Promoting Statistics Development in AsiaPacific:

1
Consultation Session Statistical Capacity
Building in South-Asia Hotel Hilton, Colombo
(Sri Lanka), 21 July 2008, 1330-1730
Promoting Statistics Development in
Asia-Pacific ESCAPs strategy and activities
Pietro Gennari Statistics Division, ESCAP
2
Outline of the presentation

• Challenges in developing implementing programs
  of Statistical capacity building (SCB)
• ESCAPs strategy of SCB
• ESCAPs ongoing activities of SCB
• Interagency coordination a proposal

3
Challenges in implementing programs of SCB

• Countrys perspective Statistical system
• Resources for statistics
• Management capacity
• Qualified staff with proper incentives
• Knowledge/Use of methods tools that are
  appropriate to the institutional/economic context

4
Challenges in implementing programs of SCB

• Countrys perspective Institutions/strategies
• Culture of evidence-based policy-making
• Priority given to statistics by the national
  governments
• Appropriate Institutional context
• Coordination of the NSS
• Realistic national strategy of statistics
  development
• NSDS linked to PRSP or country policy framework

5
Challenges in implementing programs of SCB

• Donors perspective
• International priorities vs national priorities
• Ad hoc projects / a la carte approach
• Focus on statistical outputs rather than on
  building capacity
• Focus on the production of statistics rather than
  on their use/analysis for evidence-based policies
• Focus on providing funds and technical support
  rather than on establishing an appropriate
  institutional setting
• Short-term/volatile/not timely financial support
• Lack of coordination among donors at the global,
  regional national levels

6
Challenges in implementing programs of SCB

• ESCAPs perspective
• Not a funding agency need to approach donors
• Low priority to Statistics within ESCAP (lack of
  resources, abolition of the Committee on
  statistics)
• Increasing internal support to ESCAP work
  programme and analytical work (competing tasks)
• Priorities set by the UN agenda (MDGs)
• Focus on the countries with special needs
• Regional approach vs national strategies
• Division of labour/coordination with SIAP

7
ESCAPs strategy of SCB

• Focus on Policy relevant areas
• Developing new recommendations/standards (link
  with global initiatives)
• New way of delivering technical assistance
• Long-term projects
• Strong partnership with key international
  agencies Use of the UN Development Account
• Strengthening cooperation with SIAP
• Link TC with data collection analytical work

8
ESCAPs on-going projects of SCB

• Regional census programme ICT component
• UNDA project on informal sector measurement
• UNDA project on disability statistics
• ADP Microdata management project
• PARIS21/ESCAP project on NSDS
• MDGs National Coordination and international
  reporting system
• Indicators of Violence against Women
• Committee on Statistics (15-17 Dec. 2008)
• decision on the strategic direction of ESCAP
  statistical work

9
ESCAP Regional Census Program 3 Components

• Promote global principles recommendations
• Support data collection on emerging issues
• Disability
• Migration
• Facilitate effective use of ICT tools for Census
  operations
• EGM (2006) timely responds to country
  needs right mix of priorities and activities.

10
ESCAP Regional Census Program

• Supporting global initiatives
• Marrakech Action Plan for Statistics
• ECOSOC Resolution 2005/13
• 36th UN Statistical Commission, 2010 World
  Population and Housing Census Program
• Responding to country needs
• EGM (2004) identification of 4 priorities
  (Planning financing Measuring emerging issues
  Effective use of GIS ICT Data analysis,
  dissemination utilization)
• Information Survey (2005) on past experiences and
  future plans
• 2nd APEX Forum (Sept. 2006) focus on census
  lasting impact
• But, so far no funding.

