National Statistics Office (NSO)

Public Finance Unit

NSO

Lascaris

Valletta VLT2000

Malta

Statistics on Government R&D (GOVERD) measure research and experimental development (R&D) performed in the Government sector, i.e. R&D expenditure and R&D personnel. In line with this objective the target population for the national R&D survey of the Government sector should consist of all R&D performing units (including all R&D performers – occasional and continuous, known and unknown - in all branches and size classes) belonging to this sector.

Main concepts and definitions used for the production of R&D statistics are given by the OECD (2015), Frascati Manual 2015: Guidelines for Collecting and Reporting Data on Research and Experimental Development, The Measurement of Scientific, Technological and Innovation Activities, which is the internationally recognised standard methodology for collecting R&D statistics and by the European Business Statistics Methodological Manual on R&D Statistics (EBS Methodological Manual on R&D Statistics). 

Since the beginning of 2021, the collection of R&D statistics is based on Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020. The Regulation sets the framework for the collection of R&D statistics and specifies the main variables of interest and their breakdowns at predefined level of detail. Statistics on science, technology and innovation were collected until the end of 2020 based on the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2012/995 concerning the production and development of Community statistics on science and technology. 

• The local units for the statistics are compiled at regional level according to NUTS 2 – Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics;
• The distribution by socioeconomic objectives (SEO) is based on Nomenclature for the Analysis and Comparisons of Scientific Programmes and Budgets (NABS);
• The fields of research and development are based on Classification and distribution by Fields of Research and Development (FORD).

R&D statistics are compiled for three institutional sectors of performance: Business Enterprise (BES), Government (GOV), and Higher Education (HES). Private Non-Profit (PNP) is considered to be negligible

According to the Frascati Manual, expenditure on extramural R&D (i.e. R&D performed outside the statistical unit) is not included in intramural R&D performance totals (FM, §4.12).

Main concepts and definitions used to produce R&D statistics are given by the Frascati Manual, the "Proposed standard practice for surveys of research and experimental development", OECD 2002, which is internationally recognized standard methodology for collecting R&D statistics.

"Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications." (§ 63, Frascati Manual, OECD 2002).

"Intramural R&D expenditures are all expenditures for R&D performed within a statistical unit or sector of the economy during a specific period, whatever the source of funds." (§ 358, Frascati Manual, OECD 2002).

"R&D personnel include all persons employed directly on R&D, as well as those providing direct services such as R&D managers, administrators, and clerical staff. Those providing an indirect service, such as canteen and security staff, should be excluded." (§ 294 - 295, Frascati Manual, OECD 2002).

"Researchers are professionals engaged in the conception or creation of new knowledge, products, processes, methods and systems and also in the management of the projects concerned." (§ 301, Frascati Manual, OECD 2002).

See below.

The FTE is calculated by dividing the PT employees by 3. It’s a ratio that was established at the NSO

The registered institutions are statistical units

R&D statistics are compiled for R&D activity performed in the whole economy

The target population is the population for which inferences are made. The frame (or frames, as sometimes several frames are used) is a device that permits access to population units. The frame population is the set of population units which can be accessed through the frame and the survey data really refer to this population of institutional units.

The objective of the European R&D statistics is to cover all intramural R&D activities. In line with this objective, the target population for the national R&D survey of the Government Sector should consist of all R&D performing units (including known R&D performers or assumed to perform R&D). In practise however, countries in their R&D surveys might have difficulty in identifying R&D activities at the municipality level. 

In ESS countries, the frame population for GOV R&D statistics is defined as the list of all the institutional units classified by the national accounts (ESA) as included in the General government (S.13), with the exclusion of those units included in the Higher education sector (HES).

Not requested.

R&D data for GOV and HES sector are  available from 2004 onwards

Not requested. 

Not requested

Reference period is the calendar year

The Malta Statistics Authority (MSA) Act empowers the NSO to collect, compile, extract and release official statistics related to demographic, social, environment, economic and general activities and conditions of Malta

- Frascati Manual 2015, Guidelines for Collecting and Reporting Data on Research and Experimental Development

- European Business Statistics Methodological Manual on R&D Statistics

Not requested.

