FSO creates new competence center for data science
The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has revised its organizational structure. A new department for data management and a national competence center for data science have been created. However, the core business remains the production of statistical information.
A new Data Science Competence Center (DSCC) is being established at the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFSO). This is now under the new Division for Data Science and Statistical Methods (DSSM). At its core is a new mandate from the Federal Council under the leadership of Betrand Loison.
Data science for cantonal and federal authorities
The Data Science Center (DSCC), consisting of a team of scientists in mathematics, statistics and data science, wants to offer a quasi "Data Science as a Service" to evaluate complex problems through data science methods, for example in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence. The newly generated knowledge is to be used to provide further services to the federal administration, including cantonal and municipal agencies.
"The FSO enables the administration to experiment while respecting data protection," Georges-Simon Ulrich, director of the FSO, was quoted as saying in a press release. The idea is that if a person in the federal administration has a data science question, it is possible to ask whether similar problems have already arisen and what solutions might be possible.
Better linking of metadata
The second new task of the FSO in the Data Science and Statistical Methods Division (DSSM) concerns data per se. Specifically, a data ecosystem for Switzerland is to be established so that companies and households no longer have to be surveyed more than once. Currently, an inventory is being made to assign the exact descriptions of the data content at the federal administration level. This metadata will be linked in a central catalog in order to derive a knowledge base from existing data more easily and efficiently using algorithms.
The core business of the FSO remains unchanged. The focus continues to be on producing high-quality statistical information. "In the digital age, this task is becoming increasingly important," writes the FSO.
Source: FSO
