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ISI Special Conference 2012ISI Special Conference 2012“Expertise Build Capacity”“Expertise Build Capacity” Daejeon, Korea, November 14-15, 2012Daejeon, Korea, November 14-15, 2012

Capacity Building in Official Statistics: The African Experience

Oliver J.M Chinganya

Statistical Capacity Building Division

Statistics Department

African Development Bank

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1.1. BackgroundBackground

2.2. Deficits in Statistical CapacityDeficits in Statistical Capacity

3.3. Developing Statistical capacity through Developing Statistical capacity through trainingtraining

4.4. On-going capacity building activitieOn-going capacity building activitiess

ContentContent

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1.1. BackgroundBackground

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Emergence of a new focus on MfDR - a shift from focusing on inputs & short-term outputs to long-term sustainable development results and impacts.

MfDR is about Development outcomes Making a real difference in the lives of people

MfDR agenda covers PRSPs MDGs and Other national development agenda

Central to the MfDR agenda is Countries & donors should improve their management of resources

to achieve better verifiable development results guided by a commitment to mutual accountability.

Recognizes the criticality of reliable & comprehensive statistics for development countries and development partners alike

Statistics are therefore essential for making data-driven, evidenced-based policy decisions, for rationalizing scarce resources, monitoring outcomes & evaluating impact

“Better statistics for better policies & development outcomes” has become a catchphrase

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1. Background (cont’d)1. Background (cont’d) Successive roundtable meetings on MfDR recognized that

NSSs in developing countries are weak, uncoordinated & struggling to meet the ever increasing demand for timely and accurate data In Africa the NSDS review undertaken by the AfDB have confirmed

that despite some progress in statistical development, the improvements have been uneven & have failed to keep pace with urgent needs of statistical users & other stakeholders

Some assistance has been directed at quick fixes in specific areas rather than building coordinated, harmonious & robust NSS aligned to national priorities

Eight years after MAPs – it is clear that much more is required to accelerate the implementation of the NSDS by investing in & building up statistical capacity, improving statistical quality & use, & closely coordinating the effort of technical & financial partners through appropriate mechanisms

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2. Deficits in Statistical 2. Deficits in Statistical Capacity Capacity Various assessments of NSSs undertaken in different African countries over the last 10 years or so have identified;

•a number of statistical capacity deficits as major constraint to statistical development, •a lack of capacity along the data value chain; & this situation has led to an acute lack;

to effectively assess data needsto produce & manage data to effectively analyze datato use data to inform policy and decision making

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2. Deficits in Statistical 2. Deficits in Statistical CapacityCapacity (Continued) (Continued)What are the deficits1. Capacity to assess the user needs – MfDR has changed the demand for statistics & therefore producers of official statistics should continually assess shifting user needs & build capacity to meet these demands in a coordinated, synergetic & efficient manner. The assessment should;

Identify the users, Data needs now and future Timeliness of data, format, etc.

•This entails continual dialogue between producers & users to better assess, evaluate & prioritize changing needs, articulate needs & for the producers to gain feedback from users

•Ownership of statistics must be broad-based to include the entire range of stakeholders

•There is need for clear guidelines on how to manage & maintain such dialogue, including how to prioritize the needs

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2. Deficits in Statistical 2. Deficits in Statistical CapacityCapacity (Continued) (Continued)

2. Capacity to design, collect & manage data

Design of Censuses & surveys mainly due

to high staff turnover Poor institutional knowledge

management, i.e. inability to document methodologies, procedures, etc

A lack of skills in sample design & management

Capacity to manage data

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2. Deficits in Statistical 2. Deficits in Statistical CapacityCapacity (Continued) (Continued)

3. Capacity to analyse data

The tendency is have ----Basic analysis (tables with descriptive

text)Reports do not take into account the

variegated nature of data users & their differentiated capacities to appreciate & use data,

Solution!!! Scaling up capacity through collaboration - Data producers should collaborate with institutions & experts who have in-depth knowledge of the subject-matter & who are better placed to assist in the analysis of socioeconomic data produced by NSOs.

