Public Interest Incorporated Foundation

Statistical Information Institute for Consulting and Analysis

Outline of Sinfonica

As early as around 1990, significant changes in social and socio-economic conditions brought about advanced and diversified needs for statistical information, which is the common property of the nation. At the same time, technologies for communications and information processing advanced at a rapid rate, and there had been a strong desire to apply such technologies to the processing, analysis and dissemination of statistical information.

In response to such conditions, the Statistical Information Institute for Consulting and Analysis (Sinfonica) was established as a public foundation under the authorization of the Prime Minister in July 1992 in order to promote effective use of statistical information through research and development activities on processing, analysis and dissemination of statistical information. In 1998, The Institute opened the Osaka Branch to facilitate further promotion of its activities.

In 2012, while celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Institute succeeded in being classified as a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation in the recent reclassification of foundations.

The Institute has been keeping a good relationship with the Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Government of Japan.

1. Research and Development Activities

The Institute conducts research and development activities utilizing statistical information and technologies on communications and data processing being funded externally as well as internally. For example, since analysis on small areas is fundamental for various urban/rural development and disaster prevention planning in recent years, the Institute conducts research and development activities on small area statistics utilizing GIS (Geographic Information System). The main subjects of the research are as follows:

• Basic study on how to utilize individual data of statistical surveys while ensuring confidentiality;

• Study on the promotion of Statistical GIS;

• Study on the development of a database of household micro data of Asian countries and research using it;

• Study and estimation of daytime population, which will be useful for disaster prevention, marketing, and environmental affairs, etc.;

• Study and estimation of population by geographical attribute (land height, soil etc.)

• Study on the production of linked grid square (mesh) statistics from Population and Economic Censuses;

• Development of educational websites on statistics oriented to elementary, junior high school and high school pupils/students; and

• Development of various types of software to utilize statistical information, G-Census being a sophisticated one for small area statistics.

The results of research and development activities are published in the Institute’s monthly magazine “Estrela.” “Sinfonica Research Series” are occasionally published (25 volumes to date).

2. Enlightenment activities

The Institute promotes effective and multi-layered use of statistical information. The main activities are as follows:

• Monthly publication and distribution of the Institute’s monthly magazine “Estrela”

• It is composed mainly of technical articles on statistics, information and communications and information processing technologies; 64 pages.

• Publication and distribution of “Sinfonica Research Series”; 200-400 pages each.

• Annual publication and distribution of PSI (pocket statistical information) booklets

• Annual seminars on selected topics such as “Disaster and Statistics”, “RegionalAnalysis and Statistical Information”, “Use of Statistics in Local Governments andPrivate Companies”, “Statistics and Big Data”, and “Production of Data Scientists”.

• Hosting the Nation-wide Statistical Graphic Concour (annual)

• Hosting the Nation-wide Statistics Convention jointly with the Government (annual)

• Secretarial services for Dr. O-uchi Prize Committee (annual)

• Training seminars on “Actual Practices of Official Statistics of Japan”, “StatisticalClassification” and “Statistical Graphs” (annual)

• Research grants: “Incentive Award for Statistical GIS Activities” and “DocumentCompilation Contest for Presentation by G-Census” (annual) Activities of the Institute

3. Statistical data processing, statistical consulting and data dissemination

The Institute provides consulting services on information processing and data dissemination of various statistical data.

• Designing sample surveys, and random selection of samples;

• Entrusted tabulation and analysis of statistical surveys;

• Data dissemination as a result of consulting in electronic media (CD-R, DVD-R, etc.) to users. They include:

• Results of statistical censuses and surveys

• Consumer Price Index, Population Census, Establishment and Enterprise Census, Economic Census, Housing and Land Survey, National Survey of Family Income and Expenditure, Family Income and Expenditure Survey, Labor Force Survey, etc.

• Statistical compendia

• Statistical Yearbook, System of Social and Demographic Statistics, Index to Statistical Data Sources, etc.

• Small area statistic

• Mesh (grid-square) data and other small area data of the Population Census, the Establishment and Enterprise Census and the Economic Census

4 .Other public-interest activities

• (1) Execution of JICA projects

• The Institute is registered at JICA as an authorized organization, and has been engaged as the primary contractor in Project of Improving Official Statistics of Cambodia, 2011-2015. The project covers the 2011 Economic Census of Cambodia, the 2013 Inter-censal Population Survey and 2014 Inter-censal Economic Survey, all of which are essential for the development of Cambodia. A similar project is envisaged in Nepal from 2016 onwards.

• (2) Statistical Cooperation Project between the Institute and the National Statistical Office of Mongolia

• Receiving a 2-3 person mission from the National Statistical Office of Mongolia, and dispatching a 3-5 person mission from the Institute for exchange of information and observation of statistical activities; annually since 2006

  
  

• (3) Operation of Experimental Laboratory for Research Purpose Statistical Use of Micro Data of Official Statistics
  

  • Based on a charter agreed on by heads of national statistical offices of about ten countries and representatives of the Institute and Tokyo International University in 2006, the institute has been entrusted with the research purpose statistical use of micro data of household income and expenditure surveys and population censuses at the said laboratory in the Institute.

    
    

• (4) Secretarial services for five academic associations including the Japan Statistical Society, and for the Federation of Research Associations of Statistical Teaching
  

• (5) Support for Japan Statistical Society Certificate Program which started in 2011 and is developing very fast
  

• (6) Support for international conferences and cooperation programs organized by the Statistics Bureau of Japan

Public Interest Incorporated Foundation

Statistical Information Institute for Consulting and Analysis

URL / https://www.sinfonica.or.jp/