Confidentiality, being one of the process quality components, concerns the privacy of data providers (households, enterprises, administrations and other respondents), the confidentiality of the information they provide and the extent of its use for statistical purposes.

A property of data indicating the extent to which their unauthorised disclosure could be prejudicial or harmful to the interest of the source or other relevant parties.

a)       Confidentiality protection required by law:

b)       Confidentiality commitments of survey staff:

Data is disseminated in aggregate form and no statistical disclosure is applied onto it

An advance release calendar is maintained by the NSO and published on the NSO website.  The calendar projects three months of news releases (including the current and two subsequent months)

https://nso.gov.mt/en/News_Releases/Release_Calendar/Pages/News-Release-Calendar.aspx

An internal policy on dissemination is in place to govern the dissemination of official statistics in an impartial, independent and timely manner, making them available simultaneously to all users.

The NSO’s primary channel for the dissemination of official statistics is the NSO website.  Tailored requests for statistical information may also be submitted through the NSO website.

Moreover, dedicated news releases are available in electronic format on the NSO website

News Release is published annually

See below.

1) Y - Yes, N – No

See below.

1) Y – Yes, N - No 

A news release is published annually and all tables are available online on the NSO website.

Transmission tables sent to Eurostat are uploaded on the Eurobase under “Science and technology” at the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database

Not requested.

See below.

See below.

Not requested.

1) Y – Yes, N - No 

A set of methodological notes are presented at the back of every news release, including guidelines on concepts and definitions used as well as specific methodological issues

Not requested.

See below.

The NSO ensures that the statistical practices used to compile national R&D data follow the Frascati Manual recommendations.  

The NSO has developed an internal Quality Management Framework (QMF) which is built on common requirements of the ESS Code of Practice (ESS CoP).  A document was prepared to include a set of general quality guidelines spanning over all statistical domains.  Assuring methodological soundness is an integral part of the QMF, nonetheless, the document spans also on other areas related to institutional aspects.

Every five to seven years, the NSO participates in a Peer Review exercise through which the compliance of its operations with principles of the ESS CoP is assessed by an expert team.  Peer Reviews are indeed part of the European Statistical System (ESS) strategy to implement the ESS CoP.  Each NSI is expected to provide information as requested by a standard self-assessment questionnaire.  Following this, an expert team visits the office to meet NSI representatives and main stakeholders.  Peer Reviews result in a compliance report and the listing of a set of Improvement Actions which need to be followed up by the NSI

Malta's overall quality of the GOV R&D methodology is quite satisfactory. All data required by the commission is collected and transmitted on time. Both entities in the HES provide us with high quality data

See below.

1)       Users' class codification

1- Institutions:
• European level: Commission (DGs, Secretariat General), Council, European Parliament, ECB, other European agencies etc.
• in Member States, at the national or regional level: Ministries of Economy or Finance, other ministries (for sectoral comparisons), National Statistical Institutes and other statistical agencies (norms, training, etc.), and
• International organisations: OECD, UN, IMF, ILO, etc.

2- Social actors: Employers’ associations, trade unions, lobbies, among others, at the European, national or regional level.

3- Media: International or regional media – specialized or for the general public – interested both in figures and analyses or comments. The media are the main channels of statistics to the general public.

4- Researchers and students (Researchers and students need statistics, analyses, ad hoc services, access to specific data.)

5- Enterprises or businesses (Either for their own market analysis, their marketing strategy (large enterprises) or because they offer consultancy services)

6- Other (User class defined for national purposes, different from the previous classes.)

To evaluate if users' needs have been satisfied, the best way is to use user satisfaction surveys.

Data completeness of both preliminary and final mandatory data is 100% satisfactory

Not applicable

Completeness is assessed via comparison of the data delivered against the requirements of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2020/1197 of 30 July 2020. The Regulation (EU) stipulates periodicity of variables that should be provided, breakdowns and if they should be provided mandatory or on voluntary basis.

Criteria:

A) Obligatory data. Only 'Very Good' = 100%, Poor' >95%; 'Very Poor' <100% apply.

B) Optional data. 'Very Good' = 100%; 'Good' = >75%; 'Satisfactory' 50 to 75%%; 'Poor' 25 to 50%; 'Very Poor' 0 to 25%.

