As part of its continued efforts to support the advancement of statistical quality assurance practices among OIC countries, SESRIC hosted a high-level Round Table Discussion on “Future Directions and Concrete Steps for Quality Assurance Efforts in the Context of the New Data Ecosystem” on 3 July 2025 at its headquarters in Ankara, Türkiye.

The Round Table convened on the final day of the Training Workshop on “Quality Assurance for Countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation”, which was co-organised by SESRIC in collaboration with the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-STAT), the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS), and the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT).

This high-level segment provided a platform for senior representatives of National Statistical Offices (NSOs), regional and international organisations, and quality assurance experts to deliberate on the emerging challenges and opportunities related to quality assurance in the evolving data landscape. Discussions centred on concrete steps and strategic directions to strengthen quality assurance frameworks, particularly in the context of administrative data, big data, and other non-traditional sources increasingly used in official statistics.

The event was organised within the framework of Strategic Objective 5.1 of the OIC-StatCom Programme of Action 2021–2025, which calls for strengthening quality assurance frameworks across the national statistical systems of OIC countries. It also responded directly to Resolution Items 1, 2, and 3 of the 13th Session of the OIC Statistical Commission (OIC-StatCom), reaffirming the commitment to monitor, implement, and report on progress towards the quality assurance goals outlined in the Programme of Action.

The insights generated during the Round Table contributed to the formulation of practical recommendations and informed future collaborative initiatives among OIC member countries and international partners in the area of quality assurance.

For more information, please visit the OIC-StatCom website.