11
3rd component Facilitate effective use of ICT

• Objective increase country capacity to apply
  GIS/IT effectively for census taking
• Partners UNSD, sub-regional org NSOs
• Activities in 2007-2008
• Information survey desktop assessment (Aug
  2007 40 countries responded)
• EGM on Effective Use of IT in Population Censuses
  (10-12 Dec 2007 32 experts)
• Sub-regional workshop on Census Cartography and
  Management (15-19 Oct. 2007 16 countries) UNSD
  funding
• Regional workshop on use of ICT for data
  capturing, editing processing (Sept 2008)
  UNSD funding

12
Results of the survey on effective use of ICT

• 32 countries (including in South-Asia) indicated
  need for technical assistance in one or more of
  the following areas
• cartography/mapping,
• data capture, editing, coding
• database design,
• tabulation and dissemination.
• Planned future activities
• Training (in collaboration with SIAP)
• Establishing a regional pool of experts
• Facilitating country-to-country cooperation (e.g.
  study tours)

13
Improving disability statistics

• Initial project 2004-2006 (Rep. of Korea
  funding)
• UN Development Account project 2007-2009
• In partnership with
• ESID SIAP (ESCAP)
• UNSD ECE
• WHO
• Washington Group on Disability Statistics
• NSOs (Australia, Philippines and others)

14
Responding to policy and country needs

• Policy and public demand
• Biwako Millennium Framework (2002)
• UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
  Disability (2006)
• Need for international standards better
  disability statistics
• No regular data collections
• Underestimation of prevalence/needs
• Lack of comparability

15
Key objectives of the project

• Further promote the ICF approach
• Promote data collection in 2010 Round Census
  (Regional workshop, April 08 Afghanistan,
  Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka)
• Develop new standards for surveys - selecting one
  pilot country from South Asia
• Improving national statistical capacity
• Knowledge-sharing
• Regional network of experts

16

• Strategic mix of activities
• Testing of questionnaire
• Studies (research analyses)
• Training Manual
• Workshops training
• Dedicated website online working group
• Regional network of experts
• Advisory services
• Country-to-country cooperation

17

• Results so far
• Statisticians disability experts trained on ICF
  approach (regional resource pool)
• Formulation of global recommendations on census
• ESCAP recognized as a major player at the
  international level (UNSC mandate)
• Project modality as a model approach

18
Project on Informal sector measurement

• UN Development Account Project Interregional
  Cooperation on Measuring the Informal Sector and
  Informal Employment, Sept. 2006 - Dec 2009
• Leading agency ESCAP
• Implementing agencies ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA
• Steering Committee UNSD, Regional Commissions,
  ILO, Delhi Group, WIEGO and recently ADB
• Country Partners
• ECLAC Saint Lucia
• ESCAP Mongolia, Philippines, Sri Lanka
• ESCWA Palestine (West Bank and Gaza Strip)
• All these countries have existing
• quarterly labour force survey programs!

19
Problem Lack of sound data on informal sector
and informal employment

• Informal sector/employment mostly not covered in
  official statistics
• Inadequate information available on contribution
  of informal sector to economic growth
• Data collections typically ad-hoc studies (i.e.
  not part of regular national statistical systems)
  and with limited scope
• Data collected not internationally comparable
• No time series data available
• Poor analysis and dissemination

20
Why dont we have this data?

• Limited resources of national statistical systems
• Insufficient solid international guidelines to
  assist countries in selecting among various
  informal sector data collection methodologies
• Lack of consensus on harmonized definition of
  informal sector

21
Key objectives of the project (1)

• Improve availability of internationally
  comparable and sound informal sector informal
  employment data by
• Developing a cost-effective and sustainable data
  collection methodology and tools (1-2 survey
  approach)
• Testing the data collection methodology providing
  (limited) funds for its implementation
• Contributing to the development of a harmonized
  statistical definition of the informal sector and
  informal employment based on the results obtained

22
Key objectives of the project (2)

• Strengthen analysis for evidence-based
  socio-economic policies at national
  international levels
• Social policies (poverty reduction, promotion of
  gender equality, elimination of child labor,
  etc.)
• Employment generation policies
• Industrial policies in favour of SMEs (marketing
  support, technology transfer support, reduction
  of capital and/or labour costs, etc.)

