Workshop on MDG Monitoring United Nations Statistics Division Beirut, 7-10 December 2009 IAEG work to build statistical capacity in countries and to improve data reporting on MDGs United Nations Statistics Division

IAEG on MDG Indicators IAEG was created after the adoption of the Millennium Declaration to translate the commitments of UN Member States into Goals, targets and indicators The Inter-Agency and Expert Group (IAEG) on MDG Indicators includes: Several UN, international and donor agencies, Various government agencies and national statistical offices.

IAEG on MDG Indicators IAEG is responsible for: Compiling data and undertaking analysis to monitor progress towards the MDGs at the global and regional levels; Reporting on status of annual progress through printed reports, progress charts, databases, etc.; Reviewing and preparing guidelines on methodologies and technical issues related to the indicators; Helping define priorities and strategies to support countries in data collection, analysis and reporting on MDGs.

IAEG on MDG Indicators ECOSOC Resolution 2006/6 Member States called upon the UN system to support the strengthening of national statistical capacity In response to the lack of data and/or capacity to monitor the MDGs As a result of concerns about the validity of international agencies’ imputed data, and lack of transparency in their methodology IAEG to help improve the coverage, transparency, and reporting on all MDG indicators through statistical capacity building

IAEG on MDG Indicators To address the concerns raised by the Statistical Commission and the recommendations of the ECOSOC resolution, the IAEG has carried out the following activities: Adoption of the common platform for data exchange, the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) Development of metadata for the global monitoring Continuous improvement of the content and structure of the metadata and the tools available on the mdgs.un.org website Workshops bringing together national and international partners Training on metadata and compilation of indicators Production of manual for national monitoring Agencies also has worked in their specific domain

Work of the IAEG on MDG Indicators NSOs are important members of the IAEG, attending meetings and providing inputs on the relevance of the IAEG’s work to country needs. The IAEG has: Facilitated the coordination of technical assistance activities on statistical building Reviewed countries' needs and works towards strengthening official statistics for the production of MDG indicators Recommended: The creation and use of national MDG databases that compile all MDG data Improving coordination within NSS and between countries and international agencies Improving data dissemination and reporting at country level The adoption by international agencies and countries of a common platform for Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) to facilitate reporting and improve transparency Developed a Data Structure Definition for SDMX that allows for data exchanges at different levels of aggregation

Work of the IAEG on MDG Indicators New version of the Handbook on MDG indicators Tailored to country needs, focuses on methods to produce the MDG indicators at the national level, based on existing national sources. Clarify the differences between methods used by International agencies and those recommended to national experts. Includes guidelines on how to disaggregate data, links to relevant publications and websites, and information on the new MDG indicators.

Work of the UN Statistics Division Regional workshops on MDG Monitoring Attended by representatives of NSS and International Agencies Address data discrepancies (national-international), identifying the causes and contributing to a better understanding, by countries, of the methods used at the international level Special sessions on sub-national monitoring, administrative data, national databases and coordination of NSS.

Work of the UN Statistics Division Implementation of SDMX EGM on SDMX took place in October 2009 to explore the feasibility and identify resources needed by countries to implement SDMX - involving experts from NSOs and International agencies EGM recommended that efforts are addressed to use SDMX at the country level EGM requested to the IAEG and UNSD: Facilitation of training and dissemination of guidelines Implementation of projects in NSOs to define objectives, resources, time frame, staff and experts required.