THIRD STATISTICAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND INNOVATION SEMINAR FOR HEADS OF NSOS
10-12 September 2019
SIAP Headquarters, Chiba, JapanINFORMATION BULLETIN
1. Background
National statistical offices (NSOs) continue to be at the forefront of developing and coordinating national
statistical systems (NSS) as well as in engaging with the larger data ecosystem. NSOs are expected to lead theNSS in terms of delivering the needed data that is fit for use by multitude of data users, both domestic andinternational. The national statistician or director-general, as head of NSO, is expected to provide strong
leadership in the statistics organization to undertake the requisite role of coordinating the NSS, while at thesame time ensuring that data are produced and disseminated, statistical standards are in place and adhered
to, and data quality is assured within the entire NSS, including those not from official sources but are to be
used for government policies and plans. Combined with the increased and evolving demand for data, NSO
heads are faced with enormous responsibility of leading the NSO and in coordinating the NSS as well as
engaging with the wider data ecosystem.
PARIS21 recognizes the necessity of developing leadership capacity of NSO heads to be leaders of their own
organization but also as coordinators of the statistical system. As part of its program to strengthen national
statistical systems, a statistical leadership training has been developed for NSO heads. As of 2018, six (6)regional statistical leadership training have been organized in Africa and Asia since 2015 to introduce essential
concepts of leadership and facilitate better understanding of leadership styles of NSO heads towards
improving the way they lead and manage their respective organization and coordinate their statistical system.
NSO heads can improve their effectiveness through greater awareness of their strengths and weaknesses andthe challenges they face both internally within their organization and externally within the larger environment
they are engaging with. Often, NSO heads rarely have the opportunity to receive extensive feedback fromstaff and stakeholders outside. It is necessary to have to open opportunity and understanding to build acomprehensive plan for driving success within the NSO and the NSS, and by extension the data ecosystem.
Each individual has his/her own leadership style. Nurturing and developing these style and skills with keen
understanding and awareness of the challenges surrounding them will significantly improve their positive selfengagement, collaboration, and contribution to the field they are engaged in. Leadership can be nurtured anddeveloped if it is enabled to flourish in each individual using best practices built around: (1) assessment tools
to help leaders look within and examine their identity, leadership skills and challenges and set developmental
goals; (2) challenge-oriented, experiential, team-based activities that leverage their own experiences in cocreating solutions to enhance leadership skills; and (3) support through a peer learning and mentoring modelthat enable leaders to share their challenges, utilize innovation techniques and chart a course for greatereffectiveness. Self-knowledge is an important key to effective leadership.
It is also essential to understand that coordination is an important part of the leadership and managementrole of the NSO head. Coordination includes organizing one’s own work and effectively linking it with theoverall organizational or institutional workflow, including external engagement. Coordination skills include:• Attending to several activities simultaneously;• Prioritizing and shifting activities where needed;
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Linking activity plans with those of other work streams in the NSS and working with other entities withobjectives different from own organization;
Dealing with unexpected crises, obstacles or interruptions;Managing upward and downward relations: the political role of coordination, etc.

As part of its continued effort to support countries in strengthening NSS and to increase the number of NSOheads that would benefit from the statistical leadership training, PARIS21 in collaboration with the UN
Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) will organize a regional training for new heads of NSOs1 in
the Asia-Pacific region. Some of the heads of the NSO in the region have had experience working in the NSO,
while others were from outside the statistical system.
PARIS21 will tap the Creative Centre for Leadership, a non-profit educational institution with an exclusive focus
on and worldwide reputation in leadership development and research, to lead and facilitate the Regional
Statistical Leadership Training in Asia-Pacific.
Innovation Seminar
This year’s statistical leadership training will include a one-day innovation seminar aimed at learning the theory
and practice of innovation management in NSOs. While there is broad consensus on the importance ofinnovation in public service at large, and in NSS and NSOs in particular, more needs to be done to respond tothis call and advance this agenda. New policy agenda and new data demands from public policies, growingpressure for efficiency gains and quality standards, increased competition from private sector datastakeholders are the typical pull and push factors for NSOs to innovate. Innovation is key for NSOs tomodernize and get ready for the future.
The Seminar will provide insights into selected innovation models and will discuss their relevance for NSSs. It
will discuss the role of leadership in this context, looking at bottom-up and top-down innovation processes,
and the importance of having the right staff incentives. It will encourage participation from Delegates inunderstanding what favours and hinders innovation in their own agencies. The seminar will discuss what datainnovation is. It will encourage exchange of experiences between Participants and will feature several casestudies.

