Centralized mechanisms for establishing sound data practices and for providing expert technical support are instrumental in promoting effective data use across all Ministry departments and programs. Examples of these types of Ministry-wide functions include:
- Maintaining data use standards…for example, ensuring that all major datasets have ‘data dictionaries’ that explain their content, structure, and appropriate use
- Consulting on analytic projects… for example, assisting infant mortality subject area experts in the construction of a comprehensive, integrated model to assess potential impact of multiple proposed interventions
- Compiling relevant data from diverse sources… for example, using wide-ranging knowledge of health [such as hospital utilization records] and non-health [such as economic and demographic data] sources to construct datasets that meet the comprehensive needs of an analytic project
- Conducting specialized, complex analyses… for example, providing specialized expertise to estimate the economic and financial impact of health policy initiatives such as raising the tax rate on cigarettes