Independence and a matter of trust

David Marder Head of Media Relations ONS, United Kingdom

A sceptical audience

• Independence and ethical behaviour must be at the core of any platform to build trust • It is a simple truth that to be trusted you must show that you are trustworthy and you must also show trust in others • In the UK, however, the level of scepticism has reached such a depth that institutional change in itself will not achieve the desired shift in attitude

Public confidence

• A third of people (33 per cent) thought figures were not generally accurate • Nearly six in ten (57 per cent) disagreed that figures were produced without political interference • A similar proportion (58 per cent) disagreed that the government uses figures honestly • Of those that disagreed that figures were accurate nearly half (47 per cent) included a view that figures were manipulated for political purposes Public confidence in official statistics, ONS 2008

The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007

• Creates a new independent authority accountable direct to the UK Parliament and whose objective is to promote and safeguard: – The production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good; and – The quality, good practice and comprehensiveness of official statistics

Leaders in independence

Sir Michael Scholar – Chair of the new UK Statistics Authority Karen Dunnell – National Statistician

Some key points

• A new Code of Practice • Independent assessment role • A new look at pre-release access • Data-sharing • Statistical publication hub . . . But how do we deliver ‘the public good’, confidence and trust . . .

Earning trust

• Where there is no trust . . .

• Rise of influence of single issue groups • Rejection of the official voice • Erosion of civic society Trust in Government (Opinion Leader Research) April 2006

What happened to trust?

• We don't trust less, we trust differently • No longer an age of deference • We've moved to an age of reference

Who is trusted?

• Authority of institution has been eroded and switched to: – people we know, who know – 'my media' • We choose PEOPLE we can trust and then find the CONTEXT in which we can trust them

Views of ‘opinion-formers’

Opinion-formers say the quality of UK official statistics is up there with the best in the world • The problem of mistrust as they see it: – current political climate of mistrust – politicisation of official statistics – prior access by Ministers – spin = political marketing ("it's my job to create the truth" - Peter Mandelson) Ipsos-MORI - Official Statistics: Perception and Trust (May 2006)

The spiral of distrust

• Divergence syndrome – Something expected to be positive turned out to be negative – Something thought be constant turns out to be finite • The disconnect between expectations and experience • Doesn't connect with 'me and my world'

Shoot the messenger

The media: – Statistics make easy and powerful stories – ... But – taken out of context – exaggerated – misrepresented The effect: – skews trust – creates misunderstanding

Media – most powerful stakeholders

Media v. statistics – the battle zone: • never let the facts get in the way of the story • if it's not interesting - it's not news • no change = no news • Build bridges with the media to create less ambiguous coverage

How can you gain trust?

• To earn trust . . . first you have to give trust – mutual respect – accessible information – Adult-to-adult • Behaviours that are trustworthy – consistent – authentic – human – engaging

New kinds of influence

• The social influencer: charismatic no apparent agenda not patronising accessible appears to know engaging and likeable personal and relevant represents . . . the truth

Standing in the shoes

• Stand in the shoes of the audience and ask: – 'What does this mean to me?' – 'Do I trust these people?'

A voice from the past

. . . facts are essential to the formation of views . . . prejudice is combatted by reason . . . policies are explained to be understood Sir Kenneth Grubb, Ministry of Information 1941-46

Transparency, accessibility and clarity

• Independence is not a magic bullet • Statisticians must not only act independently but be seen to be independent • Probity is not sufficient in itself • Transparency, accessibility and clarity are all equally important – Clearer explanation of the information produced is probably even more useful to users than increasing the range

Searching the depths