23
Strategic mix of activities

• Raising awareness (advocacy)
• Statistical capacity building (training courses
  and advisory missions)
• Collection of data (1-2 survey)
• Data analysis (country and regional reports)
• Data dissemination (guidelines, tabulation plan)
• Knowledge management (project website, production
  of training materials, collection of best
  practices, final workshop)

24
Results so far

• Developed a Unifying Data collection Strategy
• Mongolia, Philippines
• Data collection completed
• In process of data checking and editing
• Sri Lanka
• Data collection scheduled for October
  2008-September 2009
• Finalizing questionnaires, sampling and survey
  design

25
Microdata management project

• The Project is part of the global Accelerated
  Data Program (ADP) which aims at improving the
  quality and making available household
  survey/census data
• Management funding PARIS21 World Bank
• Implementation with international partners (incl.
  ESCAP)
• Currently being implemented in 8 countries in
  Asia-Pacific (of which 7 through the ESCAP
  Project)
• Bangladesh, Fiji, Indonesia, Mongolia, Lao PDR,
  Philippines, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam
• ESCAP PARIS21 are working with the Secretariat
  of the Pacific Community (SPC) to cover the rest
  of the Pacific
• Contacts with ECE to involve Central Asia

26
Key objectives

• Support NSOs in the region with the
• Documentation of censuses and surveys and the
  establishment of metadata catalogues
• Development of access policies procedures
• Development and implementation of tools for the
  protection of confidentiality
• Data quality improvement

27
Benefits of access to microdata

• Generation of additional value
• Broader use of data generated at given costs,
  overcoming limitations in analytical capacity of
  NSOs
• New analytical insights generated
• Valuable information into the quality of the data
  which may provide guidance on how censuses and
  surveys can be improved
• Limitation of costs to society avoiding new data
  collections undertaken by researchers
• Additional costs for the researchers
• Additional response burden for the sampling units
• Often, low quality of the additional data
  produced (because researchers are mostly not
  experts in questionnaire and sampling design, do
  not have access to appropriate sample frames,
  have only limited financial resources to conduct
  field work, etc.)

28
(Expected) Achievements

• Documentation, in accordance with international
  standards, of censuses and household surveys
  conducted after 1990
• Ongoing documentation activity as a key component
  of the survey process
• Procedures for access to and conditions to use
  microdata are publicly available (via NSOs
  ESCAP websites)
• A regional group of experts available to assist
  countries in census and household survey
  microdata management
• Availability of census and survey metadata (Via
  websites of NSOs, ESCAP and IHSN)
• Availability of quality, safe micro datasets to
  bona fide users through a letter of agreement

29
Promoting NSDS

• PARIS21/UNESCAP project (2005-07) advocate the
  importance of national strategic planning for
  statistical development
• Four sub-regional high-level forums
• South-Asia Colombo, 13-15 Dec. 2005
• Baseline Assessment of Strategic Statistical
  Planning in South Asian Countries.
• PARIS21 Guidelines
• Exchange best practices
• Dialogue with donors
• Target group National statisticians, policy
  makers, international and bilateral donors

30
Follow-up project (2008-9) key activities

• Support to countries for designing and
  implementing NSDSs
• Mobilization of technical and financial resources
• Promotion of a better dialogue between producers
  of statistics and policy makers
• Survey of SCB activities supported by donors

31
Inter-agency coordination a proposal

• Lack of donors harmonisation and alignment to
  national statistical strategies gt overlaps,
  gaps, a la carte approach
• Demand of SCB largely exceed supply
• Establishment of a Forum on Statistics
  Development for the Asia-Pacific region, in order
  to
• have an overview of SCB activities, including
  training, in the region
• set up a permanent system for the monitoring of
  statistical development in the region
• strengthen modalities for cooperation with a view
  to leveraging on each partners comparative
  advantage.
• Discussion scheduled at the 1st Committee on
  Statistics
• Invited all (sub)-regional and international
  agencies implementing programs of SCB in
  Asia-Pacific

32
Thank you for your attention!