From October 29 to 31 this year, a regional seminar on the use and integration of alternative data sources in calculating the Consumer Price Index was held in Brussels, Belgium. The seminar was organized in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Statistics Norway, and the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.
The seminar brought together representatives from the statistical agencies of several countries and organizations, including experts from the European Union countries, the United Nations Statistics Division, and the Head of the Consumer Price Statistics Department at the Statistics Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ms. Ismailova Shaxnoza Uktamovna.
During the seminar, new methods of data collection in consumer price statistics were discussed, such as data scanning, the use of administrative data, and web-scraping. Additionally, the opportunities provided by these new techniques and the challenges associated with their implementation were reviewed.
In addition to presentations, the seminar included group activities that allowed participants to share their ideas and critically discuss the concepts addressed, with the aim of putting these concepts into practice.
Furthermore, the agenda provided opportunities for international experts to give recommendations, and for participating countries to learn from advanced practices in gathering and maintaining alternative data in price statistics.
