FAO/PARIS21 REGIONAL WORKSHOP
ON THE INTEGRATION OF AND ACCESS TO AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS FOR
BETTER FORMULATION AND MONITORING OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES
Algers, Algeria 8-9 December 2007
Back-to-back with the 20th AFCAS
AW-07-01-1
Mainstreaming Sector Statistics in the National
Statistical System
By Mrs Norah Madaya, UBOS
Challenges facing African countries
Poverty
Environment and natural resource
degradation
Poor governance
Inadequate Policy formulation and
monitoring to inform PRSs & MDGs
Regional integration
HIV/AIDS threat
Gender inequality
Etc.
..statistical challenges
The new source of power is not
money in the hands of a few,
but
information (good quality
information) in the hands of
many.
-- Megatrends,
2000
Data demand
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Macro economic framework
Social policies and programmes
Poverty Reduction Strategies
Governance and Democracy
Millennium Development Goals
Management for Development Results
New Partnership for African
Development (NEPAD) etc
Data Supply
• The National Statistical System
“Includes all agencies, whether Government or
not; under any enactment or otherwise;
responsible for gathering statistical data
through either surveys or administrative
action”
(Uganda Bureau of Statistics Act, 1998)
The NSS…
Should have;
– a relatively uniform capacity for generation
and use of statistics in its constituent parts,
– effective coordination and collaboration
mechanisms between & within sectors
– standards and shared values for data
production and use
– Harmonised data production and
dissemination processes
Status of statistics & Systems in Africa
• Weaknesses in statistical capacity
• Inadequate links of statistical systems to policy
• Data gaps on some key demographic, socioeconomic and environmental indicators
• Unreliability of some existing data
• Inadequate use of existing data
• Unsustainability of statistical development
• Duplication of effort
• Incomparable indicators/statistics
• Limited coordination & inter sectoral links
• Etc.
Partially coordinated
statistical system
Current Status of some
NSS
Agriculture
etc
Health
NSO
Culture
Labour
Education
National Strategies for
the Development of Statistics (NSDS)
Marrakech Action Plan for Statistics aim:
“to mainstream strategic planning of statistical
systems and prepare national strategies for the
development of statistics (NSDSs) for all lowincome countries by 2006.”
NSDS for What?
A vehicle for streamlining statistical
production and development
Strategic Plan
5 W’s + H
What , Why, Who, When, Where + How?
Future &
Mechanisms
What is the National Strategy for the Development of
Statistics (NSDS)?
• Framework to strengthen statistical capacity
across the entire National Statistical System
• It is a robust, comprehensive and coherent
framework to:
• address data limitations
• prioritise the use of resources
• integrate statistics within national
policy processes
• manage change
• envision how statistical capacity building
responds to key user needs
The NSDS Process
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Well-planned and highly consultative
Consideration for legal, institutional and
organisational constraints
Assessment/Diagnosis of existing statistical
production environment
Builds on what already exists and is in
progress, e.g. GDDS, DQAF- improvement
programmes
Consideration for user needs but realistic
about resources
Country ownership with high level political
support and leadership
…NSDS Process
• Linked to development and national poverty
reduction policies and strategies (such as the
PRSP) as PEAP-Uganda, MukukutaTanzania, PARPA-Mozambique etc.
• Takes into account all sub-national, national,
sub-regional, regional, and international data
needs.
• Involves all key statistical production units
• Assessment of the role of national statistical
training institutes.
Cont’d..
Status of NSDS in Africa
Several African countries have embraced
the concept. Eg. Senegal, Gambia, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda,
Tanzania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Malawi etc.
However at different stages and
approach to design NSDSs varies.
A model of best practice
Mainstreaming sector statistics…
to strengthen coordination, standards and
quality of statistics in the NSS
So?
Sectors: the missing link!!!
• Are Sectors explicitly part of the NSS?
• Are their Sector Strategies for the Development
of Statistics (SSDS) integrated in the NSDS?
What should be done?
Mainstream sector
statistics in the NSDS
process
The term sector is used
here to describe a vertical
division of governmental
focus that relates to a
given subject area or
public need - usually
corresponding to line
ministries, government
departments or agencies with separate and welldefined areas of concern,
mandate, and budget.
The SSDS
• The sector Strategy for the Development of Statistics
(SSDS) should have
– A medium to long term vision focused on key users’
needs
– A comprehensive framework to:
• Mainstream statistics within sector policy
processes
• Address data gaps in all sector components
• Manage change by introducing management
principles and modern standards and values
• Prioritize use of resources
• Ensure standards and quality in data
SSDS Process
The Process is an opportunity for :
Advocacy
Securing buy-in of key stakeholders (political
leaders, decision-makers, development
partners)
Ownership (empowering stakeholders)
Identification of Champions Etc.
 Process should be participatory and ensure
consensus-building
SECTORAL
MAINSTREAMING IN
THE NSS
Mainstreaming sector statistics
Why?
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to make more efficient use of resources;
to improve the provision of indicators;
to increase the productivity of data
collection and management; and
to raise the public profile for statistics
to make sectors active partners in
statistical development.
Sector Strategies for the
Development of Statistics
are building blocks of the
PE SEN
Hierarchy of Sector
priorities
build into
the national
priorities for data
and information
Sectoral statistics are produced through the statistical
system of each sector which may be functionally
centralized or decentralized within the NSS.