See below.

1) Y-start year, N – data not available

1) Y-start year, N – data not available

1) Y-start year, N – data not available

1) This question is optional. It refers to variables and breakdowns NOT asked by the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2020/1197 (neither as 'optional').

2) Y-start year

Accuracy in the statistical sense denotes the closeness of computations or estimates to the exact or true values. Statistics are not equal with the true values because of variability (the statistics change from implementation to implementation of the survey due to random effects) and bias (the average of the possible values of the statistics from implementation to implementation is not equal to the true value due to systematic effects).

Several types of statistical errors occur during the survey process. The following typology of errors has been adopted:

1. Sampling errors. These only affect sample surveys. They are due to the fact that only a subset of the population, usually randomly selected, is enumerated.

2. Non-sampling errors. Non-sampling errors affect sample surveys and complete enumerations alike and comprise:

a) Coverage errors,

b) Measurement errors,

c) Non response errors and

d) Processing errors.

Model assumption errors should be treated under the heading of the respective error they are trying to reduce.

1)  Ranking of the type(s) of errors that result in over/under-estimation, from the most important source of error (1) to the least important source of error (5). In the event that errors of a particular type do not exist, is used the sign ‘-‘.

2)  The perceived direction of the ‘overall’ error using the signs “+” for over estimation, “-” for under estimation and “+/-” when assumption of the direction of the error cannot be made for R&D.

1) 'Very Good' = High level of coverage (annual rate of substitution in the target population lower than 5%). High average rates of response (>80%) in census and sample surveys. Full data consistency with reference to totals and relationships between variables in the dataset sent to Eurostat.  

2) 'Good' = In the event that at least one out of the three criteria described above would not be fully met.

3) 'Satisfactory' = In the event that the average rate of response would be lower than 60% even by meeting the two remaining criteria.

4) 'Poor' = In the event that the average rate of response would be lower than 60% and at least one of the two remaining criteria would not be met.

5) 'Very Poor' = If all the three criteria are not met.

That part of the difference between a population value and an estimate thereof, derived from a random sample, which is due to the fact that only a subset of the population is enumerated.

The main indicator used to measure sampling errors is the coefficient of variation (CV). 
Definition of coefficient of variation: 
CV= (Square root of the estimate of the sampling variance) / (Estimated value)

Not applicable

Non-sampling errors occur in all phases of a survey. They add to the sampling errors (if present) and contribute to decreasing overall accuracy. It is important to assess their relative weight in the total error and devote appropriate resources for their control and assessment.

Coverage errors are due to divergences between the target population and the frame population. The frame population is the set of target population members that has a chance to be selected into the survey sample. It is a listing of all items in the population from which the sample is drawn that contains contact details as well as sufficient information to perform stratification and sampling.

a)       Description/assessment of coverage errors :

          No coverage errors observed.

b)      Measures taken to reduce their effect:

          Not applicable.

c)       Share of PNP (if PNP is included in GOV):

          Not applicable.

Not requested.

Not requested.

Measurement errors occur during data collection and generate bias by recording values different than the true ones (e.g. difficulty to distinguish intramural from extramural R&D Expenditure). The survey questionnaire used for data collection may have led to the recording of wrong values, or there may be respondent or interviewer bias.

a)       Description/assessment of measurement errors:

           No errors were identified.

b)      Measures taken to reduce their effect:

Non-response occurs when a survey failed to collect data on all survey variables from all the population units designated for data collection in a sample or complete enumeration.

There are two elements of non-response:

-Unit non-response which occurs when no data (or so little as to be unusable) are collected on a designated population unit.

-Item non-response which occurs when data only on some, but not all survey variables are collected on a designated population unit.

The extent of response (and accordingly of non response) is also measured with response rates. 

The main interest is to judge if the response from the target population was satisfactory by computing the un-weighted response rate.

Definition: Eligible are the survey units which indeed belong to the target population. Frame imperfections always leave the possibility that some units may not belong to the target population. Moreover, when there is no contact with certain units and no other way to establish their eligibility they are characterised as ‘unknown eligibility units’.

