OECD/Paris21 and SCB Partnership- Statistic Systems Capacity Development

During 2023, PARIS21 and SCB reached better results after consolidated work plans and SCB's further alignment of its work with PARIS21's main outcomes and the partner countries where they can focus on their complementary efforts. These results were built on the closer partnership and closer cooperation between PARIS21 and SCB accelerated from 2022. The key outcome achievements for 2023 were: PARIS21 - Leaders of National Statistics Office Leader in 32 countries in Africa and Asia-Pacific got leadership training. They were empowered with the skills needed to excel in their roles, respond to emerging data needs, enhance institutional positioning, and build public trust. - National statistical planning in 10 countries got supported through NSDS development and Review to set priorities, make informed choices, and implement better policies for sustainable development. - Gender statistics in 7 NSDSs were mainstreamed to support gender equality through better government programmes, policies, and measures. This helps ensure that gender is a core component of policy-making approaches and design. - Statistical laws and governance in Lesotho and Benin were provided support, which will enable the independence and authority of statistics in those countries and foster trust among citizens. - In-depth country studies on gender data use in policy-making were launched in Rwanda, the Maldives, Kenya, and Dominican Republic. SCB SCB in this partnership with PARIS21 is to support PARIS21 in the implementation of its strategy to help countries produce Better data for better lives for all. The specific objective for SCBs contribution was improved quality, availability and use of data and indicators in following up the implementation of the 2030 Agenda while the intermediate outcomes according to PARIS21s results framework for 2023 focused on three outcomes: i) National statistical systems are fit for purpose; ii Data use for policy-making is strengthened; and iii) Data ecosystems are equipped to leave no-one behind. In 2023, SCB has contributed to achieve this main outcomes: - National Statistical Systems with human resource policies and skills strengthened across Africa with key contribution by SCB, Statistics Norway and PARIS21 together with Kenya and Benin. - Environment Statistics in Zambia were improving - Communication for the dissemination of gender-based statistics in Madagascar and Maldives were trained and improved. - Gender-Segregated Statistics training in Rwanda was supported. Further result highlights for 2023 following the outcomes include: i) National statistical systems are fit for purpose - To help measuring statistical capacity, the Statistics Law Navigator was updated with 111 statistics laws uploaded from countries. This work contributed to increase accessibility to and knowledge on statistical legislation. - New knowledge products were made available and used for better data. Those knowledge products were developed as guidelines and tools for better use of data such as Climate Change Data Ecosystems framework, Parliament toolkits and implementation and Framework for participatory data ecosystems developed to support the institutionalization of Citizen-Generated Data into official statistics. - National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) Guidelines 3.0 were developed with focus on special topics to further respond to priority demands from countries. Guidance on how to mainstream gender into the NSDS is being actively promoted in all NSDS outreach/training and design. - New NSDS were developed in Belize, Madagascar, Gambia, Senegal, Somalia, Maldives, Grenada, Yemen, Togo, and Saint Lucia with PARIS21 support with technical assistance included the training of NSO/NSS staff, the review and evaluation of current NSDS, and the design of the new. - Statistical laws and regulatory frameworks in Lesotho and Benin got PARIS21 technical support including advocacy for modernizing the legislation to improve statistics systems. - Leadership training for NSO directors from 21 African countries and the Asia Pacific was provided by PARIS21 and the African Union Commission Institute of Statistics. The countries included Somalia, Mali, Botswana, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Kenya, Niger, Cabo Verde, Gabon, Eswatini, Uganda, Guinea, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Comores, Namibia and Rwanda, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu, and Vietnam. - SCB joined Statistics Norway, PARIS21 and FAO to co-produce a paper investigating challenges and development needs in human resource management in NSOs and agriculture statistics units across Africa. This has resulted in several workshops and webinars where NSOs and experts from Kenya, Benin, Sweden and Norway to share experiences and learning on career development such as strengthening staff capacity in statistical organizations or staff turnover and recruitment: attracting, retaining, and planning for staff transitions. It has also resulted in the Global Network of Institutions for Statistical Training (GIST) development of an online tool for assessing training needs, named the Statistical Training Assessment Tool (STAT). The tool is tailored for National Statistical Offices (NSOs) to assess and prioritize training and capacity development needs, aiming to enhance the skills and capacity among staff to meet both present and future challenges. - Improving Environmental Statistics in Zambia were provided support with a mission aimed at improving the coordination of the environmental statistics within the data ecosystem of Zambia. ii) Data use for policy making is strengthened - Linking data sources and indicators to different global, regional, national, and sub-national policy frameworks has been an important advocacy mechanism for responsive statistical systems and the prioritization of data production. In 2023, PARIS21 supported Togo, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Senegal, Kyrgyz Republic, and the COMESA Secretariat on the use of ADAPT in response to data demands from priority policies. - In-depth country studies on gender data use in policy-making in Rwanda, the Maldives, Kenya, and Dominican Republic, working with NSOs and gender institutions to trace how gender data is used in the policy cycle, in response to measuring the use of data in policy making were launched by PARIS21 in collaboration and support of Gates Foundation. - Gender data literacy in policy making got support to strengthen awareness and skills related to data use in parliament roles of oversight, legislation, and representation in Vanuatu in 2023. Communications workshops and strategy development in 2023 emphasized the importance of working with partners such as media, CSOs, and policymakers on the use of gender data were developed in Dominican Republic, Madagascar and Rwanda with gender communication strategy, gender data lab or gender monitoring office with new methods to develop policy-relevant insights on key issues and to streamline regular sourcing and dissemination of gender data in sectors. - Communication for the dissemination of gender-based statistics in Madagascar and Maldives was developed with support from SCB. In particular, data champions in the Maldives parliament with members of parliament agreed to collaborate