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2. Deficits in Statistical 2. Deficits in Statistical CapacityCapacity (Continued) (Continued)

4. Capacity to use data

There has been disproportionate emphasis on building capacity for data production as opposed to data usage. Somehow its been taken for granted that once data is produced will be used. One of the reasons for non-effective use of data is lack of information about the kind of data that are available as well as how to access & deploy them. Some of the reasons include;

Inadequate data dissemination policies & programs

Lack of advance release calendar Not able to “empower users” to access,

analyse & use data

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Capacity Building Capacity Building

Capacity building/development refers to the approaches, strategies and methodologies used to improve performance at the individual, organizational, network/sector or broader system level.

CB fundamentally is about change and transformation

Objectives The objective of capacity building is to: enhance, or more effectively utilize, skills, abilities and resources; strengthen understandings and relationships; and address issues of values, attitudes, motivations and conditions in order

to support sustainable development

Principles broad-based participation and a locally driven agenda; building on local capacities; ongoing learning and adaptation; long term investments/process - is a set of interrelated actions and

activities that are performed to achieve a pre-specified set of products, results or services.  

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3. Developing Statistical Capacity 3. Developing Statistical Capacity through trainingthrough training

There are different ways of building statistical capacity. In Africa some of the common routes include:

On-the-job training In-service training Tertiary institution, and Continued professional development (CPD), which is about

systematic maintenance, improvement & broadening of knowledge & skill and the development of personal qualities necessary for the execution of professional & technical duties throughout the practitioner’s working life. Such development is provided through professional associations, but unfortunately, most of the associations in Africa are weak and/or inactive The “good news” is that increasingly practitioners are becoming members of

international professional associations such as the ISI and RSS. RSS encourages its members to participate in the CPD activities

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44. Capacity-building ongoing . Capacity-building ongoing initiativesinitiatives

There are number of ongoing flagship statistical capacity building initiatives in Africa;

1.National Strategy for the Development of Statistics

About 40% of countries are designing or about to adopt the NSDS,

Challenges include poor alignment to national policy frameworks

NSOs did not budget for the development of NSDS but left to the donors

Poor leadership - NSDS not viewed a “game changer” . In many cases the coordination is at low level

Insufficient funding by government to cover the cost of implementing the NSDS

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44. Capacity-building ongoing initiatives . Capacity-building ongoing initiatives (continued)(continued)

2. Statistical Capacity Building (SCB) Program AfDB over the last few years has intensified its SCB activities in African countries motivated by the need for reliable & up-to-date data for better measuring, monitoring & managing for development results, e.g.;

In 2004 the Board approved a grant of $22m to strengthen capacity within the context of ICP 2005 round to improve specifically Price & NA but statistics in general including STCs

Following the success of ICP 2005, another granted of $27m 2008 was approved for a program focused on activities with regional public good characteristics.

In 2012 the Board approved the SCB program 2012-13 of $31m to support 5 components which is enshrined in the objectives of the NSDS. The program forms part of the worldwide effort to strengthen statistical capacity, articulated in BAPs

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44. Capacity-building ongoing initiatives . Capacity-building ongoing initiatives (continued)(continued)

3. African Group on Statistical Training (AGROST)This is an initiative endorsed in 2009 by stakeholders after a realization that multiplicity of groups & initiatives could lead to an inefficient use of scare resources & a duplication of efforts. Overall objective – is to coordinate all the various initiatives on statistical training in Africa.

Specific objectives – I.is to centralize information on initiatives & programs in support of statistical training & ensure their; and

i.ensure a permanent forum for the exchange of information & best practices on statistical training & human resources development in African NSSs

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44. Capacity-building ongoing initiatives . Capacity-building ongoing initiatives (continued)(continued)

The IHSN was established in 2004 to improve the efficiency & effectiveness of household surveys in developing countries. While key development data are obtained from household surveys, there are weaknesses in existing systems, including the following:

the surveys are not conducted with appropriate frequency; many developing countries do not fund their household survey programs – they are funded solely by donors; international household survey programs are not well coordinated; and household survey datasets are often under-utilized.  

4. International Household Survey Network (IHSN)

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Thank youThank you