NSDS DESIGN STAGES ACROSS COUNTRIES
Degree of
mainstreaming
Sectors not
mainstreamed
Type of
system
Centralized or
decentralized
Implication for
NSDS design
Outcome of NSDS
design
NSO does not
consult or
involve sectors
NSDS document that
does not take account of
sector strategies
Conduct an integrated
NSDS using this guide
NSDS document that
caters for sectors but
does not include sectorowned strategies
Review the NSDS
document and
mainstream sectoral
strategies using this
guide
NSDS document that
includes sector strategies
that are not owned by
the sectors
Review and update the
NSDS document with
the sectors using this
guide
NSO consults
and involves
some sectors
NSDS document that
includes some sectorowned strategies
Sequence in more
sectors in repeated
stages of NSDS design
using this guide
NSO consults
and involves all
sectors
NSDS document that
includes sector-owned
strategies
Monitor and evaluate
NSDS implementation
Decentralized
NSO consults but
does not involve
sectors
Sectors partially
mainstreamed
Centralized
Some sectors fully
mainstreamed
All sectors fully
mainstreamed
Centralized or
decentralized
Centralized or
decentralized
Next steps
Sector statistics
In most African countries there is,
• Inconsistent, informal and relatively weak linkages
– between sectoral statistical systems
– between sectoral statistical systems and NSOs
• Little appreciation of the implications of the statistical
activities of one sector with respect to others.- Nutrition –
Water & Sanitation, Education, Agriculture, Health etc.
Mainstreaming sectoral statistical systems requires
that key stakeholders using sector statistics are
involved in the design & implementation of the SSDS
• they work with each other and with the NSO to develop shared
goals and cross-cutting strategies, and
• streamline institutional and coordination arrangements.
MAIN FEATURES OF THE SSDS DESIGN
Launch of the NSDS design process
Phase I
Planning, advocacy, coordination,
technical assistance, road maps
Champions and
advocates of
statistics
Phase II
Assessment of each sector’s
statistical system
Phase III
Development of vision and strategies
for each sectoral statistical system
Development of implementation plan
for each sectoral statistical system
Phase IV
Sector review meetings
Inter Agency Meetings
(Coordination committee)
Phase V
Sectoral strategic plans are integrated
into an integrated NSDS
Implementation, monitoring, and
evaluation, of the sector plans and NSDS
MAIN FEATURES OF THE NSDS DESIGN
Paris21 Generic Model
Vision:
Where we want to be
Assessment:
Action Plans:
Where we are now
How to get there
Launching
Implementation:
How to stay there
Key components
• Resources – policies, financial resources, human resources,
communication, coordination & leadership
• Indicators – Minimum set of indicators, standards etc
• Data Sources-Types of data sources, and standards
• Data Management – data definition, flow, quality, storage
and linkage
• Information products – User needs, analysis and
presentation
• Dissemination and use – Infrastructure, synthesis,
packaging and documentation
International statistics development
Models
WHO - Health Metric Network (HMN)
Model
FAO Model
ILO Model
UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS)
Model
Agriculture – FAO Model
Agricultural sector contributes immensely to
the country’s GDP & must be measured.
Why the initiative?
To support countries in strengthening their
food and agricultural statistics systems
FAO Approach
Technical assistance in terms of;
• Reviewing and developing methodologies of data
collection,
• Processing and analysis - particularly in the
domains of census of agriculture and permanent
systems,
• Elaboration of food deprivation and food insecurity
indicators, food balance sheets,
• Data harmonization, integration and dissemination
(countrySTAT) etc, and
• Identification of standards and promotion of good
practice in other sectors.
THE NSDS – UNITING FACTOR
• The NSDS borrows a leaf from each of
these initiatives
• The NSDS considers all the sectors
• To improve coordination, sector contact
persons for all the above initiatives should
be on the NSDS Inter Sector Committee
Fully coordinated statistical system
Coherent MISs in the NSS
Common institutional
Procedures
Common Data Warehouse
Agriculture
All embracing legal &
Institutional framework
etc
Health
NSO
Trade
Common metadata
dictionary
Common data quality
standards
Hamonised data production
schedule
Comprehensive dissemination
Policy for the NSS
Labour
Education
Coherent Advocacy
Strategy for the NSS
SOME CHALLENGES
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Limited knowledge about strategic planning
Securing stakeholder buy-in to the process
Limited commitment of Technical Managers
Prioritisation of statistical functions by line
ministries and other government agencies
Bureaucracy
Structural placement of statistics outfits in the
ministries/agencies
Budgeting
Sequencing activities of the policy making cycle
with the data production cycle
Securing sustainable funding for
implementation
Quick Wins
• Coordinated effort to enable up scaling and out scaling (vertical
and horizontal growth) – Producer/Producer, and Producer/User meetings
• Creation/strengthening of an existing committee to
operationalize the SSDS within the agreed institutional
framework;
• Rotation of meeting venues among the sectors and
participation of the NSO and sector leadership;
• Regular meetings of NSO leadership with the sector Chief
Executives
• Sharing financial support for poorly resourced sectors through
basket funding
• Installation and effective use of intranet/internet facilities to
improve communication between sectors, and NSO; and
• Production and distribution of a NSS newsletter.
Thank you for your attention