As part of the International Data Forum, organised by the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) of Senegal from 23 to 25 November 2026 at the King Fahd Palace in Dakar, SESRIC will lead a panel on “Quality assurance and harmonisation of methods: issues and challenges”, scheduled for 25 November 2026 from 11:00 to 13:00.

The panel will provide a venue for national statistical offices, regional and international organisations and other institutions to exchange experiences on quality assurance arrangements and the harmonisation of statistical methods. Its aim is to draw lessons and recommendations to support the national statistical systems of the participating countries in developing and operationalising national quality assurance frameworks, building on the United Nations Handbook on National Quality Assurance Frameworks for Official Statistics. The discussions will cover country practices in quality assurance, the opportunities, challenges and constraints of their implementation, and the role of the management of statistical standards in strengthening methodological harmonisation within national statistical systems.

The panel will be moderated by Mr. Onur ÇAĞLAR, Director of the Statistics and Information Department of SESRIC. Panellists will include representatives of the National Institute of Statistics (INS) of Niger, the National Agency of Statistics (ANStat) of Côte d’Ivoire, the ECOWAS Commission, the African Union Institute for Statistics (STATAFRIC) and UNESCO.

SESRIC, in its capacity as the Secretariat of the OIC Statistical Commission (OIC-StatCom), will take part in the Forum following the invitation extended by ANSD. Through this panel, SESRIC will engage with data producers, users and partners on issues of common interest to the national statistical systems of OIC Member Countries, including quality assurance and the harmonisation of statistical methods.

For further information on the Forum, please visit the official pages: Forum website | ANSD website