UNITED NATIONS, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND
THE PACIFIC, STATISTICAL INSTITUTE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

UNITED NATIONS, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS,STATISTICS DIVISION

Regional Course on
Statistical Business Registers
11-14 March 2024
Chiba, Japan

I. Background & Rationale
Statistical Business Registers (SBRs) are often described as the backbone of economicstatistics, as they provide the core infrastructure to support the collection of economic data
and the production of economic statistics. They provide a coherent set of units andclassifications to collect and compile data across all domains, and a consistent set of rules
to maintain this set of units over time. SBRs are considered as the backbone for producing
economic statistics that meet the increasing demand for better integrated, coherent andcomparable statistics across countries and statistical domains. Inclusive and exhaustive
SBRs are becoming an increasingly more important element of the statisticalinfrastructure for maintaining the relevance, responsiveness and quality of economic
statistics in order to measure the structure and dynamics of economic activity.
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The SBR is also a critical element in the transformation of the national statistical system
in adopting a responsive, efficient and cost-effective data collection strategy with a
response burden as low as possible. This means efforts must be made to modernize theproduction processes, to use administrative data to reduce survey burden, to redesign
survey systems, to harmonize surveys and variables, to comprehensively linkadministrative data and survey sources, and to cooperate more closely with administrative
authorities on a continuous basis to improve the quality of the SBR. Better consistency
between the various statistical areas at national and international level has also become amuch more important goal than it was in the past, when economic development was lessaffected by international dependencies, and globalization of production and markets was
at a lower level. Therefore, SBRs play a key role to address current and future needs for
economic and business statistics.

To reflect the importance of SBRs, the UN Committee of Experts on Business and Trade
Statistics established the Task Team on SBR 1 with the broad objectives to address
challenges in developing exhaustive business registers and develop tools to help countries
in strengthening the Statistical Business Registers. The task team will focus on further
collaborating the elements of the Maturity Model for Statistical Business Registers which
provides a framework for evaluating the stages of maturity of the Statistical Business
Registers in the seven dimensions that characterize SBRs. These include: Legal andinstitutional framework; Data sources for the SBR; Maintenance and update of the SBR;
Coverage of the SBR; Use of SBR; IT Environment; and Interoperability.

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See the TOR of TT-SBR at https://unstats.un.org/UNSDWebsite/statcom/session_54/documents/BG-3fToR-TT-SBR-E.pdf

2II. Main Objectives
Expanding upon the workshops and trainings on SBRs conducted in the Economic andSocial Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) region by the Statistical Institute for
Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) and United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) from 2015 to2017, and foundational e-learning course on Statistical Business Registers developed
jointly by SIAP, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UNSD in 2021, this regional course
aims to help participants acquire knowledge and skills to deepens their understanding onthe principles and methodology on statistical business registers. The course will review
international recommendations and standards on Statistical Business Registers and provide
guidance on the implementation of the Maturity Model for Statistical Business Registers.
Furthermore, it will address new developments, including the global assessment
questionnaire, the implementation of the revised industrial classification systems), theintegration of geospatial information, integration of business and trade, and the global
initiative on unique identifiers for businesses. Additionally, the course aims to create aplatform that encourages participants engage in peer learning and share country
experiences in the establishment and maintenance of Statistical Business Registers, main
challenges encountered by countries, and new developments in this area.

III. About the Course
This course is organized by the United Nations, Economic and Social Commission for Asiaand the Pacific (ESCAP), Statistical Institute for the Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) and theUnited Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). The 4-day, in-person training will be held from11 to 14 March 2024, in Chiba, Japan. It will be conducted in English without interpretation.
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IV. Target Audience
The course is designed for mid-level statisticians from national statistical offices whose
main responsibilities include the development and maintenance of SBRs; preparation anduse of sampling frames for business surveys; or production of statistics from SBRs.

V. Target Countries (by invitation only):
The provisional list of proposed funded countries is as follows: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh,Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lao PDR, Nepal,Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey and Viet Nam.

VI. Learning Outcomes
By the end of the foundational course, participants will be able to:a) Describe the main concepts of SBRs and the important role of SBRs for producing
economic statisticsb) Identify data sources, investigate other potential data sources, and understand theimportance of the legal framework around the access to administrative datac) Recognize the challenges in developing procedures for the update and maintenanceof SBRsd) Use the SBR Maturity Model to assess the stage of implementation of SBRs in thecountry and identify possible areas for improvemente) Share country practices on SBRs and understand new emerging topics related toSBRsf) Recognize the importance and benefits of profiling and Group/global Register4g) Assess new developments in SBRsh) Gain insights into collaborating with colleagues from national statistics office toenhance the country's SBRs.

VII.

Course Design and Content

The course is comprised of eight modules, country presentations, discussions and group
work to address issues relevant for developing and maintaining the statistical businessregisters and to assist countries to identify areas for improvements for their SBRs.
ModuleCoverage•

1. Statistical Business RegisterIntroductionWhat is a Statistical Business Register(SBR)

2. Roles of SBR•

Users of SBRs•

Requirements of SBRs•

The role of a SBR as a live register•

The role of a SBR as a coordinator ofsurveys

3. Coverage of the SBR•

Statistics and research•

Other roles of SBRs•

Entities recorded in a SBR•

Types of units included in a SBR•

Special cases of economic activities•

Summary of coverage
recommendations•

5The characteristics of SBR units

4. Data Sources, maintenance, and•Data sources of an SBRupdate•

Maintenance of an SBR•

Quality assessment and improvement

5. Legal framework, Organizational,•Importance of legal frameworks

and IT considerations•

Organizational considerations of aSBR

6. SBR Maturity Model (SBRMM)•IT considerations•

Characteristics and requirements ofthe SBRMM•

Use of SBRMM to identify areas forimprovement•

7. New developments

Self-assessment and global assessment
questionnaires•

Integration of geospatial informationin SBRs•

Industrial Classification System•

Global initiative on unique identifiers
for businesses

8. Profiling and Global/Regional•

Importance and benefits of profilingRegisters•

How profiling is performed•Profiling in the global context

6VIII.

Source Material

This course draws upon a number of reference materials, including the United NationsGuidelines on Statistical Business Registers (2020) and the draft manual on the StatisticalBusiness Register Maturity Model for Statistical Business Registers (2022); the Eurostat
European business statistics methodological manual for statistical business registers —2021 edition; the ADB User Guide for ADB Statistical Business Register December 2018;
the Statistical Business Register Maturity Model (United Nations Task Team of Exhaustive
Business Registers and Task Team Capacity Building, 2020); the Eurostat Europeanbusiness profiling — Recommendations manual — 2020 edition; and Global Group
Register – Experimental Release User Guide (18 December 2020).

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