1. Statistics for SDGs: UNECE CES Steering Group
Presenter
Location
Date

2. Global Developments in 2015
UN General Assembly adopted the 17 goals and 169 targets in September 2015;
United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) established High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for statistics for the Agenda for Sustainable Development (HLG-PCCB) in March 2015;
Country led process, 23 countries are members;
To provide strategic leadership for the sustainable development goal implementation process as it concerns statistical monitoring and reporting (e.g. organizing the UN World Data Forum);
UNSC established Interagency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) in March 2015;
Country led process, 27 countries are members (represented by national statistical offices), all other countries and international organizations are observers;
Develop a list of indicators for SDG monitoring at the global level;
Provide support for the implementation of the indicator framework until 2030, review capacity building, report on progress towards SDGs.

3. Global Developments in 2017
Indicator list approved by UN Statistical Commission in March 2017;
Resolution 71/313 “Work of the UN Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” adopted by UNSC in March 2017, by ECOSOC in May 2017 and by General Assembly on 6 July 2017;
Content of the Resolution:
Paragraph 1 to 3: Adoption of the Indicator list, review the list in 2020 and 2025, coordinate the substantive and technical work related to the indicator list and refine and improve the global indicator framework;
Paragraph 4: To continue to maintain the Sustainable Development Goals global indicator database to inform the yearly progress report on the Goals;
Paragraph 5: To facilitate collaboration between national statistical systems and the relevant international and regional organizations;
Paragraph 6: Official statistics and data form national statistical systems constitute the basis needed for the global indicator framework;
Paragraph 7: To urge international organizations to base the global review on data produced by national statistics systems;
Paragraph 8: Link to the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics;
Paragraph 9: Welcomes the Cape Town Global Action Plan;
Paragraph 10: Exchange between UNSC and the high-level political forum on sustainable development (HLPF);
Paragraph 11: To intensify support for strengthening data collection and statistical capacity-building;
Link: of-the-statistical-commission-E.pdf

4. Global Developments in 2017
Global list of 232 indicators - for global review and follow-up It is part of the resolution 71/313 (paragraph 1 to 3 and annex);
Tier system to assess availability of the indicators:
Tier 1 – internationally agreed methods exist, data widely available 82 (35%);
Tier 2 – agreed methods exist but data are not widely available 61 (26%);
Tier 3 – no agreed methods, no data (36%);
Multiple tiers (2%);
Custodian agencies for each indicator (about 45 agencies).

5. Global Reporting system
UN SG Global progress report on SDGs
(UN Secretariat)
National voluntary reports
(national governments)
High-level Political Forum
(July each year)
Statistical Annex
Global SDG indicator database (UNSD)
Regional
Thematic
Financing for Development Forum
Major groups and other stakeholders
NGOs
Research
Businesses
Local authorities
Regional reviews:
key findings and lessons
Thematic reviews by major groups, international organizations
Custodian Agencies/International Organizations databases
National SDG reports:
key findings and lessons
National
National SDG strategies
National statistics
National SDG indicators
Global SDG indicators

6. Regional Reporting system
HLPF
UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development
UNECE Statistical Division
Guidance to countries
No monitoring
UNECE region
OECD
European Union
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Statistics Directorate + other statistics
Eurostat
+ other EU sources
CIS-Stat
“Measuring distance to SDG targets”
Update June 2017
111 SDG indicators
based on survey on relevance among CES countries
all in global SDG list
100 SDG indicators
based on existing data
51 in global SDG list
UNECE region:
56 countries, incl.
Canada, US, Europe, Israel, Turkey, Caucasus, Central Asia
National statistics
National indicators
(Sub)regional indicators
Global indicators

7. Work in the UNECE Region since 2015
UNECE Conference of European Statisticians (CES):
Declaration of the role of national statistical offices in measuring and monitoring SDGs (2015);
Launch work on Road Map on statistics for SDGs in 2016;
Steering Group on statistics for Sustainable Development Goals:
Members: Switzerland and USA (co-Chairs), Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Moldova, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, UK, Eurostat, OECD and UNECE;
First Edition of the Road Map - CES endorsed in June 2017;
Link: Road_Map_on_Statistics_for_SDGs_final.pdf

8. CES Road Map on statistics for SDGs
Guidance to NSOs on producing statistics for SDGs;
What needs to be done;
Who is to do what;
Who are the stakeholders;
Opportunities for collaboration;
Target audience:
National statistical offices;
Other stakeholders involved in implementing SDGs (IOs, policy makers, academia, civil society, private sector and media);
Can be used as a communication tool;
Explains issues related to statistics for SDGs, and the role of official statistics;
6 sections, each section contains recommendations to NSOs and actions for the Steering Group
15 case studies;
To be updated to take into account new developments and experience acquired with statistics for SDGs;
Translated into Russian, French and Spanish.

