PARIS21-SADC WORKSHOP - STRATEGIC STATISTICAL PLANNING ACCRA, GHANA, JULY 27TH 28TH 2005 MEETING REPORT

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1 PARIS21-SADC WORKSHOP - STRATEGIC STATISTICAL PLANNING ACCRA, GHANA, JULY 27TH 28TH 2005 MEETING REPORT A workshop on strategic statistical planning was held in Accra, Ghana from the 27 th 28 th July The workshop was organised by the Secretariat of PARIS21 with the assistance of the Ghana Statistical Service. Directors or Deputy Directors of Statistics from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda attended, along with policy makers from Planning Ministries or PRS Units in most of these countries Also participating were representatives from AfDB, DFID, ECOWAS, FAO, Health Metrics Network, ILO, IMF, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, WAMI and the World Bank. 3. The workshop was opened by the Hon. Professor Gyan-Baffour, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. He highlighted the importance of statistics and strategic statistical planning and underlined the need for good quality information for effective development. 4. The objective of the workshop was to assess the current status of strategic statistical planning in the region; to identify the successes and constraints being experienced in implementing existing plans; and to outline what practical steps countries and partners could take to resolve these constraints. 5. Presentations on the International Comparisons Program in Africa; the World Bank s Core Welfare Indicators Survey project; STATCAP; the links between NSDS and the IMF s General Data Dissemination System; the UNDP s Statistical Literacy initiative; the Health Metrics Network (HMN) Assessment Framework; and international labour statistics were given. The delegation from Ghana then related their own experience of some of these international initiatives, within the broader context of their national statistical development planning. 6. The workshop then held a session on the NSDS methodology and process, and reviewed the current status of national strategic planning in each participating country, as well as the main successes and constraints to the successful implementation of those plans. The workshop discussed how to build on these successes, and how to begin to address the constraints. A synthesis of the successes and constraints is attached at Annex 1, and a detailed list by country is at Annex 2. KEY POINTS 7. The key points arising from the workshop discussions were: 1 Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Uganda

2 The need to get statistics into the policy dialogue (including through working with IMF and World Bank country offices) The need to follow all possible avenues to increase investments in statistical capacity building and appreciation of statistics (e.g. nationally and through donors) Consultants need to have the right skills and experience The importance of advocacy at many levels The importance of strong leadership in statistics: vision as well as effective management The lack of financial resources remains a major constraint The importance of donor coordination and harmonization The role PARIS21 and others can play to support country advocacy efforts The importance of a strategic plan for ECOWAS and other Sub Regional Organisations (SROs) The need for regional and SROs to coordinate more effectively In meetings of national finance/planning ministries the need to go beyond rhetoric & empty resolutions on statistics to action and funding. NEXT STEPS 8. Countries considered what steps they could take to move forward with the design and implementation of their strategic plans, and these are outlined in detail in Annex 3. WRAP-UP 9. The PARIS21 Secretariat welcomed feedback on how to most effectively help countries take forward the development of national statistics strategies. They noted the key points raised by countries for international and regional agencies, particularly the need to keep updating the methodology and advocacy documents, and the importance of maintaining regular contact with countries as they identify areas for future support. They underlined the desire that international processes be complementary, and should all be encompassed within a national strategy for the development of statistics. 10. Donor partners reaffirmed their continuing commitment to statistical development and to strategic statistical planning, and outlined the possible areas of support within their respective institutions. 10. Concluding, PARIS21 expressed their thanks to the participants for their very active and useful participation, and to the Ghanain Government - particularly the staff of the Ghana Statistical Service - for their very effective assistance in organising the workshop, and for the warm welcome they received in Accra. 11. The Director of Ghana Statistical Service closed the workshop by thanking participants for their valuable contributions, and emphasising the importance of taking this work forward as part of a longer term partnership for the development of statistics. Paris, August 30th 2005

3 PARIS21 Workshop, Accra, 27 th 28 th July 2005 ANNEX 1 Synthesis of country successes and constraints SUCCESSES Human Capacity Strong analytical capacity Financial Ability to mobilise resources Costed plan Donor commitment Government commitment Infrastructure Office Equipment Institutional Professional independence and semiautonomy Statistics act Organisational structure Strong technical coordination Networking producer user Strong management and coordination of plan Leadership Strong inter-governmental coordination & harmonization IT applications, website Data access & use Donor coordination & commitment Policy Links Demand and appreciation Political commitment Strong stats PRS links Prioritisation CONSTRAINTS Human Capacity Lack of skills Conditions of service Lack of control of staff movement Training Management qualities at all levels Resistance to change/mind-set Financial Constraints National & donor Financing modality Donor conditionality Infrastructure Office space Equipment IT applications Institutional Lack of appropriate statistics act; strategy Coordination (national & donor) Lack of understanding of user needs Poor incentives Leadership Policy Links Low profile of statistics Provision of low level data Timing difficulties Use of statistics Advocacy Marketing strategy

