Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD) and the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE) have signed a service-level agreement that allows collaboration between the two parties in the field of statistical integration as part of a strategy to develop an advanced statistical ecosystem which provides high-quality statistics through a decentralised model.

The agreement was signed by Ahmed Mahmoud Fikri, the Director-General of SCAD and Ahmed Mohammed Belajer Al Rumaithi, Under-Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE), on the sidelines of the 15th edition of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2023, which is being held from 14th-19th January, 2023, under the patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

According to the agreement, SCAD would support DoE in developing its statistical capabilities by applying the best practices and scientific methodologies for data integration through advanced solutions that can eliminate dependency on surveys and opinion polls. The integration is envisaged to optimise the usability of the administrative registers to sustain production of statistics along with saving time and effort.

DoE would be enabled to produce and publish its statistical indicators as per SCAD’s portfolio according to the approved methodologies, standards, and dissemination calendar to produce high-quality statistics in a timely manner.

Fikri said, “This agreement highlights the importance of integration and collaboration between government entities in the field of statistics for building an advanced statistical ecosystem that contributes to the improvement of public services and standards of living in Abu Dhabi through a decentralised statistical model of data collection, analysis and dissemination taking into consideration the international best practices.”

He added, “The agreement helps government entities achieve higher levels of statistical maturity, meet user needs and support policy and decision makers to forecast the future, and achieve goals of the sustainable development plans across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.”

For his part, Al Rumaithi, said, "We are pleased to sign this agreement with SCAD because of its utility in policy decision-making, research studies and planning based on modern data analytics, and the potential to apply the data to serve our clean energy goals.”

He also pointed out that the Department of Energy seeks to support and consolidate the existing strategic partnerships between the Department and various local and federal government entities on areas of statistical information exchange, in a way that meets the needs of all parties and achieves common benefits.

Under this agreement, the DoE gets access to the SCAD's Insights and Foresights Platform (IFP), which was launched in October 2021 under the auspices of H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office (ADEO). The platform provides insights, statistical analyses and forecasts that are essential for Abu Dhabi’s development plans and strategies.

The signing of the agreement comes at an important stage in which SCAD is developing an advanced statistical ecosystem that adopts a decentralised approach to achieve the highest standards of sustainability in the production of statistical indicators and to enable government entities to collect, analyse and publish data to meet the needs of users and support decision-makers.