Mission

Statistics Norway is a professionally independent institution and the central authority for the development, production and dissemination of official statistics in Norway. Statistics Norway also conducts extensive research and analysis activities and, through the EEA Agreement, is an integral part of the European Statistical System.

Official statistics are the nation’s shared factual basis. This is crucial for a well-functioning democracy, and the statistics are thus a public good that everyone should have equal access to.

Statistics Norway’s statistics, research and analyses shall contribute to insights about societal development, form the basis for public discourse and facilitate informed decisions. The data material that we collect constitutes a significant resource, and Statistics Norway shall provide access to data within the framework of the Statistics Act.

Statistics Norway’s strategic goals are based on the Statistics Act and its preparatory works, and highlight the most important parts of our mission. The priority areas indicate the direction for the priorities that are needed to achieve the goals, including the opportunities and challenges we face.

Goals

1. Statistics Norway shall be the leading supplier of facts about Norwegian society

  • The population shall have trust in Statistics Norway being professionally independent and impartial
  • The quality of all statistics, research and analyses shall be high
  • We shall ensure that our products and services are adapted to different target groups

2. Statistics Norway shall ensure cooperation, coherence and quality in the Norwegian statistical system

  • We shall safeguard professional independence, quality and continuity in the programme for official statistics
  • We shall ensure easy access to official statistics
  • We shall foster good, comprehensive and comparable statistics through the international statistical cooperation

3. Statistics Norway shall collect, use and share data for the benefit of society

  • We shall contribute to the quality and continuity of source data and exploit the growth of new data sources
  • We shall ensure the effective collection, use and sharing of data
  • The population shall have trust in Statistics Norway treating data and information confidentially and securely

Priority areas 2021–2023

Statistics Norway has identified five priority areas that will help us achieve our goals. These areas will form the basis for our priorities in the period 2021–2023, and have been chosen based on key development trends that are expected to impact on our activities in the years ahead.

Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and society’s production of data is increasing. Many actors recognise the value in presenting their version of societal development, and dissemination is faster and spread over more channels than ever before. It is also easier nowadays for other actors to produce products that are similar to official statistics. The diversity of information means more people have access to knowledge, but it can be difficult to know the quality of the analyses being disseminated and to distinguish information from disinformation.

The population expects products and services from the public sector to be easily accessible and adapted to their needs. Furthermore, public institutions must be transparent, efficient and productive. Technology advancements impact on the need for competence and can lead to competition for resources in various fields. In order to achieve our goals, the following priority areas will be central to Statistics Norway in the coming years:

Coherences and quality in the statistical system

Statistics Norway has been given a new role as a central authority for the development, production and dissemination of official statistics. We will, among other things, lead the work on the programme for official statistics. In carrying out this role we shall:

  • further develop the programme for official statistics in cooperation with other producers of statistics
  • develop and promote measures for quality assurance and competence building within the Norwegian statistical system
  • further develop ssb.no as a common platform for official statistics
  • contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals through the statistics programme and international development work
  • actively participate in the international statistical cooperation, through coordination, information sharing and competence development

Leading applied research community for the Norwegian economy

The Statistics Act emphasises that the research and analysis activities must be aimed at the government, the central administration, the Storting and the social partners. The guidelines for the research and analysis activities indicate the following main areas of research: analyse the effects of fiscal and monetary policy on the Norwegian economy; business cycle analysis; forecasts and projections of long-term economic developments; economic behaviour among consumers and businesses; population growth; the functioning of the labour market; public finances such as taxes, pensions, welfare benefits and public finances; welfare and living conditions; energy, environmental and climate economics and sustainability indicators.

Statistics Norway aims to maintain and develop a leading applied research community for the Norwegian economy. We shall

  • be a leader in applied research and analysis, mainly based on Norwegian data and quantitative modelling and methods
  • deliver and disseminate high-quality research and analyses
  • ensure that research and analysis contribute to quality assurance, interpretation and the further development of statistics
  • actively contribute to open and informed public discourse

Better products and services

The population obtains information about society and societal development from a variety of sources. Statistics Norway aims to be the preferred source of facts and to help provide insight. In order to achieve this, users’ needs must be the starting point for the development, production and dissemination of statistics, analyses and research. We shall

  • place a strong emphasis on the needs of users and data suppliers in the development, production and dissemination of statistics
  • exploit the growing volume of data in society and the opportunities we have to link and reuse data in ways that provide new insights
  • deliver more relevant and timely statistics and analyses
  • focus on relevant and effective visualisation of statistics
  • develop good self-service solutions
  • give researchers and public authorities effective and predictable access to microdata

Development and efficiency improvements

Rapid technological development and high external expectations mean that we must constantly be developing and improving our products and services. However, financial resources are limited. There is a need for efficiency improvements and new approaches, not least to free up resources that can foster development. We shall

  • exploit the development potential that can result from national and international requirements
  • further develop methods for obtaining new and existing data sources and more efficient statistics production
  • facilitate the reuse of data for multiple statistical purposes
  • utilise the new cloud-based data platform, standardised systems and available tools
  • pursue continuous development through cooperation between specialists and IT developers with delegated responsibilities in multidisciplinary teams
  • utilise data on own activities to improve management information

Competent and motivated employees

Recruiting, developing and retaining competent and motivated employees is crucial to achieving our goals. Today’s knowledge workers want challenges and opportunities for development, and good management is required. Professional development, high confidence levels, delegation of responsibility and good arenas for interaction are crucial to the working environment. In addition, technology development in society and expectations from the outside world will challenge traditional leadership roles, the composition of competence in the organisation and how we organise the work. Statistics Norway’s managers take ownership of the mission and work actively to increase employee engagement and job satisfaction through positively influencing work processes and decision-making. We shall

  • strengthen expertise in development work and digitalisation
  • stimulate more interdisciplinary cooperation adopt modern development methodologies where more responsibility can be delegated to self-managed teams
  • strengthen the professional competence, particularly in areas that are vulnerable and at risk give managers and other employees challenges and opportunities to develop
  • ensure more targeted management of the collective competence

Slogan and values

Slogan

Numbers are at the core of our work. We collect, produce and disseminate numbers, and we contextualise them through analysis and research, which gives them added value. That is why Statistics Norway’s slogan is ‘The stories behind the numbers’.

Values

Our values reflect how we in Statistics Norway should work, think and act in order to achieve our goals.

Dynamic: We are flexible and stay up to date. We keep ourselves abreast of users’ needs. We help to ensure that Statistics Norway is an organisation that embraces change.

Dedicated: We engage with society and are professionally curious. We maintain a high level of quality in all our work. We are passionate about ensuring that Statistics Norway is an independent and relevant source of facts.

Sharing: We are positive, open and receptive. We share our knowledge and expertise. We do what we can to make the interaction work, both internally and externally.