identify and address significant areas
  not covered by current statistics
• our role in data

Even more broadly than this, we have observed the increasing relevance of our Trustworthiness, Quality and Value approach. It’s clear how important it is to have data and statistics that the public can have confidence in. It’s clear that trustworthiness is not an optional extra, but a fundamental part of communicating data. It’s clear that honesty about quality is essential. And it’s clear that value lies in serving a wide range of users.

So our year of consolidation can be summarised thus: We will continue to stand up for trustworthiness, quality and value.

OSR Annual Report – Annex (Word)

OSR Annual Report – Annex (PDF)