2. Leadership Training Objectives and Expected Results
The program intends to unlock the participants’ potential to be effective in leadership roles and processes.
Further, the participants will be able to explain and model their learning to others in their local organizations.
Participants will be able to disseminate what they have learned by taking active roles in leadership and develop
creativity through the activities and tools provided in the training.
The participants will learn about
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The Essential Elements of Leadership: Direction, Alignment, Commitment
Key drivers of leadership development
The essential role of learning to learn: Going against the grain
The importance of Emotional Intelligence
Understanding of Boundary Spanning Leadership
Assessing own strengths and developmental needs
The essentials of innovation management theory
Innovation good practice
The triggers for innovation in their own NSOs

Refers to new appointed heads of the NSO and/or those that have been in the position for less than 3 years.
2By the end of the training, NSO heads will be able to Explain to others the essential concepts of: Direction Alignment Commitment (DAC) Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Mental Models
 Articulate their own concept of leadership Work better as a team Explain the concept of Social Identity and its relevance to effective leadership Make use of training course material to cascade to other managers within their organisations
 Have established a network with other peers
 Work better as a team - collaborating more effectively
 Identify their own strengths and development needs
 Craft a learning plan to enhance their developmental needs by creating a Dashboard
 Enhance their own organization’s leadership capacity
 Better understand leadership as a social process (apply effective approach to enhance leadershipoutcomes - Direction Alignment , Commitment; assess how well leadership is happening in theirgroup; identify actions that can take to improve leadership outcomes)
 Learn to Listen – know specifically what to do or to avoid doing to be a better listener to avoid
misunderstanding Understand the need for providing feedback in the workplace (learn about giving effective feedback;review common mistakes in delivering feedback; create a plan of action for more effectively delivering
feedback to others)
 Assess the effectiveness of their mindset , attitude , and skills regarding accountability (useaccountability tools to distinguish how the tasks they are accountable for are prioritized to meetgroup, team or department goals; increase personal accountability for obligations) Explore and manage their own change preferences – understand and recognize the process of changeand transition leverage the power of 3 C’s of change – Communication, Collaboration andCommitment; identify and collaborate with stakeholders during change Understand why influence is important – articulate personal influence strengths and development
gaps recognize the components of effective influence and how to apply it to real-life situations
 Understand the power of boundary spanning for leadership success – identify the types of boundaries
that limit potential recognize your role in spanning boundaries to achieve more that you imagined
 Understand why innovation matters now for NSS
 Understand how innovation works in NSS and understand its underlying factors
 Learn how to assess their organization innovation profile and what needs to be done to move towards
innovation friendly agencies

3. Program
2-day Leadership Training
DAY 1 – 10 September 2019

DAY 2 – 11 September 2019

Introductions- Leaders in the room , Societal Impact

Review of Day 1: 3-2 1

DAC using Visual Explorer

Leading people through change (Change Style Indicator)

Mental Models

Influencing includes self-assessment and peer consultation

Active Listening Skills and Communication

Boundary Spanning3Emotional Intelligence

Collaboration ExplorerMove the statistical data activity

Personal Development: Dashboard Creation, Network
Mapping, Smart Goals

Accountability
SBI - Feedback
VUCA and VUCA Prime (Bob Johannsen)
Key Leadership Challenge – review/make adjustments

Participants Individual Presentations: completedDashboards
Evaluation and Certification

1-day Innovation Seminar
DAY 3 – 12 September 2019
Why data innovation matters now for NSS
Managing innovation in NSS
Leadership and innovation
Innovation life-cycle
Conditions and enabling factors: design thinking
Data innovation
Innovation self-assessment
Change management: phasing out and phasing in:theory and practice

4. ParticipantsParticipants to the training course will be new heads of national statistical offices in Asia-Pacific. Participants
are encouraged to share their leadership experiences in their own organization and in coordinating the NSS toenrich cross-country learning of good practices and identifying common leadership and coordination
challenges.

5. Date and Venue
The Statistical Leadership Training and Innovations Seminar will be conducted on 10-12 September 2019 at
the SIAP Headquarters in Chiba, Japan.

6. Training language
The training will be conducted in English, no translations or interpreters will be available.

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