21 September – 2 October 2026 | Fully Virtual
As part of the Regional Hub on Big Data and Data Science for Asia and the Pacific, this regional workshop convenes statisticians, data scientists, and technical staff from National Statistical Offices (NSOs) to explore the practical use of scanner data and other alternative data sources in the compilation of Consumer Price Indices (CPI). Building on the rich set of methodological materials developed by the UN Task Team on Scanner Data, participants will gain hands-on exposure to tools, workflows, and peer experiences that support the adoption of these new data sources.
This nine-day virtual event combines synchronous sessions with self-paced asynchronous activities, giving participants both live engagement with the UN Task Team and the flexibility to work through practical exercises at their own pace.
Who Will Attend?
The workshop is targeted at professionals from NSOs in Asia and the Pacific, including statisticians and methodologists working on price statistics and CPI, data scientists and analysts involved in approaching the use of alternative data sources, and IT and technical staff supporting statistical production systems. Participants are expected to have basic familiarity with price statistics and an interest in applied work with data and tools.
Objectives
This workshop is designed to strengthen the technical and methodological capacities of NSOs in the use of alternative data sources — particularly scanner data — for producing consumer price statistics. Key objectives include:
- Introducing the main concepts, challenges, and opportunities associated with the use of alternative data sources in CPI compilation.
- Presenting the methodological guidance and tools developed by the UN Task Team on alternative data sources, with a focus on scanner data.
- Providing hands-on exposure to selected tools and workflows, based on existing Task Team materials.
- Facilitating peer exchange among NSOs on institutional, technical, and operational aspects of working with scanner data.
- Supporting NSOs in identifying next steps for implementing or scaling alternative data sources in their national contexts.
Workshop Format and Structure
The workshop is proposed as a ten-day virtual event, combining synchronous and asynchronous activities, to balance live interaction with flexibility for participants.
- Synchronous sessions are proposed for Monday September 21, Tuesday September 22, Monday September 28, Tuesday September 29, and Friday October 2, from 14:00 to 16:00 (Jakarta Time, GMT+7). These sessions would focus on conceptual discussions, methodological guidance, live demonstrations, and interactive exchanges with the Task Team.
- Asynchronous activities are proposed for Wednesday September 23, Thursday September 24, Wednesday September 30, Thursday October 1, and Friday October 2 allowing participants to engage with selected materials, exercises, or practical tasks at their own pace. These activities would build on the content of the synchronous sessions and reinforce key concepts and tools
Program Outlines
| Day | Time | Session | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, 21 Sep | 14:00–14:20 | Introduction to the workshop and round table | Tanya Flower / Helen Sands (UK ONS, UNTT); Indonesia Hub |
| 14:20–15:10 | Overview of alternative data sources for CPI compilation (scanner data, web scraping, APIs, administrative data) | Federico Polidoro (World Bank, UNTT) | |
| 15:10–16:00 | Overview of the main challenges to obtain alternative data for CPI compilation | Federico Polidoro (World Bank, UNTT) | |
| Tue, 22 Sep | 14:00–15:00 | Alternative data preparation, cleaning, and classification for price statistics; illustration for asynchronous activities | TBC – Serge and Federico |
| — | Asynchronous activities (self-paced) | — | |
| Wed, 23 Sep | 14:00–15:00 | Q&A session for asynchronous activities | TBC – Caspien, Tanya, Federico |
| — | Asynchronous activities (self-paced) | — | |
| Thu, 24 Sep | — | Asynchronous activities (self-paced) | — |
| Mon, 28 Sep | 14:00–15:00 | Use of alternative data sources in CPI compilation; bilateral and multilateral indices | Helen Sands (UK ONS, UNTT) |
| 15:00–16:00 | Quality assurance, validation, and comparison with traditional price data | Tanya Flower (UK ONS, UNTT) | |
| Tue, 29 Sep | 14:00–15:00 | Introduction to tools and packages for multilateral indices using scanner data; materials for asynchronous activities | Luigi Palumbo (Bank of Italy, UNTT); Oskar Eugster (Statistics Switzerland, UNTT) |
| — | Asynchronous activities (self-paced) | — | |
| Wed, 30 Sep | 14:00–15:00 | Q&A session for asynchronous activities | Luigi, Oskar, Tanya, Federico |
| — | Asynchronous activities (self-paced) | — | |
| Thu, 1 Oct | — | Asynchronous activities (self-paced) | — |
| Fri, 2 Oct | 14:00–15:00 | Institutional and operational considerations for integrating scanner data into regular statistical production | Helen Sands (UK ONS, UNTT) |
| 15:00–15:45 | Conclusion, final Q&A, and way forward | Tanya Flower (UK ONS, UNTT); all presenters; Indonesia Hub |
All synchronous session times are in Jakarta Time (GMT+7).
Registration
Participants are encouraged to register through the registration form available at https://s.stis.ac.id/WorkshopScannerData by 16 September 2026.
Contact
For any questions relating to the knowledge development series, please contact us by email at bigdatahub@stis.ac.id.
Organized by:
UN Regional Hub on Big Data and Data Science for Asia and the Pacific · UN Task Team on Scanner Data · Politeknik Statistika STIS · BPS – Statistics Indonesia
