Building Statistical Capacity UNSD perspective Consultation session: Statistical capacity-building in South Asia Building Statistical Capacity UNSD perspective United Nations Statistics Division Colombo, 21 July 2008

Statistics Division Mission UNSD TCP National level International level Result-based Management and Policy Decision-making In a Sustainable Manner Solid Global Statistical System Strong National Statistical Systems

UNSD Technical Cooperation (1) Long history of successful TCP Integral part of the Division’s work programme Related to UNSD work on setting international statistical standards Positive feedback from Member states

UNSD Technical Cooperation (2) Statistical Commission has repeatedly emphasized that technical cooperation efforts need to be: Nationally owned Demand driven and tailored to the local needs Effectively coordinated among the various international donors

UNSD Technical Cooperation (3) Monitoring of MDGs has increased the demand for official statistics Attention to shortcomings in the availability of statistical data Urgency for statistical capacity-building efforts

Sources of assistance to support statistical development Regular programme for technical cooperation Interregional Advisers Fellowships Training workshops UN Development Account External budgetary projects and trust funds

Regular Programme for Technical Cooperation Interregional advisers Environmental-economic accounting Population and housing censuses Fellowships 2007 – 22 fellowships in the area of Organization of NSS, energy, environment, economic statistics, MDGs, etc. 2008 – 13 fellowships in the area national accounts, IT, informal economy, etc. Training workshops Workshops – about 20 per year for 2007 and 2008 (planned) in all statistical domains Meetings of the UN Expert groups on MDGs, NA, Industrial and DTS statistics, Tourism statistics, Merchandize statistics, Classifications, Population and housing census

UN Development Account (1) Integral part of the technical cooperation activities of the economic and social entities of the UN under the umbrella of the Executive Committee for Economic and Social Affairs (EC-ESA) DA projects aim at capacity-building through sub-regional, regional and interregional economic and technical cooperation among developing countries Projects serve as a natural extension to the normative and policy activities of the implementing agencies in their follow-up the United Nations conferences and summits in economic and social affairs The Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs acts as Programme Manager of the Account

UN Development Account (2) The General Assembly established that Development Account projects should: Demonstrably strengthen national development capacity ensuring project sustainability Use information and communications technology and networking of expertise Use partnerships and South-South cooperation

UN Development Account (3) DA projects sustainability Ensured through consistent and proactive involvement of stakeholders in project design and implementation Promoted through the co-financing of pilot activities by partners Information and communication technologies Core of many DA projects because of their multiplier potential and adaptability to development activities beyond the project scope

UN Development Account (4) Networking Importance of building knowledge networks— supported by information and communications technologies—which allow countries directly to access information on good practices Capacity-building through networking of local expertise offers collaborative opportunities, often beyond those originally envisioned by project designers Can create additional regional and interregional links conducive to capacity-building in specific fields, thus leading to requests for further networking and technical assistance

UN Development Account (5) Partnership and South-South Cooperation The DA supports the creation and strengthening of development partnerships between the United Nations and outside institutions 80 % of projects are executed by more than one entity and often in collaboration with other UN entities Many projects engage regional organizations and local, regional, and/or international non-governmental organizations All projects emphasize exchange of experience and cooperation activities among developing countries within and outside the region

Building Statistical Capacity -the challenges Ensuring the availability of necessary statistics and indicators for monitoring progress towards the Internationally Agreed Development Goals in the short-term Nationally – monitoring reports as important advocacy tool for strengthening statistical capacity Internationally – indicators are available to promote and inform the debate on MDGs and the International Goals Developing sustainable statistical systems in countries

Building Statistical Capacity -the way forward The responsibility for building national statistical capacity primary lies with the national governments Building and sustain the statistical capacity in the long run Institutional context Human and capital resources External support in the form of coordinated bilateral or multilateral agreements can make an important strategic contribution towards the long-run goal Temporary in nature For highest possible impact should be focused on specific achievable objectives Sharing of best practices Transfer of technical expertise to strengthen the knowledge

Thank you