National Strategies for the
Development of Statistics:
Making the Case, NSDS Essentials
and Coverage
Presentation by Tony Williams
PARIS21 Secretariat
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
Making the case
• National governments and donors will only
provide more resources for statistics if
they are convinced that they are
constrained by limitations of statistics
• Demonstrate where good use of good
statistics has assisted development
outcomes and where the lack of statistics
or failure to use them has adversely
affected development outcomes
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
Stages of policy design and
decision-making
• Statistics to help identify issues
• Statistics to forecast the future
• Statistics to inform the design and choice
of policies
• Statistics to monitor policy implementation
and to evaluate policy impact
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
Why now?
Need for statistics and strategic approaches has
been reinforced by:
• Managing for Development Results
• PRS and MDG processes:
– provide opportunity to review data needs
– highlight priority areas for statistical
development
• Aid effectiveness
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
Why an NSDS?
• Data limitations constraining development
progress
• Resources are limited to address conflicting
priorities
• Reform often required across whole NSS
• Need for a strategic approach, integrated within
policy processes to provide:
– Robust framework and action plan for statistical
capacity building
– Catalyst for change: need to build confidence and
break the vicious cycle
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
Marrakech Action Plan for Statistics
target for NSDSs
• to
prepare national strategies for the
development of statistics for all lowincome countries by 2006 …….
……and to have started to implement
them by the following year with a view
to producing better statistics for national
and international use by the time of the
next Millennium review in 2010
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
NSDS Essentials
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
High level political support and leadership
Well planned process (“road map”) to NSDS design
Identifying user needs and data gaps and weaknesses
Reviewing existing statistical production and analysis;
capacity, legal and institutional framework and
coordination arrangements
Agreeing on desired results, building on what already
exists and is in progress, eg GDDS improvement
programmes
Setting priorities and strategies
Change management processes
Engaging and motivating staff
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
Value added of NSDS approach
• Builds on existing best practice in statistical planning and
capacity building
• Incorporates lessons learnt about inclusive, participatory
development processes
• Follows best practice in organisational development and
management
- The NSDS approach looks at statistical capacity
building through a development and management
lens; and looks at development policy and
management through a statistical lens - all in
pursuit of better development outcomes
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
Coverage
• National Statistical System for official statistics
– Line ministries as well as NSO
– Users (demand) as well as producers (supply)
– National, sub-national, regional and international
• Coverage a national decision and may be
incremental, but as broad as possible for:
– Co-ordination and co-operation
– Align supply and demand
– Build interest in statistics and strategy
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
How can PARIS21 help?
•
•
•
•
Advocacy
Resource mobilisation for technical as
well as financial assistance
Guidance, documentation
Regional programmes
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
NSDS Documentation
NSDS Essentials
Making the case
Guide to designing an NSDS
Guide to implementation
(in preparation)
Knowledge Base
www.paris21.org
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
Regional Programmes
•
•
•
•
•
•
Baseline assessments
Regional workshops
Advocacy at country level
Facilitating technical and financial support
Consolidating partner efforts
Reporting on progress
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005
Continued lesson learning
• Guidelines developed from experience
• Parallel processes to use and review NSDS
making links to policy frameworks and using
tools for assessing the status of statistics :
– Incorporate lessons learnt and feed back
• NSDS approach must learn from country
experiences:
– Addressing constraints, blockages
– Making links to policy frameworks and using tools for
assessing the status of statistics
• Peer reviews
ADB/ ECA/ PARIS21 – NSDS design seminar, Addis Ababa, 8-11 August 2005