with the Maldives Bureau of Statistics (MBS) to support the use of data in politics and policy was an achievement. iii) Data ecosystems are equipped to leave no one behind - Gender mainstreaming in data and statistics planning in partner countries with support from Global Affairs Canada, UN Women, and other partners was developed in Belize, Senegal, Maldives, Gambia, Madagascar, Niger, and Somalia. This work was continued with Maldives, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Lesotho, and other countries working to implement established gender statistics strategies. PARIS21 also presented the gender-mainstreaming guidelines in the NSDS training for Asia Pacific countries organised with UN SIAP in 2023. - Citizen participation enhanced in data ecosystems continued with support from PARIS21 to partner countries in the pursuit of more effective and inclusive statistical practices, including efforts to leverage civil society data to improve SDG monitoring, and to encourage participatory models of collaboration with external actors in the data ecosystem. In particular, the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics which has showed a role model for other countries of engaging civil society in the data value chain of official statistics. PARIS21 is working with the Kenyan NBS and Lesotho NBS to engage with CSOs to develop a participatory framework for NSOs and engage them in various activities beyond data production and in the framework of the Voluntary National Review also. - To enhance citizen trust in data and official statistics, in 2023 PARIS21 continued to support Vanuatu and Senegal to implement activities to engage both parliamentarians and civil service through briefings, targeted training, and design of targeted constituency profiles to make national statistics more accessible and applicable for policy-making. - Experts from Statistics Sweden and PARIS21 conducted training sessions for stakeholders, journalists, and parliamentarians on gender-segregated statistics in 2023. SCB in partnership with the Gender Monitoring Office in Rwanda and Rwanda's National Institute of Statistics (NISR) completed a training for local journalists to raise awareness of unequal women representation in (1) politics, (2) administration at local levels, (3) management roles in private enterprises, and the (4) judiciary. iv) More and better financing for development data is available - PARIS21 Secretariat continued to serve as the secretariat of the Bern Network on Financing Data for Development. In 2023, the Bern Network continued to develop and deploy the Clearinghouse for Financing Development Data, the worlds first platform to match supply of and demand for development data financing. The Network engaged and grew its community of over 300 members from national, regional, and international agencies, statistical offices, and expert institutions worldwide and brought together a group of DAC donors to discuss strategies to position financing to data and statistics within development agencies and at the global level. - The Clearinghouse Secretariat led by PARIS21 and Open Data Watch continued in 2023 to position the Clearinghouse within the broader discussions on data for development at the global level with high-level meetings and initiatives on the topic such as the UN World Data Forum, the Festival de Datos and the SDG Summit, where the Clearinghouse contributed to the UN High Impact Initiative on the Power of Data, as well as publication of Solutions in Scarcity: Navigating the Landscape of Gender Data Financing series together with UNWOMEN, Open Data Watch and Data2X. - For domestic resource mobilization to development data and statistics, in partnership with the World Bank and the UN Statistics Division, PARIS21 provided surveys to feature in the UN SDG 2023 Report for discussion on SDG data and monitoring. PARIS21 also developed a comprehensive guideline for the Country Report on Support to Statistics (CRESS) methodology activity with a holistic overview and step-by-step guidance for countries and partners to conduct research on funding to data and statistics at the country level. CRESS was used for donor coordination groups in Cameroon, Gambia, Togo, Senegal, and Madagascar to coordinate the support of statistics. v) Partnerships for data-driven sustainable development are enhanced - PARIS21 2023 Spring Meetings Going local to leave no one behind: The role of sub-national data featured a series of high-level discussions with over 30 speakers representing national statistical offices, development agencies, academic institutions, civil society, and the private sector. The event gathered over 900 in-person and virtual participants from more than 50 countries to discuss issues of trust, efficiency, and coordination around local data to help individuals and communities adapt to climate change, improve service delivery in humanitarian contexts, and deliver better outcomes for those at risk of being left behind. - The PARIS21 2023 Fall Meetings convened more than 60 members of the PARIS21 board and partners to reflect on the milestones of the year, learn from peer experiences, and discuss how PARIS21 can build upon the results and recommendations of the mid-term evaluation. The mid-term evaluation were presented during the meeting to gather feedback from the Board on the implementation of the recommendations and reflect on the preparation of the 2026-2030 strategy and forthcoming initiatives to accelerate progress for better data for better lives for all in which country voices for peer-to-peer learning from innovative topics of relevance to the data and statistics community. Program countries in 2023: Partner countries benefited from PARIS21/SCB programme of work and partnership in 2023 include: Belize, Benin, Kenya, Zambia, Rwanda, Mali, Ghana, Gambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Cameroon, Niger, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Madagascar, Togo, Botswana, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea, Cabo Verde, Gabon, Eswatini, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Comores, Namibia, Yemen, the Kyrgyz Republic, Paraguay, Domini-can Republic, Saint Lucia, the Grenadines, Samoa, Vanuatu, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangla-desh, Lao DPR, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Vietnam.

Statistics Sweden (SCB) and OECD (PARIS21) have received financing from Sida to implement a joint intervention with the objective Improved quality, availability and use of data and indicators in following up the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The project has since then developed and is now fully harmonized with the PARIS21 strategy which was adopted in 2021. PARIS21 mission to put robust data and statistics at the heart of decision-making for inclusive sustainable development steers the strategy's three strategic pillars of change; accelerate innovation, bridge data ecosystems and develop statistical capacity. Five key outcomes has been identified to have the greatest impact on better data for better lives for all: - National statistical systems are fit for purpose - Data use for policy-making is strengthened - Data ecosystems are equipped to leave no-one behind - More and better financing for development data is available - Partnerships for data-driven sustainable development are enhanced