Sequenced Information Strategy
– incorporating short-term programme proposal
Paris21 Consortium meeting :
22-23 June 2000
Tony Williams
UK Department for International Development
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What is a Sequenced Information Strategy?
– Well planned and targeted approach to statistical capacity
building
– Takes overview of information needs and supply
– Demand led, prioritised, resourced, firm political backing
– Focused on information process from identifying needs through
to data use
– Broader than traditional official statistics
– Ordered development of data collection, sources, uses
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Sequenced
– Prioritised
– What do stakeholders need? Led by country Policy Makers
– Resourced
– What can be resourced and when?
– Timetabled
– When do they need it? When can it be produced?
– Incremental development built up from existing systems
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Information (1)
– Statistics are the ‘eyes and ears’ of
society
Government and civil
– Needed for policy, planning, management, monitoring,
transparency, accountability
– Need to be :
• Relevant and timely
• Accessible
• Analysed and used
» Broad scope : includes MIS, qualitative and quantitative
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Strategy
• takes holistic approach to information needs and supply
• linked to wider national development strategies and policy
frameworks
• realistic, sustainable, address constraints
• clear processes for involving stakeholders
• costed/resourced
• builds capacity to analyse and use statistics as well as to supply
them
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Development of Sequenced Information Strategy
Assess Information Needs
(policy, management, monitoring,
accountability)
Prioritisation
Timetabling of Demand/Supply
Gaps
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Strategic Statistical Development Plan
Defines Outputs, Activities, Inputs
Strategies for delivery
– human resources, information systems
– analysis, dissemination and use by Government and civil society
– organisation, institutional development
Work plan and resource needs
– costed, prioritised, timetabled
National resources
International resources
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Short-term programme proposal
SCOPE : countries compiling :
– Poverty Reduction Strategies/ CDF/UNDAF
–
HIPC2 countries are immediate priority
» provides political imperative to improve information to plan
and monitor development progress, particularly poverty
reduction
– Review progress, learn lessons
– Extend to other participating countries
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Focus of short-term programme
– Making best use of existing information in PRS, (including
data mining and analysis)
– Laying foundations for sustainable longer-term information
strategy
– Policy-relevant statistics for development
– Build political support for country ownership/funding and
development partnerships
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Objectives
– Strengthen national capacity to prepare and implement
PRSs and produce and use statistics
–
Identify information needs
–
Build on existing systems
–
Achieve ‘quick wins’
•
Ensure that National and donor resources are co-ordinated
and used effectively
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One possible approach (1)
–
Start with workshops : regional, in-country
– Involve statisticians, policy makers, analysts
– official/and civil society
– Stakeholder analysis/stock-take of information, gaps and
capacity issues
– Look at linkages between PRS, CDF, UNDAF and IDGs
– Build partnerships: national/international
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One possible approach (2)
– Identify short and long-term information needs
– Identify scope for quick improvements, further analysis
– Assess alternative strategies
– Tackle priority data gaps
–
Lay foundation of costed and sequenced information
strategy
– Share good practice between countries
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Programme Funding (1)
» Regional workshops
– OECD voluntary funding
» Country-based activities
– build on existing activities
– set up special fund
– contributions also in kind (consultancy resources)
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Programme Funding (2)
For long-term capacity building, integrate into :
– global development effort
– national budgets, donor interventions
– sector wide approaches and budgetary support
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