Costa Rica: Data Dissemination Policy Workshop (June 2014)

Following the workshop which took place in Paris from May 22-23 (for representatives of francophone Africa), a Data Dissemination Policy Workshop was held from June 4-5 in San José, Costa Rica. Representatives from nine countries attended the workshop, including: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Representatives from the Andean Community (CAN), Central American Integration System (SICA) the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the United Nations Statistic Division (UNSD) also attended the workshop.

The workshop began by showcasing the data portal and dissemination management system developed by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografia (INEGI) in Mexico and the Istituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) from Brazil also presented their data dissemination processes. The countries discussed the legal mandate and the current laws, which allow for the dissemination of microdata. The workshop focused on country presentations and included both user and producer perspectives. The countries split into groups which gave them the opportunity to share experiences in microdata dissemination and countries without formal policies were able to define a road map for developing their policies. A template was used to assist in designing a roadmap for developing a data dissemination policy.

The ADP will follow-up with the countries in the coming months to provide assistance in drafting their data dissemination policies.