1. Statistical Training and Capacity Development:
The Philippine Experience
Presented by
Jessamyn O. Encarnacion
OIC-Director, Social Statistics Office
International Forum on Monitoring National Development:
Issues and Challenges September 2011 Beijing, People’s Republic of China

2. The Philippine Statistical System
Outline of Presentation
The Philippine Statistical System
The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Concluding Remarks and Ways Forward

3. I. The Philippine Statistical System
The Philippine Statistical System is a decentralized statistical system
Many government agencies generate statistics
National Statistics Office
Bureau of Agricultural Statistics
Bureau of Labor & Employment Statistics
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
DENR, DOT, DepED, CHED, DOH, DOST, etc.
Need for a coordinating agency – the National Statistical Coordination Board

4. and Research Institutions Data Suppliers/ Respondents
I. The Philippine Statistical System
The Philippine Statistical System
Framework of Coordination in the Philippine Statistical System
Legislative Office
Executive Office
Training, Education
and Research Institutions
Policy-making/
Coordinating
Agency
Data Users
Data Producers
local
international
Data Suppliers/ Respondents

5. The Philippine Statistical System Major Statistical Agencies
I. The Philippine Statistical System
The Philippine Statistical System Major Statistical Agencies
National Statistical Coordination Board
National Statistics Office
Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics
Statistical Research and Training Center
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Bureau of Agricultural Statistics
produces general-purpose statistics
Produces establishment- based labor and employment statistics
produces agricultural statistics
conducts short-term courses in statistics and researches to enhance methodologies, concepts, etc.
Policy-making and coordinating body
produces money and banking statistics

6. Statistical Research and Training Center
I. The Philippine Statistical System
Statistical Research and Training Center
Research and Training Arm of the Philippine Statistical System (PSS);
Its mission is to improve quality of statistical information through conduct of objective and responsive statistical research and training activities of highest standards;
Six professional staff in the Training Division (TD) – the unit responsible for development/updating and implementation of non-degree trainings of the agency;
Nine staff for Research and Information Technology Division (RITD)

7. Statistical Manpower of the Philippine Statistical System
II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Statistical Manpower of the Philippine Statistical System
Information obtained through the Performance Measurement Scheme implemented by the NSCB
Efforts of the NSCB on Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Statistical Training Program of the SRTC
Philippine Statistical Development Program

8. Statistical Manpower of the Philippine Statistical System
II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Statistical Manpower of the Philippine Statistical System
NSCB Executive Board approved the implementation of the Performance Measurement Scheme (PMS) on May 15, (NSCB Resolution No.1 Series of 2000 )
PMS was conducted by the NSCB in 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2009
Covering national statistical agencies and statistical unit of other selected data producers
Respondents:
All six major statistical agencies
Fifteen (15) other government agencies producing designated statistics
Two other interested agencies which are not producing designated statistics yet- but volunteered to be part of the scheme (e.g., DTI and DSWD)

9. II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Statistical Manpower of the Philippine Statistical System
Part of the objectives of the PMS:
Assess the progress of the agencies in developing their capabilities to deliver outputs that meet user demands amidst existing resource constraints; and
Determine the capabilities of agencies in responding to the needs of their clients and other stakeholders

10. Statistical Manpower of the Philippine Statistical System
II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Statistical Manpower of the Philippine Statistical System
We do not have sufficient statisticians! Statisticians are necessary for us to be able to compete against the knowledge-based economies of the Third Millennium!
Statistical Manpower– Number of Employees per 100,000 population
Indicator
Statistical Agencies
Other Data Producers
2003
2006
Total Authorized Positions
5,289
4,419
316
287
Total Filled Positions
4,535
4,197
306
252
Growth Rate
(7.5)
(17.6)
% of Filled Positions
85.7%
95%
95.8%
84.6%
per 100,000 population
6.5
5.1
0.4
0.3
Source: Performance Measurement Scheme, NSCB
Source: Performance Measurement Scheme, NSCB

11. Achievement/Training
II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Statistical Manpower of the Philippine Statistical System
We need more well-trained statisticians!
Statistical Manpower – Percentage of Employees
Achievement/Training
Statistical Agencies
Other Data Producers
2003
2006
Advanced Degree
11.0
12.7
23.9
24.6
Statistics Degree
4.6
6.0
8.5
13.9
Without statistics degree but w/ stat training
33.2
35.7
54.6
63.1
IT Degree
3.2
2.2
Without IT Degree but w/ IT training
32.7
37.7
61.8
65.9
Source: Performance Measurement Scheme, NSCB

12. Statisticians need to be trained more!
II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Statistical Manpower of the Philippine Statistical System
Statisticians need to be trained more!
Statistical Manpower – Local and Foreign Trainings
INDICATOR
Statistical Agencies
Other Data Producers*
2003
2006
Trainings:
15.2
9.3
19.9
33.7
Local
94.8
93.1
96.7
95.3
Foreign
5.2
6.9
3.3
4.7
Source: Performance Measurement Scheme, NSCB

13. Total Statistical Budget (000) 987,064 2,405,745
II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Statistical Manpower of the Philippine Statistical System
We are not investing enough in Statistics! How can we benefit from the Full Power of Statistics?
Budget of Statistical Offices (NSCB, NSO, SRTC, BAS, BLES)
2005
2006
Total Statistical Budget (000)
987,064
2,405,745
GAA (000)
308,833,127
734,084,485
GDP (at current prices) (million)
5,437,905
6,032,624
% of GAA
0.32%
0.33%
% of GDP
0.02%
0.04%

14. II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Efforts of the NSCB on Statistical Research and Capacity Development
2.1 Conduct of statistical researches and development studies
Overall revision/rebasing of the Philippine System of National Accounts
Satellite accounts (e.g., tourism, environment, health, education, volunteerism)
GDP/GNP by sex; “Adjusted GDP/GNP” by sex (accounting for unpaid house work)
Small area estimation of poverty
Towards measures of well-being: pilot study on the Philippine Happiness Index
Identification of the middle-income class
among others.

