Independence and a matter of trust

David Marder

Head of Media Relations

ONS, United Kingdom

A sceptical audience

• Independence and ethical behaviour must be at the core of any platform to build trust

• It is a simple truth that to be trusted you must show that you are trustworthy and you must also show trust in others

• In the UK, however, the level of scepticism has reached such a depth that institutional change in itself will not achieve the desired shift in attitude

Public confidence

• A third of people (33 per cent) thought figures were not generally accurate

• Nearly six in ten (57 per cent) disagreed that figures were produced without political interference

• A similar proportion (58 per cent) disagreed that the government uses figures honestly

• Of those that disagreed that figures were accurate nearly half (47 per cent) included a view that figures were manipulated for political purposes

Public confidence in official statistics, ONS 2008

The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007

• Creates a new independent authority accountable direct to the UK Parliament and whose objective is to promote and safeguard:

– The production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good; and

– The quality, good practice and comprehensiveness of official statistics

Leaders in independence

Sir Michael Scholar – Chair of the new UK Statistics Authority

Karen Dunnell – National Statistician

Some key points

• A new Code of Practice• Independent assessment role• A new look at pre-release access• Data-sharing• Statistical publication hub

. . . But how do we deliver ‘the public good’, confidence and trust . . .

Earning trust

• Where there is no trust . . .

• Rise of influence of single issue groups• Rejection of the official voice• Erosion of civic society

Trust in Government (Opinion Leader Research) April 2006

What happened to trust?

• We don't trust less, we trust differently

• No longer an age of deference

• We've moved to an age of reference

Who is trusted?

• Authority of institution has been eroded and switched to:

– people we know, who know

– 'my media'

• We choose PEOPLE we can trust and then find the CONTEXT in which we can trust them

Views of ‘opinion-formers’

Opinion-formers say the quality of UK official statistics is up there with the best in the world

• The problem of mistrust as they see it:– current political climate of mistrust– politicisation of official statistics– prior access by Ministers– spin = political marketing ("it's my job to create the

truth" - Peter Mandelson)

Ipsos-MORI - Official Statistics: Perception and Trust (May 2006)

The spiral of distrust

• Divergence syndrome– Something expected to be positive turned out to

be negative– Something thought be constant turns out to be

finite

• The disconnect between expectations and experience

• Doesn't connect with 'me and my world'

Shoot the messenger

The media:– Statistics make easy and powerful stories– ... But – taken out of context – exaggerated– misrepresented

The effect:– skews trust– creates misunderstanding

Media – most powerful stakeholders

Media v. statistics – the battle zone:

• never let the facts get in the way of the story• if it's not interesting - it's not news• no change = no news

• Build bridges with the media to create less ambiguous coverage

How can you gain trust?

• To earn trust . . . first you have to give trust– mutual respect– accessible information– Adult-to-adult

• Behaviours that are trustworthy– consistent– authentic– human – engaging

New kinds of influence

• The social influencer:charismatic

no apparent agenda

not patronising

accessible

appears to know

engaging and likeable

personal and relevant

represents . . . the truth

Standing in the shoes

• Stand in the shoes of the audience and ask:

– 'What does this mean to me?'– 'Do I trust these people?'

A voice from the past

. . . facts are essential to the formation of views

. . . prejudice is combatted by reason

. . . policies are explained to be understood

Sir Kenneth Grubb, Ministry of Information 1941-46

Transparency, accessibility and clarity

• Independence is not a magic bullet

• Statisticians must not only act independently but be seen to be independent

• Probity is not sufficient in itself • Transparency, accessibility and clarity are all

equally important – Clearer explanation of the information produced is

probably even more useful to users than increasing the range

Searching the depths