World Bank and Statistical Capacity Building

PARIS21 Task Team Meeting Washington, DC

September 10, 2001

2

Assessments of National Statistical System

Review against principles of official statistics. Review current outputs and assess their relevance

to users. Determine national priority statistical outputs, their

contents and periodicity. Define the information production system,

including data collection, processing, storage and dissemination capabilities.

Propose an adequate legislative and institutional framework.

Propose a statistical development plan.

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Components of a National Statistical System

StructureHuman

resources

Managementprocesses

Coordination

Infrastructure &equipment

LegislationFinancialresources(budget)

Accountability &reportingPublic image

Relationshipwith users &customers

Supporting Environment

Internal Organization

4

The structure of the national statistical system

National Statistical Agency. Line ministries. Regional and local offices.

5

Coordination and management

Centralized.Decentralized.Strategies and targets.

6

Human resources

General management. Financial management. Human resource management. Technical statistical analysis. Survey design and management. Cartography. Communications, publications and design. Computer systems analysis and programming.

7

Infrastructure and equipment

For Data collection. Data processing and analysis. Data dissemination.

To Increase efficiency. Increase accessibility. Reduce costs.

8

Management Process

The ways a statistical agency is managed. For: Setting goals. Developing system wide values. Measuring progress. Assessing staff performance. Communicating at all levels.

9

Components of a National Statistical System

StructureHuman

resources

Managementprocesses

Coordination

Infrastructure &equipment

LegislationFinancialresources(budget)

Accountability &reportingPublic image

Relationshipwith users &customers

Supporting Environment

Internal Organization

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The statistical legislation

The statistical law governs: The responsibilities and functions of the statistical

agency. The organizational structure of the national

statistical system. The rules for the obligatory supply of information. The relationships between data suppliers and

users. Being accountable for its actions and outputs on a

regular basis.

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Statistical legislation (cont.)

Statistical law guarantees: Confidentiality and non-disclosure of information

supplied. Publishing and disseminating information free from

political interference. Preparing and publishing an advance publication

calendar. Independence of the statistical agency from political

control.

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Budgets Statistics are a public good and financed from

government revenue allocated through the budget. The capacity of the statistical system is determined to a

large extent by the level and stability of the financial resources it receives.

The more successful national statistical systems are ones where increased resources are seen to result in improved outputs.

Balancing donor funding and budgetary funding and improving budget management.

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Accountability and reporting Accountability and reporting must be open,

transparent and regular on how those resources have been used what products have been produced and what plans are in place to improve performance.

The statistical agency may be required to make an annual report to

parliament or to an independent statistical commission or board.

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Relationships with users and customers

A wide spectrum of users - policy makers, administrators, planners, researchers, activists, citizens, students, and media representatives.

The needs of users can be explored formally or informally.

Scientific cooperation with professional associations, institutes, universities, and scholars.

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Relationships with users and customers (cont.)

Consultation with users and suppliers for: Planning services to best meet the needs and

expectations of users. Monitoring the effectiveness of services and the

load placed on suppliers. Prioritizing services and resources. Setting relevant performance standards. Fostering good relations.

Providing early warning of problems.

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The public image of the statistical system

Being more open about methods, techniques and how resources are being used.

Campaigning for the need for reliable, trustworthy and timely data.

Improving the design and structure of statistical reports, abstracts and other products.

Providing training and special briefings for data users. Providing briefings for journalists and other media

workers. Using external processes to provide a framework against

which progress can be assessed.

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Country focus of Statistical Capacity Building

National Account Agricultural Industrial Price Labor Fiscal Financial BoP Trade

Informal Sector Environment Poverty

Socio-demographic(exc.poverty)

Russian Federation

X X X X X X X X X X X X X (pop)

Lithuania X

Armenia X X (pop)

Macedonia X X X

Moldova X X X X X

Mongolia(1) X X X

Mongolia(2) X

Philippines X X X X

Paraguay X X

Angola X X X X X

Chad X X X X X X XThe Gambia (proposal) X X X X X

Total 8 5 2 5 2 3 1 2 3 3 2 9 6

Country

Statistics

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Focus on the types of statistics

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Nation

al Acc

ount

Agricu

lture

Indu

stria

lPric

e

Labo

r

Fisc

al

Fina

ncial

Balanc

e of

Pay

men

tsTr

ade

Info

rmal

Secto

r

Enviro

nmen

t

Pover

ty

Socio-

dem

ogra

phic(

exc.

pove

rty)

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Projects Prepared and Managed by DECDG

Loans for statistical development Russian Federation – STASYS (implementation) India – STATMOD (on hold) Ukraine – STATMOD (preparation)

Loans with statistical components Russian Federation - BEA Russian Federation - SPIL Croatia - TAL Kazakhstan - TAL Uzbekistan IBTAL Ukraine - IBL

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Projects Prepared and Managed by DECDG

Improvements in certain areas of statistics System of National Accounts methodology

– Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Russia and India

Improvement of the agricultural statistics system – Lithuania

Upgrading education statistics– Lebanon, Yemen

Supporting the institutional changes in the statistical system– Uzbekistan, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyz Republic,

Mongolia, Macedonia and Moldova

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Russian Federation – Area focus of Statistical Capacity Building

NA Fin BoP Pop Pov

Statistical environment X X X X X Resources for the statistical program X X X X X Quality awareness X X X X X

Professionalism in statistical policy X X X X X Transparency of statistical policy X X X X X Ethical standards X X X X X

Concepts, definitions X X Scope X X Classification systems X X X Valuation of flows/stocks X X X

Source data X X X X X Sound procedures in statistical techniques X X X X X Assessment and validation of source data X Assessment and validation of intermediate results Tracking of revisions X X

Relevance of statistics X X X Timeliness, periodicity X X X Consistency X X X Regular, publicized procedures for data revisions

Presentation of results X Availability of up-to-date metadata Availability of prompt, knowledgeable support

Methodological soundness

Accuracy and reliability

Serviceability

Accessibility

Area of Statistical Capacity BuildingStatistics

Prerequisites of quality

Integrity

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Area focus of the World Bank’s projects for statistical capacity building: summary

All projects are involved in no less than three areas of statistical capacity building.

All projects are involved in some aspects of ‘Prerequisite of quality.’

All projects are involved in some aspects of ‘Accuracy and reliability.’

Six out of seven projects deal with ‘Methodological soundness.’

Six out of seven projects deal with ‘Serviceability.’ Four out of seven projects deal with ‘Integrity.’ Four out of seven projects deal with ‘Accessibility.’

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Area focus of the World Bank’s projects for statistical capacity building: summary

None of the projects except for the Russian one involve ‘Availability of prompt, knowledgeable support’ as a part of accessibility criteria.

None of the projects except for the ones in Russian Federation and the Gambian involve ‘Ethical standards’ as a part of integrity criteria.

None of the projects except for the ones in Moldova and the Gambia involve ‘Availability of meta-data’ as a part of accessibility criteria.