15. II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Efforts of the NSCB on Statistical Research and Capacity Development
2.2 Trainings and Scholarships
Local and foreign
Short- and long-term
2.3 Participation in international conferences/forums/workshops, etc.
Sharing of country experiences, best practices
Learnings/knowledge on latest innovations, methodologies on statistics

16. Efforts of the NSCB on Statistical Research and Capacity Development
II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
Efforts of the NSCB on Statistical Research and Capacity Development
2.4 Conduct of Forums
Consultative Forums
Users’-Producers’ Forums
Dissemination Forums
Round Table Discussions (among academicians, non-government organizations, etc.)
2.5 Partnership with the Media
Knowledge Sharing Sessions among Journalists
Statistical Appreciation Seminars
2.6 Monitoring the Actual Policy Uses of Statistics
Guiding principle:
Statistical capacity building of BOTH producers and USERS

17. II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
3. Statistical Training Program of the SRTC
Design and conduct of non-formal statistical training programs intended to improve capability of government statistical personnel in handling statistical work
Of two kinds – regular and specialized/customized training courses
Regular courses are on: data collection and processing, database management, data analysis and statistical modeling, statistical report writing, and statistical presentation/dissemination;
Specialized/customized courses cover any topics on statistics requested by local and international clients (usually implemented in partnership with UN agencies and/or other international institutions)

18. II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
3. Statistical Training Program of the SRTC
Strategies:
Linkages with premier academic institutions in statistics, major statistical agencies, other government agencies, and international agencies with offices in the country
Building-up of training affiliates in the regions through partnership with Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) such as colleges and universities in the regions
Partnerships with agencies of the UN such as UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, SIAP; with aid-giving institutions like WB, ADB, JICA

19. II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
4. Philippine Statistical Development Program
Advocacy for statistical development is  very strong in the agenda of PARIS 21.
At the country level, it pushes for the formulation of a statistical development plan generically called the National Strategies for the Development of Statistics or NSDS.
The Philippine version is called the Philippine Statistical Development  Program (PSDP), now on its eighth episode (since 1976) and prepared as an interagency collaboration within the PSS under the stewardship  of  the NSCB.
Two of its chapters:
Statistical Capacity Building
Research and Development

20. II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
4. Philippine Statistical Development Program
4.1 Chapter on Statistical Capacity Building
Proposed Statistical Programs:
Formulation and implementation of integrated training agenda for the PSS taking into consideration the statistical capacity programs of the sector specific agencies and development/updating of training curricula and materials
Strengthening partnership with the academe in the delivery of training programs and in establishment of state-of-the-art training facilities  
Conduct of the following:
Data Appreciation Seminars on Statistics
seminars/internal press conferences on statistics
capacity building for the analysis and utilization of collected information

21. II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
4. Philippine Statistical Development Program
4.1 Chapter on Statistical Capacity Building
Proposed Statistical Programs:
Development and implementation of training program for middle management personnel in the PSS
Building a pool of competent resource persons for the statistical trainings at the national and local levels

22. II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
4. Philippine Statistical Development Program
4.2 Chapter on Research and Development
Proposed Statistical Programs:
Research needs assessment
Updating of research agenda, which should be aligned with the goals/thrusts of the PSS
Establish mechanism to guarantee conduct of R&D that will address issues and emerging needs of PSS
R&D Coordination
Monitoring of the conduct of statistical researches based on Research Agenda
Partnership with the academe
Conduct of various fora to disseminate research outputs
Online public access catalog
Archiving of statistical researches

23. II. The Philippine Environment in Statistical Research and Capacity Development
4. Philippine Statistical Development Program
4.2 Chapter on Research and Development
Proposed Statistical Programs:
Establishment of research fund
Establishment of data/ research warehousing and archiving for the PSS
R&D "Internship Program“
Establish tie-ups with foreign institutions on researches
Conduct of collaborative researches with institutions abroad

24. Need to address fast employee turnovers
III. Concluding Remarks and Ways Forward
Capacity Building
Need for continuous building of capability of both data producers and data users, at the national and subnational levels
Need to address inadequacy of resources for statistical capacity building programs
Need to address fast employee turnovers 17

25. Financing of statistical development
III. Concluding Remarks and Ways Forward
Financing of statistical development
Inadequate government appropriations for statistical activities, particularly for periodic activities
Inadequate financial resources to undertake developmental activities or address emerging concerns
Need for private sector to invest on statistics as well
Statistical agencies must learn to tap technical and financial assistance through foreign grants and address institutionalization issues 19

26. URL: http://www.nscb.gov.ph e-mail: info@nscb.gov.ph
Mabuhay and Thank you!
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