Modernising official statistics through international engagement
No country or statistical system can address all the challenges of modernising official statistics alone, so international engagement is essential. International engagement facilitates the sharing of knowledge, resources, and best practices – this enables producers of official statistics to tackle global challenges and innovate more rapidly than they could otherwise.
A community of global innovation
Innovation experts from around the world work with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)’s High-Level Group for the Modernisation of Official Statistics (HLG-MOS). This global innovation community collaborates on projects to drive forward improvements in official statistics. It is an excellent arena for members to share their ideas and experiences of innovation, as well as to foster new collaborations. The community advances the modernisation of official statistics, focusing on emerging trends in technologies innovation, standards, and data integration.
High profile projects have included the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM), machine learning, generative AI, synthetic data, and cloud based technologies. Member countries include Australia, Canada, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the UK. Together, they share expertise and experience in three areas:
- new data sources, advanced methods and technologies
- industrialisation of production
- flexible and agile working approaches for organisations
Contributions that count
The UK has been a leading contributor to the HLG-MOS since its launch in 2010, taking major roles in projects exploring machine learning, open-source software, cloud, and the strategic outlook for National Statistical Offices.
Each year, the HLG-MOS selects several short-term projects to work on that respond to the latest technological trends and discussions on modernisation in the international statistical community. For 2026, the projects are:
- AI-ready dissemination: optimising statistical products for third party AI consumption
- With the fast-paced advancement of AI it is important that official statistical producers make the dissemination practices of their statistical products “AI-ready”.
- Building trust in statistics
- Reflecting collectively, sharing insights, and developing guidance to ensure that trust in official statistics remains resilient with emerging challenges.
The work of the HLG-MOS is supported by four modernisation working groups:
Supporting Standards
The goal of the Supporting Standards group is to find how to develop, enhance, integrate, promote, support and facilitate implementation of the range of standards needed for statistical modernisation.
Applying Data Science and Modern Methods
The Applying Data Science and Modern Methods Group group focuses on developing, implementing, promoting, supporting and facilitating the implementation of data science and modern methods initiatives needed for statistical modernisation of business processes.
Capabilities and Communication
The Capabilities and Communication group focuses on the organisational changes and the communication challenges necessary to support modernisation in statistical organisations.
Blue Skies Thinking Network
The Blue Skies Thinking Network (BSTN) is considered the “idea factory” for the statistical community, providing a horizon-scanning function to identify new topics and emerging trends to help shape HLG-MOS’s future work programme.
Develop your skills and influence
The work of the HLG-MOS is open to all who are willing to contribute to the advancement and modernisation of statistical concepts, standards, and business processes. The HLG-MOS provides opportunities for the Government Statistical Service (GSS) community to remain adaptive to an ever-changing technological environment and shifting organisational challenges.
Working with the group will support you to gain experience with skilled innovators in official statistics in Europe and beyond. You will have the opportunity to contribute to outputs and participate in programme activities, including expert meetings, workshops, and webinars organised under the HLG-MOS work programme.
Whilst many participants are from national statistical organisations (NSOs), the HLG-MOS is open to anyone who works with official statistics. Colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds contribute to its output, including data scientists, analysts, statisticians, methodologists, software engineers, communication experts and more.
The benefits of supporting the group include:
- career development
- growing your professional network and helping to bolster the group’s connections around the world
- influencing standards and norms that impact UK official statistics
- steering and accelerating innovation that benefits statistical output in the UK and globally
- supporting organisations to be more resilient to crisis, more adaptable to cultural evolution, and more attentive to what users and staff think
- enabling the UK to remain adaptive to an ever-changing environment and the shifting landscape of challenges
Learn more
Register for our webinar on Thursday 5 March at 11am to find out more about activities of HLG-MOS and how you can make an important contribution to their 2026 agenda.
Sarah Phelps, International Relations Policy Adviser at the Office for National Statistics