4 PARIS21 Workshop, Accra, 27 th 28 th July 2005 ANNEX 2 Country successes and constraints in strategic plan implementation Successes / Strengths Political commitment (Kenya, Sudan, Gambia, Liberia) Strong inter-governmental coordination (Kenya) Donor coordination around strategy (Kenya, Sudan) Statistics in governance (Kenya) Clear role and leadership of CBS - especially with sectors and civil society (Kenya) Increased demand for statistics (Kenya) Increased appreciation of importance of statistics (Kenya) Open data access (Kenya) Strong analytical capacity (Kenya) Ability to mobilise resources (Kenya, Ethiopia, Liberia) Statistics Act (Sierra Leone, Sudan, Liberia) Decentralisation Strong PRS Stats links. (Eritrea, Sierra Leone) Strong management and monitoring of plan (Ethiopia) Strong regional technical coordination (Somalia) Prioritisation Costed Plan (Sudan) Donor commitment (Gambia) Infrastructure (Gambia) Independence Weaknesses / Constraints Lack of control over staff movements (Kenya, Liberia ) Financial constraints (Kenya, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Gambia, Liberia) Office space (Kenya, Liberia) Equipment (Kenya, Ghana, Liberia) Infrastructure (Liberia) Low (human) capacity (Ghana, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Somalia, Liberia, Gambia) Poor conditions of service (Ghana, Liberia) Advocacy (Ghana, Uganda, Gambia, Liberia) Lack of understanding of data needs (Ghana) Training needs (Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Liberia) National coordination (Liberia, Gambia) Staffing Issues (Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Gambia) User needs -lack of understanding of (Eritrea) No statistics act ( Eritrea) Lack of marketing strategy (Sierra Leone) Institutional weakness (Sierra Leone) Low level data (Ethiopia) Policy making data provision timing difficulties (Uganda),Institutional weakness in administering data (Uganda)

5 Low profile of statistics in line ministries Lack of donor coordination (Somalia, Gambia) Census stretching capacity (Sudan) Conflict / post conflict (Somalia, Liberia) Financing modality (Gambia) Poor incentives (Liberia) Lack of statistics plan / metadata (Liberia) Conditional commitment to donors (Liberia)

6 PARIS21 Workshop, Accra, 27 th 28 th July 2005 ANNEX 3 Country next steps Eritrea Have statistics act in place Begin to develop a strategic plan (with technical assistance from PARIS21) Develop a HR development and implementation plan Publish metadata Ethiopia Identify methodology for providing survey results at lower administrative level Ensure future surveys address the lack coverage of economic and social sector areas Form technical committee to improve data analysis Provide training to staff at both national and international training institutions Gambia (All steps linked to move towards semi autonomy) Ensure the new statistics act is enacted Cost master plan (with support from Paris21) Develop scheme of service for department Organise a donor conference for funding of master plan Disseminate studies carried out over the past two years (e.g. IEHS, economic census, population census) Training (both long and short term) Ghana Outline staff terms of reference & review staffing structure Review conditions of service (institute is being contracted) Develop recruitment plan Incorporation of statistics into the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy Expand GDDS committee to include other agencies Draft new statistics law Develop an advocacy framework (including media briefing and training of media) Parliamentary and cabinet briefings Training of budget committee Make statistics a component of GPRS Meet with the donor community Diversify activities including offering services to other agencies (set up a consultancy service) Do a technical assessment of IT needs Kenya Increase advocacy by trying to enhance the profile of statistics through media & products Increase statistical capacity building in key line ministries (training, competence)

7 Finish setting up information management systems (data base) Improve IT infrastructure at bureau and field offices Liberia Procure office equipment Capacity building of personnel Develop metadata (with GDDS support) Put data on DevInfo Begin the development of a national statistics plan (ask for consultancy help) Advocacy - establish a coordinating committee to advocate for the improved image of statistics in Liberia Identify key external funding institutes and seek financing Sierra Leone Identify key external funding institutes and seek financing Train newly employed staff of Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL) and Statistical officers in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) Identify training programmes to address the need and source funding for this training Negotiate with government for increase in the budget allocation to SSL (Statistics Council to undertake this) MDAs to prioritise statistical activities in their departments Organise a round table conference for Donor for the financing of the statistics master Plan Strategic Master Planning process to be use as an advocacy tool for statistics Statistics Council to be more vibrant Organise user/producer workshop Dissemination of the 2004 Population and Housing Census results Somalia Mobilise resources Improve quality of data produced with better data collection methods end techniques and better analysis Sudan Capacity building Strengthening statistical training centre Train trainers Look for advanced training opportunities outside Sudan (technical & management, including post graduates) Conditions of service Financing establish a forum for government and donor stakeholders Develop a bank of documents to aid resource mobilization (a resource mobilization plan) Improve communication with donors Try to market needs

8 Activate national statistical council Put together a standing user- producer community Make statistical act available to everyone Hold a number of advocacy workshops Prepare an advocacy strategy document Uganda Sensitisation of key stakeholders (ongoing) Establishment of mini sector committees Conduct a consultative Workshop Set up a communication network for the Plan for National Statistical Development (PNSD) Develop a road-map and launch the process Review and assess the national statistical system (SWOT analysis) Development of the line ministry strategies Development of the main PNSD strategy Preparing the implementation and financing plan Validation and consultation Formal high level endorsement by Cabinet