EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE PUERTO RICO INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS QUESTIONS PURPOSE OF CONSOLIDATING TO “OUTSOURCE”
The executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, today questioned the purpose of consolidating this public entity, with the sole purpose of outsourcing it later, as proposed in Reorganization Plan No. 1 referring to the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC) for the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute.
To expedite the proposal to “outsource” the Institute's functions, the Government could simply propose a bill to amend the Institute's Organic Law. Another alternative could be to consider including your outsourcing proposal in an existing legislative vehicle, such as Senate Bill 236 (Open Data Act). But, in this case, it was proposed to merge for the sole purpose of 'externalizing' its functions. It is a proposal that seems strange to us. I don't want to think of it as a mechanism designed to prevent the Legislative Assembly from discharging its function of analyzing and finally approving the reorganizations of entities created by law, such as the Institute.
On January 8, 2018, at a press conference from La Fortaleza, the Secretary of Public Affairs and Public Policy, Lcdo. Ramón Rosario Cortés, presented a proposal to reorganize the DDEC and consolidate several public entities, including the Institute. In the case of the Institute, it is proposed to consolidate it with the DDEC, with the sole purpose of outsourcing its functions, in order to guarantee its “real independence” since, as recognized by Rosario Cortés himself that day, the Institute since its creation, “although it has had independence, it depends on appointments from the Governor, including Executive officials who are part of that Board”.
For his part, Dr. Marazzi-Santiago thanked the recognition that statistical functions must be performed without political interference. “We are ready to study alternative mechanisms that allow the selection of members of the Institute's Board of Directors without the need for the incumbent Government to interfere. Recent experiences with this issue provide compelling evidence to support the desirability of this change in public policy,” said the Executive Director of the Institute.
The Institute was created as a public instrument with so much administrative and fiscal autonomy that it already allows it to operate outside the Government, almost like a private company. As La Fortaleza is already aware, the Institute does not consult its contracts or appointments with La Fortaleza or with the Office of Management and Budget, but rather makes these decisions as in private companies, based on professional and technical criteria that ensure adequate governance of our institution.
Marazzi assured that this governance model has not only proven to be successful, but that the Institute's objectivity and professionalism have been recognized by numerous users of its services and interested individuals, most recently by the Congressional Task Force created under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stabilization Act (PROMESA) of 2016, which specifically recommended that the Institute continue to protect its independence.
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The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access. The Institute has in its inventory, accessible through www.estadisticas.pr.gov, more than 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a guardian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through www.data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: www.indicadores.pr.
For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook (estadisticas.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.
They will present the Virtual Forum on Statistics and Technology
The activity is free of cost
Fulfilling its mission to lead in the use of technology as a work tool and service in the development of better statistics, the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics will hold the Virtual Forum on Statistics and Technology on Friday, May 7, 2021 from 8:30 in the morning to 12:30 in the afternoon. The activity is free of charge, but it requires that participants register, from now on, through the following link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8947053084746770957
The event will include two educational sessions. The first session will present the following topics: Statistics and technology to understand population characteristics; Technology: An essential tool for economic statistics, as well as the interconnectivity of systems to improve government statistics. In the second intervention, the topics will be the following: Tools for visualizing statistics and indicators and The Future Now: “Big Data”.
As reported, the forum is aimed at statisticians, economists, professionals in the field of technology, students of business administration, public health, demographers, in short, anyone with an interest in statistical and technological issues. In the same way, we urge students from public and private schools at the higher level (High School) to register and benefit from this extraordinary educational opportunity. Participants will receive a certificate through their emails.
“This forum allows us to continue educating about how technology is an ally and an essential tool for the development of better quality statistics and effective data visualizations. Spaces like this give us the opportunity to interact with different representatives of academic and governmental sectors, private companies, non-profit organizations, as well as with the research community on how, through technology, we can provide the statistical data that is so essential in decision-making to promote economic and social development in Puerto Rico,” explained Dr. Orville M. Disdier, executive director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics.
The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity tasked with coordinating the government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and accessible quickly and universally.
For more information you can visit the website: https://estadisticas.pr.gov/. In addition, you can follow the Institute on social networks, through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.
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