9. CES Road Map on statistics for SDGs – 6 sections
Establishing national mechanisms for collaboration;
Assessing countries’ readiness to provide data on global SDG indicators;
Developing national and sub-national indicators;
Providing data on global SDG indicators;
Capacity building for SDG statistics;
Communication of statistics for SDGs.

10. Some recommendations by the CES Road Map
Establishing national mechanisms for collaboration;
NSOs to be national focal points for statistics for SDGs;
Close collaboration of NSOs and policy makers, including with national focal point for SDG implementation;
Prepare national road maps;
Assessing countries’ readiness to provide data on global SDG indicators - NSOs to play a key role;
identify data providers and data sources for SDG indicators;
identify data and methodological gaps;
consider data disaggregation requirements.

11. Some recommendations by the CES Road Map
Developing national and sub-national indicators;
NSOs to be proactive and identify national indicators on sustainable development policies, in close cooperation with policymakers;
Providing data on global SDG indicators (data flows);
NSOs to determine the data flow models at the national level to provide the most transparent and efficient transfer of data from the national to the global level, avoiding duplication and considering the national circumstances;
National Reporting Platforms (NRPs) as one possible mechanism setting up new, or adjusting MDG or sustainability dissemination platform;
The investment in developing the system for SDG indicators from all providers should be of use to the country as a whole.

12. Some recommendations by the CES Road Map
Capacity building for SDG statistics;
carry out assessment of capacity building needs in the country;
identify indicators that can be produced in the short, medium and long term;
take into account disaggregation requirements;
coordination of capacity building in the country;
donors to take into account the national statistical development strategy;
build upon and share existing tools and mechanisms;
strive towards long-term cooperation (twinning projects, institutional cooperation, partnerships);
Communication of statistics for SDGs;
establish communication strategies for statistics on SDGs, linked to a general SDG communication strategy;
information packages for different users and stakeholders;
assess available resources (financial, human and technical).

13. Current challenges for the global statistical community
Data Flows: Ensuring coordination, coherence and consistency between the different reporting levels and streams;
Institutional arrangements;
Substance – definitions, concepts, methods used for producing indicators and metadata;
Technical level – data and metadata formats, transfer mechanisms, etc.;
Mainstreaming SDG monitoring in the existing reporting mechanisms;
Limited human and financial resources;
Overcoming the fragmentation of resources, focusing and streamlining;
Forming partnerships outside official statistics;
Awareness;
Policy attention and awareness of SDGs;
Understanding of the role of different players (incl. the special role of official statistics).

14. Opportunities for the global statistical community
Higher demand on national, regional and global level for data and statistics => Early involvement of NSOs?
Closer exchange with the political level and other data users (on all level, e.g. exchange between UN Statistical Commission and HLPF) => Stronger voice?
Better coordination and cooperation between national, regional and global level => Stronger global statistical system?
Higher awarness for statistics on all level => More budget / funding for official statistics?

15. Activities in 2017 and 2018 by UNECE CES Steering group
Steering Group Meeting;
2nd Meeting: 13 and 14 December 2017 in Warsaw, Poland;
3rd Meeting: Fall / Winter 2018;
Expert Meetings on statistics for SDGs;
10-12 April
April 2018 (week of 16 April) in Geneva;
Seminars/Workshops on statistics for SDGs;
12-13 April 2017; June 2017; 12 October 2017 in Armenia
Task Force on National Reporting Platforms;
Description of NRPs, guidance on how to decide which platform to use;
Wiki on statistics for SDGs;
Self-assessment template for countries on availability of global SDG indicators;
Capability development/capacity building in the context of SDGs – Task Team?;
Communication – Task Team?

16. Further global information online
Resolution 71/313: “Work of the UN Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”:
Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data:
Global Indicator Framework:
Global Indicator Database:
HLG-PCCB:
IAEG-SDGs:

17. Further Regional information online
Road Map on statistics for SDGs:
Road_Map_on_Statistics_for_SDGs_final.pdf;
UNECE wiki on statistics for SDGs:
UNECE Expert Meeting on statistics for SDGs (10-12 April 2017):

18. Thank You!