Better data, better decisions. That’s the tagline used by the Joint Organisations Data Initiative to flag the need for accurate and transparent energy data.
At Resource Economist, we are acutely aware of the variable quality of energy and natural resource data collected by government ministries and statistical offices around the world.
Many data users assume that all statistics are equal and use the data in commercial and investment decisions without any questions as to whether it is fit for purpose. Research and consulting reports may also be inconsistent and at times opaque in how they source and display the data and forecasts presented.
The experience of JODI is that not all data is created equal. That’s also what we believe.
Some countries produce timely and reliable data, others do not. Data quality standards vary over time, as government commitment to “gold standard” statistical methods – and the funding needed to ensure its delivery — is not always guaranteed.
That’s why I created the TARGET system to analyse and review the quality of data from countries and inter-governmental data providers.
The TARGET system is used to create data quality rankings based on a set of specific, objective criteria. This provides a consistent standard for data quality evaluation, but one that is tailored to ensure relevance to the circumstances of those providing the data sets. The methodology is outlined in the attached PDF.
I have been involved in the JODI user community for several years, attending their New Delhi forum in 2014 and then participating as a speaker and chair at user events in London and Switzerland, both as an analyst / economist and as a media partner.
The JODI staff are passionate about the need for high quality, transparent energy data – as are the partner organisations of the International Energy Forum.
They currently collate data from around 70 countries on oil and around 55 on gas, and they have discussed expanding the data sets to include coal and other energy commodities. I have tracked the growing success of their efforts in a series of articles and blog entries over the years.
Resource Economist provides a number of services related to data and data analysis, including peer evaluation of research and consulting reports and independent feedback on the data underpinning such reports and the forecasts they contain.
We also plan to publish a series of region specific analyses in 2019 on the national source data for energy and natural resources. Please contact us if you require further details.
Contact: Peter Stewart +44 (0) 7703 341 529