Standard of service for contract work
1. Contract work
Contract work allows the acquisition of more detailed information than Statistics Estonia has provided in news releases, statistical publications, or in the statistical database. Additional data processing or analysis is required to carry out contract work. Statistical data of greater detail can be ordered in any statistical domain.
Contract work refers to the following services, divided into three price groups based on complexity (see also the 2023 price list for contract work):
Price group 1
- Collection of data by interviewer – interviewing respondents by phone or face to face.
Price group 2
- Consultation and training.
- Preparations for data collection, incl. definition of indicators and development of calculation methodology, design and testing of questionnaires, sample design.
- Data acquisition, incl. data acquisition from a new register / data source, or web scraping.
- Data processing, incl. anonymisation/pseudonymisation, data correction (imputations, weighting, corrections), geocoding.
- Additional data processing and data analysis, incl. bulk delivery of published data, additional processing and analysis, quality and confidentiality checks.
- Data dissemination, incl. development of visualised solutions, translation, editing and design, publication on the website or in other channels.
Price group 3
- Linking data sources, modelling, using machine learning models for analysis.
- Developing applications for the dissemination and analysis of statistical data.
When performing contract work, Statistics Estonia complies with official statistics’ quality criteria (relevance, accuracy, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility, clarity, comparability, coherence) and principles (professional independence, impartiality, objectivity, reliability, statistical confidentiality, cost effectiveness).
Contract work outcome may be in Estonian or English.
2. Submitting an order
An order for contract work may be submitted through an online form at https://www.stat.ee/en/submit-query or by e-mail to stat [at] stat.ee (stat[at]stat[dot]ee).
The fulfilled order is normally returned by e-mail. Delivery of large data files is to be separately agreed on with the client.
When submitting an order, it is important to inform Statistics Estonia of the following:
- what specific information is needed and what is the expected data composition;
- whether it is a one-time or repeat order;
- what is the expected term for filling the order.
The data are published or transmitted without characteristics enabling identification of the data subject (excl. data of legal entities pursuant to section 35 (4) of the Official Statistics Act), as aggregate data of at least three data subjects, where the share of any data subject in the aggregate data is no more than 90%.
3. Contract work pricing
Pursuant to subsection 4 (3) and section 20 of the Official Statistics Act, performing contract work is a paid service. The price list for contract work is established for a calendar year by a directive of the Director General of Statistics Estonia. As a rule, the price depends on the time spent on fulfilling the order. The minimum time for fulfilling an order is 0.5 working hours.
Pursuant to subsection 35 (4) of the Official Statistics Act, it is possible to order the following data on economically active legal persons, branches of foreign companies, state and local government agencies and sole proprietors registered in Estonia: registry code, name and address of the unit (excl. local unit), legal status, economic activity (according to EMTAK, which corresponds to NACE), size class based on the number of persons employed, and size class based on the annual turnover.
Payment is made based on an invoice via a bank transfer with a term of 14 days. Contract work is not subject to VAT. Institutions and enterprises are issued an invoice within 3 working days of completing the order. An invoice is submitted to individuals prior to the release of data. The data are released after payment of the invoice.
4. Term for contract work
As a rule, the term for performing contract work is estimated within 5 working days. The due date is agreed separately by the parties during the planning stage of the work.
5. Proposals and complaints
Written proposals and complaints concerning contract work are registered. Proposals and complaints are answered within 10 working days of the date of registration. If additional information is required to reply, the term may be extended to 30 days.
Proposals and complaints may be submitted by phone +372 625 9300, by e-mail stat [at] stat.ee (stat[at]stat[dot]ee), and at the office of Statistics Estonia (Tatari 51, Tallinn).
Prices of contract work on 2023.
Directive. Approval of the standard of service for contract work performed by Statistics Estonia (in Estonian).