High-level forum on strategic planning for statistics: Ulaanbaatar, 9-11 October 2006 Advocacy for statistics Presentation by PARIS21 Secretariat High-level forum on strategic planning for statistics: Ulaanbaatar, 9-11 October 2006

Developing Countries OECD Countries and Multilaterals Policy makers Statisticians Central Stat. Office, Sector Units, Central Banks, etc. Ministers of Finance, Sector Ministers, etc. Development Agencies, WB, IMF, RDB, etc. OECD Statistics Office Mngers, UN Specialised Agencies; Stat. units in intl orgs Partnership: PARIS21 Constituencies and Linkages

High-level forum on strategic planning for statistics: Ulaanbaatar, 9-11 October 2006 Why statistics? If statistics improve and are used to inform decisions, policies are more likely to succeed Good statistics are essential for the design and management of national policy frameworks Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness: Better statistics needed by donors to inform aid allocation and monitoring Investment in statistics will pay for itself many times over by improving the efficiency of resource allocation

High-level forum on strategic planning for statistics: Ulaanbaatar, 9-11 October 2006 Why now? Greater emphasis on evidence and managing for results : More sophisticated policy analysis Advances in ICT Donor alignment and harmonisation increase costs of making faulty policy decisions

High-level forum on strategic planning for statistics: Ulaanbaatar, 9-11 October 2006 Statistics through the policy cycle Need for careful and rigorous analysis, based on good quality and transparent statistics, throughout the policy cycle Statistics needed to : –Identify issues –Design policies –Forecast the future –Monitor policy implementation –Evaluate policy impact

High-level forum on strategic planning for statistics: Ulaanbaatar, 9-11 October 2006 Better Statistics for Better Policies So there is greater recognition of the need for better statistics both for more effective aid as well as for more effective national policies and development programmes. But in some countries, statistics are weak and policy makers seldom use them, contributing to sub-optimal policies and outcomes. Much more remains to be done to ensure the ‘better use of better statistics’ as part of the ‘enabling environment for development’ and advocacy for statistics remains an important challenge for PARIS21 partners.

High-level forum on strategic planning for statistics: Ulaanbaatar, 9-11 October 2006 Making better statistics a reality: advocacy challenges Advocacy for: –Better use of better statistics –NSDSs –More coherent donor support

High-level forum on strategic planning for statistics: Ulaanbaatar, 9-11 October 2006 Advocacy: Currently Available Tools Making the Case: National Strategy for the Development of Statistics Measuring Up to the Measurement Problem by Chris Scott Better Statistics, Better Policies, Better Development Outcomes

High-level forum on strategic planning for statistics: Ulaanbaatar, 9-11 October 2006 Films: (1) Measuring the Change in World Poverty, (2) La Statistique au Service du Développement, and (3) Food and Agricultural Statistics in support of Development Order free copies from Advocacy: Currently Available Tools

High-level forum on strategic planning for statistics: Ulaanbaatar, 9-11 October 2006 Some Questions For You What other advocacy tools and activities are needed? Would more methodological guidance be useful? What regional and/or national activities should PARIS21 be undertaking? We would be grateful for your thoughts