Accuracy and reliability

Overall accuracy

The GBARD statistics gives acceptable information on Danish total budgeted public funds available for research and development, given the data sources that are available. The purpose of budgets is to estimate expenditures in a given future, or not yet finished, period of time. For this budget no financial report is made and the total precision is unknown. As such, the final accounts can be both higher and lower than the budget.

Sampling error

It is not a sample.

Non-sampling error

Uncertainty is primarily related to the correct delimitation of the concept of research and development.

The budget for local and regional authorities is based on a calculation involving a two-year old percentage used on their current budget.

The funds from the Nordic Council of Ministers is an estimate since most funds are allocated in projects and programs involving multiple Nordic countries.

Quality management

Statistics Denmark follows the recommendations on organisation and management of quality given in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and the implementation guidelines given in the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF). A Working Group on Quality and a central quality assurance function have been established to continuously carry through control of products and processes.

Quality assurance

Statistics Denmark follows the principles in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and uses the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF) for the implementation of the principles. This involves continuous decentralized and central control of products and processes based on documentation following international standards. The central quality assurance function reports to the Working Group on Quality. Reports include suggestions for improvement that are assessed, decided and subsequently implemented.

Quality assessment

The quality of the state budget statistic is expected to be good as data is reported directly from the ministries in charge of the relevant accounts and data is validated by the Ministry of Finance. Quality might be improved by a thorough reading of the text in the state budget. Instead efforts have been to improve the guidelines on how to report to this statistic.

A part of the budget under 'General advancement of knowledge' is categorized as the socio-economic objective 14.7: R&D not categorized according to purpose. The is due to research foundations that focus on a broad range of objectives and thus aren't able to know in advance which objectives the budget will be spent on.

The budgets from local and regional authorities depict the development in the reported costs to research and development during previous years including the errors that might be in these statistics.

Data revision - policy

Statistics Denmark revises published figures in accordance with the Revision Policy for Statistics Denmark. The common procedures and principles of the Revision Policy are for some statistics supplemented by a specific revision practice.

Data revision practice

Appropriations on the state budget comes in a preliminary form from the budget as agreed upon by the politicians and in a final form from the budget with the amendments to the budget decided upon through the year.

Data will be revised in case of the availability of higher quality data.