ENHANCING STATISTICAL LEADERSHIP FOR HEADS OF NATIONAL STATISTICALOFFICES (NSOs) IN ASIA and the PACIFICREGIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOP
14-16 June 2023, Chiba, Japan

CONCEPT NOTE
Background
With the increased and evolving demand for data from national development plans, Agenda 2030 forsustainable development goals, the current and post crisis affecting the World, including COVID-19 and climatechange; National statistical offices (NSOs) continue to be at the forefront of developing and coordinating
national statistical systems (NSS) as well as engaging with the larger data ecosystem. National statisticalsystems (NSS) in low and middle-income countries need to innovate and adapt quickly not only in terms ofdata production, but also in more effectively re-using, analysing, disseminating and communicating otherexisting sources of development data. The development of strong leadership and management skills at bothsenior- and mid - levels is key to ensure NSOs are positioned to drive change and operate in modern anddynamic data ecosystems. In this context, enhancing leadership skills of leaders of NSO through targetedtrainings is an important strategy to position the NSO/NSS to respond to emerging data needs, strengthen
institutional reputation, and build trust among citizens.
Therefore, NSO heads should be capacitated to effectivelly lead their own organization but also to coordinate
the national statistical system and the data ecosystem at large. As part of its program to strengthen national
statistical systems, PARIS21 has developed a statistical leadership training for NSO heads, since 2015, andimplemented in collaboration with the United Nations Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (UN SIAP).
The latest leadership training workshop was organised in 2019. As part of its continued effort to support
countries in strengthening NSSs and to increase the number of NSO heads that would benefit from thestatistical leadership training, UN SIAP and PARIS21 will organize another round of trainings for this year inChiba, from 14-16 June 2023. This regional statistical leadership training will gather around 25 NSO heads,providing a space for knowledge sharing and peer-learning.

Why to attend this training
This training will provide NSO heads with leadership skills to improve their effectiveness through greaterawareness of their strengths and weaknesses and the challenges they face both internally within theirorganization and externally within the larger environment they are engaging with. Often, NSO heads rarely
have the opportunity to receive extensive feedback from staff and stakeholders outside. It is necessary tohave to open opportunity and understanding to build a comprehensive 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 styles 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
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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 in the new data landscape;prioritizing and shifting activities where needed according to priority data demand;
linking statistical activity plans with those of other work streams in the NSS and working with otherentities/stakeholders with objectives different from own organization;
dealing with unexpected crises, obstacles or interruptions, e.g. delivering data in times of Covid-19;
managing upward and downward relations: the political role of coordination of NSS stakeholders, etc;
creating a space for exchange of best practices and to strengthen leadership skills and visibility offemale leaders in statistics.

The Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL), a non-profit educational institution with an exclusive focus on andworldwide reputation in leadership development and research, will lead and facilitate this Regional Statistical
Leadership Training in Chiba, Japan, under the supervision of PARIS21 and UN SIAP.

Training Objectives
The training intends to unlock the participants’ potential to be effective in leadership roles and processes withfocus on statistics development areas. Further, the participants will be able to explain and model their learningto others in their national statistical systems and promote leadership among mid-managers. Participants will
be able to disseminate what they have learned by taking active roles in leadership and also develop creativity
through the activities and tools provided in the training to advance the statistical development agenda in theircountries and region.
The participants will learn about:
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essentials of leadership: Direction, Alignment, Commitment to deliver quality statistics to users andits impact on changing prople’s lives
key drivers of effective leadership development in statistics development
the importance of Emotional Intelligence, psychological safety, feedback and its use in statisticalorganization and development
assessing own strengths and developmental needs to lead the team to deliver their statisticalmandatechange leadership vs change management, listening to understand, network analysis, feedback,individual goal setting and its use in promoting statistics development
recommendations on influencing and strengthening strategic networks to promote the support tostatistics
Leadership in Statistics: Contextualizing leadership of NSO Heads: including challenges from Covid-19,
other new Data Sources , Modernization of the National Statistical Office / National Statistical Systems
and the role of the Director

Expected takeaways
By the end of the training, participants will be able to:Page 2 of 5

•Explain to NSO managers and other NSS stakeholders the essential concepts of: Direction-AlignmentCommitment to deliver quality statistics to users, Emotional Intelligence•Articulate their own concept of leadership and how it can support deliver quality data to users•

Explain the concept of Social Identity and its relevance to effective statistical leadership•Make use of training course material to cascade to other NSO/NSS managers within their organizations•

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, Enhancetheir 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 their group;
identify actions that can take to improve leadership outcomes)•Listening to understand – 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)•Explore and manage their own change preferences – understand and recognize the statistical processof change and transition, by leveraging the power of 3 C’s of change – Communication, Collaboration
and Commitment; identify and collaborate with stakeholders of the NSS during change•

Understand why influence is important in raising the importance of statistics in development agendas– articulate personal influence strengths and development gaps recognize the components ofeffective influence and how to apply it to real-life situations as NSO heads.

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Training Programme: 14-16 June 2023, Tokyo, JapanDay 1 – Wednesday 14 June 2023
Welcome remarks: Government of Japan (tbd)
Opening remarks – UN SIAP
PARIS21 Frame the context – “What brings us here?”
Introductions - Leaders in the Room, Societal Advancement
Social Identity
DAC( Effective leadership), Societal Organizational Group ,Individual (SOGI) & organizational
cultures. Experiential activity – Move the statistical data
Emotional Intelligence and its use to lead in statistics
Listening to UnderstandCompletion of Change Style Indicator assessment for Day 2
End of Day 1

Day 2 – Thursday 15 June 2023
Review Day 1
Psychological Safety
Feedback
Change Leadership vs Change Management
Change Style Indicator Self -Assessment (CSI)
Leading Teams
Inclusive leadership
End of Day 2

Day 3 – Friday 16 June 2023
Review Day 2
InfluenceStrategic Networks
Leadership in Statistics: Contextualizing leadership of NSO Heads: including challenges from Covid19, other new Data Sources , Modernization of the National Statistical Office / National Statistical
Systems and the role of the Director General + Capacity development (CD4.0
Personal Development: Dashboard Creation Individual Goal Setting
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Day 3 – Friday 16 June 2023
Participants Individual Presentations:completed Dashboards
Evaluation
Certification
End of Day 3

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