Briefing
Elena Manzanera, president of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), attended events at the V Observatorio ODS in the CaixaForum Madrid on 22 and 23 September 2026, where she highlighted the central role of robust methods in measuring the Sustainable Development Goals (ODS). She noted that official statistics had incorporated the monitoring of these goals into their work programmes “from the outset”, enabling indicators to be produced using robust methods that are compatible with international standards.
Manzanera highlighted the potential of new data sources, citing mobile phone data to track mobility, as well as increasingly automated analysis and applications of artificial intelligence. At the same time, she made clear that innovation must not come at the expense of transparency: methodological consistency, full documentation and reproducibility are prerequisites for public indicators to command trust. Data protection and safeguards for particularly vulnerable groups must be integral to any use of data.
In a panel discussion with representatives from government, research and civil society, Manzanera outlined the need to strengthen infrastructure, capacity-building and clear legal frameworks for new measurement methods. The INE announced no specific new indicators or set launch dates at the event; changes to ODS reporting would, in line with official practice, be explained and documented separately.
The INE’s participation in the V Observatorio ODS underscores the statistics authority’s intention to balance methodological innovation with transparent standards. The aim is to improve the quality of national ODS indicators and ensure their international comparability. The event in Madrid, organised by El Español under the title “DiagnósticODS: estrategia y emergencia en la era de la IA”, was primarily intended to outline a common framework for future cooperation between statistics authorities, research institutions and private data providers.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).