INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING

1. OVERVIEW 2. CHALLENGES 3. HOW TO BUILD CAPACITY 4. ASSESSING STATISTICAL CAPACITY 5. TRAINING 6. LOOKING AHEAD

What is statistical capacity? Statistical capacity is a nation’s ability to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data about its population and economy. Timeliness, accuracy, and relevance of data are dependent upon the capacity of a nation’s statistical system, often comprised of several organizations and offices. Not just NSO, not just production.

Why is building statistical capacity important? Quality statistics are essential for all stages of evidence-based decision making, including: Monitoring social and economic indicators, including progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Allocating government resources and policy formulation Guiding private sector investment Informing the international donor community for technical assistance and program design You do not build a house without knowing the size of the lot, directions in which natural light comes in, grade of slopes, characteristics of soil, etc. do you? If you do, definitely you will have to build some, take down some, re-do the job, then repeat. We want to support EFFICIENT use of resources of our clients.

Challenges to building capacity in the region Many national statistical systems are not able to effectively meet the demand for data Constraints include: inadequate institutional and human capacities, poor infrastructure, insufficient resources, lack of coordination in the NSS for the production of statistics, little communication between producers and users While our member countries are making efforts to improve these situations, challenges largely remain.

How to build capacity Reform of the legal framework Improving dialogue with the political level, within the national statistical system and with other users of statistics Adapting the organizational structure of the national statistical institute Human and financial resources management Ensuring that materials, buildings and equipment are adequate Training As you can see, statistical capacities encompass a wide range of matters – not just technical knowledge.

The IDB: Assessing statistical capacity Support for an assessment of the national statistical system and of statistics users’ needs should be a precursor to support for statistical capacity building. The IDB has three different approaches to assess national statistical systems, their functioning and capacity. We decided to be humble…we should not pretend that we know the status of our clients. Rather, we should help them look at their situations objectively. We should provide framework for that.

1. TASC (Tool for Assessing Statistical Capacity) This is a self-assessment instrument the general purpose of which is measuring and evaluating the statistical capacity of a country’s NSS, and more specifically, the operational capacity of its NSO, to produce and disseminate basic statistics drawn from censuses, surveys and administrative records. To date, the TASC has been implemented in 19 countries of the LAC region.

2. The political economy of statistical capacity A research project in the region that explores the impact of institutional factors on the capacity of national statistical systems. The specific objectives of the study are: (i) establish a framework that contextualizes the importance of statistical capacity building in the process of policy formulation and particularly within the capacity of the state; (ii) propose a theoretical and methodological framework on indicators of statistical capacity; and (iii) develop and implement a methodology to analyze the effects of institutional factors on statistical capacity in national case studies. Last year pilot studies were carried out in Colombia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic to evaluate the methodology, and this year several more case studies will apply the methodology developed. Official statistics seem to work well in some countries and others not as well – we are trying to put this in contexts.

3. National Statistical Capacity Index (ICEN) Statistical capacity is not only evaluated by a country’s ability to produce quality statistics, but also is reflected in the users’ views of official statistics. In this context, the Bank has developed a tool to learn about the quantity and quality of resources used for producing official statistics. ICEN has four modules: i) Resources; ii) Institutionalization; iii) Methodologies; iv) Dissemination. Resources and Methodology modules provide insight into the technical ability to generate statistics, while Institutional and Dissemination modules focus on institutional statistical capacity. The four modules are filled out by the NSS and the NSO as well as by users of statistics and media with expertise in statistics; when the responses are combined they provide an assessment of a country’s statistical capacity. Difference from TASC – this tool covers technical and institutional aspects, and involves users and media, in addition to NSO and NSS institutions. This tool really resonates with the “institutional environment” issue that we have been discussing in this conference.

The IDB: Training Using the tools to assess statistical capacity, the Bank strengthens areas of demonstrated need through different training modalities: Knowledge sharing thru South-South cooperation and donor partnerships Technical assistance in specific statistical operations; censuses, surveys, use of administrative data Human resource development in statistical and IT skills, organizational and project management skills

Looking Ahead The IDB’s commitment to building statistical capacity in the region will involve: Continuous needs assessments Response to country driven demands Support to preparations for the 2020 Census Round Emphasis on the use of new technologies and e-learning Deeper collaboration among development partners to support capacity building and training for the transformative agenda for official statistics. IDB hopes to be constantly in touch with development partners, such as UNSD, ECLAC, Paris21 and bilateral donors, among others to promote capacity building.

THANK YOU!