Purpose of the Survey

Data sharing between government statisticians and the academic community can be mutually beneficial. With regard to official statistics, the public needs to see academic research based on national survey data as an extension and enhancement of official statistical information. This will increase their trust in official data and in the national agencies responsible for its compilation. Research based on reliable national statistics can also feed into government policies. In the process official data collection, academic research and policy formation will benefit. However, this type of research to support sound policy decisions and economic innovation is increasingly seen to depend on access to original microdata files for researchers. It is important, therefore to test ease of access to national survey microdata for repurposing by researchers. An investigation was therefore undertaken to measure the availability of microdata from surveys conducted by African National Statistics Offices (NSOs) for reuse by researchers in the region. The process of applying for data tested the effectiveness of data user-producer communication channels at these NSOs for the purpose of data discovery. Historically, little interaction has taken place between official data producers in Africa and those interested in using their data for research and policy analysis. This has impacted on the accessibility of African data, which is an important dimension of quality in data management in National Statistical Systems (NSS). Regular communication between data producers and user group