In this WG, key players will reflect on ways to provide access to private data while maintaining and promoting ethical principles. In fact, I consider there is a need to break the quasi-monopoly which some big techcompanies have on personal data, something which requires a co-ordinated international effort. The European data strategy announced by the European Commission a few months ago, aimed at public/private-sector collaboration in data-sharing, is a good example in this respect. It is also important to recall the usefulness of statistical information for public opinion. Central banks’ information is quite often of a very technical nature. But, at the same time, some variables –such as interest rates- have a strong impact on household finances and SMEs, whereas information about recent developments on key economic and financial variables are also very relevant for public opinion. Therefore, accessible (transparent, clear) statistics are also needed. 6  In our case, we are continuously striving to improve how statistics are conveyed to society and to adapt our communication to different types of users. A couple of years ago we conducted a survey of the users of our statistical information. The results offered a useful guidance about some key issues. Following the input from this survey, we have in recent years tried to exploit new technologies to display data, including more charts, interactive menus, dashboards, etc. And just a few days ago we launched an application which will allow users to have our statistical information readily available on their mobile devices.
In all these tasks I believe that the role of external analysts and researchers can be pivotal In this regard, I see only advantages from making information produced by authorities public to the scientific community. Evaluation of public policies should not be the sole preserve of analysts from policymaking institutions. Data availability paves the way for evaluations by independent researchers with a clear potential for enriching our knowledge on the impact  4  of public policies. This in turn increases the number of cross-checks to ensure more robust results by looking at the same question from different angles. My impression is that the more ambitious we are in this field, the better the assessment by researchers we are going to have. Indeed, it is a fact that countries with more open data typically enjoy larger than average high-quality economic evaluations. That’s why we have created a data laboratory at the Banco de España (BELab) and intend to gradually open up our data to the scientific community. We have started offering the annual financial statements of about one million companies per year, made available thanks to the agreement signed with the Mercantile Register Association (Colegio de Registradores Mercantiles). As part of our medium-term strategic plan, we are currently analysing the legal and technical conditions to broaden the databases disseminated at this laboratory and to ease access to the data. Currently, it is only possible to access the data lab using the “dataroom” located on our premises.