Data needs could originate from the necessity to cover new areas of measurement and use new methodologies to improve data quality, use and availability. They could also stem from the requirement to come up with new subject measures and variables. Therefore, national data compiling agencies must be cognizant of such evolving data needs to remain relevant and useful. After all, it is the responsibility of the statistical community to make sure to address new data-related challenges which are driven by current and emerging user demands for official statistics. It is potentially in recognition of emerging data-related challenges that the IMF took several steps to enhance transparency and openness, and launched two key data dissemination standards in the 1990s. These included the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS). Let me briefly touch on these standards. The SDDS was established in 1996 to guide IMF member countries, interacting or set to interact with international capital markets, in the provision of their economic and financial data to the public. Countries that subscribe to the SDDS agree to follow good practices in four areas which include the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of data, public access to those data, data integrity, and data quality. Earlier this year, the IMF Board expanded the scope of the SDDS to include seven financial soundness indicators in order to make all stakeholders better understand cross-border linkages, and made it mandatory for participating nations to report international investment positions on a quarterly basis over a transition period of four years.

Muhammad Al-Jasser: The need for national data compilation and dissemination Opening speech by His Excellency Dr Muhammad Al-Jasser, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), at the Special Data Dissemination Standard and Monetary Statistics workshop, Institute of Banking, Riyadh, 11 December 2010. *  *  *  Dear Workshop Organizers and Participants, It is my pleasure to inaugurate such an important workshop at a time when many national data compiling agencies are confronted with ever increasing user demands and challenges. I take this opportunity to express my thanks to all the GCC organizations (central banks, ministries of finance, and statistics centers) participating in this event. Of course, I also extend my appreciation to the IMF for providing pivotal leadership in building capacity for producing official statistics in the region, and paving the way for adding new dimensions and quality to official statistics and thereby contributing to the global statistical system. Dear Participants, The need to compile and disseminate data in a systematic and professional way, especially with respect to the growing data needs, can hardly be overemphasized. For example, the recent global financial crisis has exposed the lack of data in key statistical areas that might have helped authorities better measure and understand the risks to the international financial system. Remedies to fill such data gaps (e.g., maturity mismatches) are critical for monitoring systemic risk originating from systemically important financial institutions. Similarly, the rapid transformation of the world economy has also brought new data needs for environmental and social welfare statistics.