Un-weighted Unit Non- Response Rate = 1 - (Number of units with a response) / (Total number of eligible and unknown eligibility units in the survey) 

Definition:
Un-weighted Item Non-Response Rate (%) = 1-(Number of units with a response for the item) / (Total number of eligible , for the item, units in the sample) * 100

Not applicable

Between data collection and the beginning of statistical analysis, data must undergo a certain processing: coding, data entry, data editing, imputation, etc. Errors introduced at these stages are called processing errors. Data editing identifies inconsistencies or errors in the data.

Not requested.

Timeliness and punctuality refer to time and dates, but in a different manner: the timeliness of statistics reflects the length of time between their availability and the event or phenomenon they describe. Punctuality refers to the time lag between the release date of the data and the target date on which they should have been delivered, with reference to dates announced in the official release calendar.

Time lag between the end of reference period and the release date of the results:
Indicator: (Release date of provisional/ first results) - (Date of reference for the data)

a) End of reference period: Dec

b) Date of first release of national data: t+10

c) Lag (days):

a) End of reference period: Dec

b) Date of first release of national data: t+18

c) Lag (days):

Punctuality refers to the time lag between the release date of data and the target date on which they were scheduled for release as announced officially.

Punctuality of time schedule of data release = (Actual date of the data release) - (Scheduled date of the data release)

See below.

Not requested.

No issues

The following table lists a number of key survey concepts and conceptual issues; it gives reference to the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2020/1197, Frascati manual and EBS Methodological Manual on R&D Statistics paragraphs with recommendations about these concepts / issues.

The following table lists a number of key methodological issues, which may affect the international comparability of national R&D statistics. The table gives the references in the Frascati manual, where related recommendations are made. Countries are asked to report on the existence of any deviations from existing recommendations and comment upon.

See below.

See below.

1)       Breaks years are years for which data are not fully comparable to the previous period.

Not applicable

This part deals with any national coherence assessments which may have been undertaken. It reports results for variables which are the same or relevant to R&D statistics, from other national surveys and / or administrative sources and explains and comments on their degree of agreement with R&D statistics.

Not requested.

Not applicable

See below.

This part compares key R&D variables as preliminary and final data.

(1)    Calculate the average remuneration (cost) of individuals belonging to the internal R&D personnel, excluding those who are only formally ‘employees’ (university students, grant holders, etc.).

(2)    Calculate the average remuneration (cost) of individuals belonging to the external R&D personnel (FTEs/other current R&D costs for external R&D personnel).

The assessment of costs associated with a statistical product is a rather complicated task since there must exist a mechanism for appointing portions of shared costs (for instance shared IT resources and dissemination channels) and overheads (office space, utility bills etc). The assessment must become detailed and clear enough so that international comparisons among agencies of different structures are feasible. 

1)       The shares of the figures given in the first column that are accounted for by payments to private firms or other Government agencies.

1)        T = the time required to provide the information, including time spent assembling information prior to completing a form or taking part in interview and the time taken up by any subsequent contacts after receipt of the questionnaire (‘Re-contact time’)

At the NSO, there is currently no internal policy governing revisions that occur for all statistics produced.  Nonetheless, a revisions policy is being drafted to safeguard a coordinated revisions system across statistical domains.

This policy will take account of the need and causes for revisions; time and frequency of revisions; data and other statistical products affected by such revisions; and length of periods revised.

Data for a reference year are collected twice; the first time, provisional, at t+1 year, while final data are collected at t+2 years. Provisional data are subject to change, but revisions are very minimal.

No further revisions are collected for past years unless brought forward by the entity

Not requested.

Several separate activities are used for the collection of raw data or pre-compiled administrative data and statistics related to R&D. For simplicity, we call them surveys irrespective of whether they are sample surveys, censuses, collections of administrative data/pre-compiled statistics. This section presents the names of the surveys by sector of performance as well as methodological information for each survey. Depending on the type of survey and sector of performance, only the sections corresponding to that survey and sector are filled in.

See 12.3.3.

See below.

Upon receiving every questionnaire this is checked, primarily to make sure that the type of R&D reported is what is classified as R&D for NSO purposes. Secondly, the questionnaire is checked with what had been reported in the previous year and double check if any large discrepancies arise. Thirdly, we make sure that all tables are in line with one another

See below.

Not applicable

Not requested.

Not requested.