C. Legal acts regulating institutional arrangements
2.10. More than one national institution is often involved in the compilation of data, in accordance with the statistical framework recommended in MSITS 2010 for measurement of the international supply of services. Therefore, the national statistical office or the central bank is the responsible national authority for the coordination of data compilation and dissemination. In many countries, there is a statistics act or formal legal arrangement that determines the national authority for data collection, such as through surveys, as well as for data compilation and dissemination. In some countries, those responsibilities are shared among two or more agencies. For example, central banks may be responsible for obtaining data from financial institutions, while the national statistical agency is responsible for collecting data from other institutions, as well as for compiling and disseminating the data. An investment approval agency or financial supervisor may be a very important source of information about cross-border transactions in services. In such a case, it is important for legal or other arrangements to be in place that will allow the agency responsible for the compilation of a particular data set to obtain access to the relevant data sources.
2.11. When the compiling statistical authority is dependent upon other national institutions for data, close cooperation and coordination are needed and should be facilitated by appropriate legislation. In such a context, it is good practice for compilers to actively participate, whenever appropriate, in the necessary modifications to national legislation or relevant administrative regulations in order to establish a solid foundation for enhancing the quality and timeliness of statistics. It is good practice for the national laws and regulations to define the rights and responsibilities of all agencies involved in the collection, exchange, processing, compilation and dissemination of statistics, so that those agencies will be in a better position to establish the necessary institutional arrangements detailing their involvement in the statistical process. For instance, if adequate legal provisions are in place, the responsible agency can more quickly and efficiently establish a working arrangement with the organizations that keep records relevant to statistics on the international supply of services. (See chapter 3 for further discussion of institutional arrangements.)
Next: D. Legal acts governing the content and availability of data sources