1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Thank you