unece baer presentation at eco meeting teheran
TRANSCRIPT
United Nations Economic Commission for EuropeStatistical DivisionUnited Nations Economic Commission for EuropeStatistical Division
Official Statistical Information- A key source for
monitoring development and allocation of resources
Presentation at the
1st Meeting of ECO Heads of NSOs
Teheran, Iran, 28 January 2008
Petteri Baer, Regional Adviser, UNECE
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 2
The importance of good statistical information (1)
Attracting investments, doing good business, developing economic activities needs evidence based decision making – reliable official statistics is a basic source for this
Economic and social development should continuously be monitored. Without reliable statistical information about the past and present, no real analysis of the situation, and no inference for future developments, can be made
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 3
The importance of good statistical information (2)
How can resources be allocated if basic information on economic development, prices or population is based on guesses or (too) old information?
If the denominators of Gross Domestic Product, the population or other basic indicators are wrong, indicators may be misleading, especially when compared across countries
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 4
Statistical capacity is a combination of…
A specific institutional framework for the national system of official statistics and the main producer, the National Statistical Office, based on a law that is based on the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics
Know-how of staff in the field of producing, processing and dissemination of statistical information in the various subject areas of official statistics (a variety of complex scientific, professional and managerial tasks)
Adequate ICT resources
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 5
Trust and reliability
Official Statistics are reliable and trusted only if:• Disseminated publicly in time and available to all
users • Based on internationally accepted norms and
recommendations• Methodology is transparent• Respondents in surveys trust the pledge of
confidentiality and exclusive use for statistics• Accessibility for all users is ensured through a range
of electronic and other products• Users trust the producer to be free from interference
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 6
UNECE activities are targeted on key development issues (1)
Support for developing the “Know-How” of the preparations of the 2010 Round Population and Housing Censuses, in Central Asia (CA)• Training Workshops in
2006-2007• Advisory Services in
2008
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 7
UNECE activities are targeted on key development issues (2) Assisting in having a
better understanding of Non-Observed Economy• Training Workshops
in 2007-2008• Advisory Services in
2007-2008• UNECE and OECD
manuals available
Getting hold of international Migration Flows by developing statistical methodologies• Census preparations• Meetings and
Workshops• Working out best
practices for statistics
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 8
New statistical development issues coming up in CA 2012
Dissemination of statistical information to different user groups in the society• Making efficient use
of the results of Censuses
• Enlarging the sphere of users of statistical information
Developing statistical information on Short-Term Statistics
Developing statistical information on international Migration
Strengthening the overall capacity of National Statistical Offices
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 9
Coordination of the support to statistical capacity building are needed
Donors
Countries
-Plan for funding of donor activities
-Criteria for choosing special countries
- Long strategic plan for development of the National Statistical System
-Favourable relationship with particular IOs
Coordination Activities
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 10
UNECE performed in 2006-2007 a Donor Survey on 6 countries
Donor activities in the field of statistics in the following Central Asian countries were surveyed• Azerbaijan• Kazakhstan• Kyrgyzstan• Tajikistan• Turkmenistan and• Uzbekistan
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 11
Main outcome of the UNECE survey (1):
Three donors provided almost ¾ of the funding in 6 CA countries (2005)
*Others = ILO (EUR 0.04 million) and Statistics Austria (EUR 0.02 million)
3.1
1.6
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
SIAP(0.2)
EC
World Bank
SIDA
FMCD
DFID
Others* (0.06)
UNDP
Total amount of funding: EUR 7.5 million
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 12
Main outcome of the UNECE Survey (2):
More than 10 organisations involved in implementation (2005)
UNDP11
10
5
5
3
2
21
16
FSO Germany
ICON Institute
GTZ
UNICEF
Statistics Sweden
TFSCB
ILOSIAP
Others1)
1) Others= British Council, DFID, IDA, Oxford Policy Management, Southampton University, Statistics Austria
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 13
Main outcome of the UNECE Survey (3):
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were main targets in the year 2005
Number of projects in each country in 2005
20
11
9
9
4
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
450,000
489,000
1,137,200
2,469,090
2,868,300
Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan
Tajikistan
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Magnitude of the activities1) in the countries in 2005 (in EUR)
1) Not included are: Tracking Human Development (UNDP), Rural Education (World Bank), Training Course in Collection and Analysis (SIAP), TACIS Seminar for higher manager (Statistics Austria)
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 14
New activities providing a good basis for coordination of support
UNECE will perform a new Survey in 2008
UNECE also participates actively in a CCSA Task Team on building a Global Reporting system on Support for Statistical Capacity Building with PARIS21 and others
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 15
Support also needed from national policy makers
Keep in mind that official statistics is a way to describe a complex reality in a condensed and quantitative form
Do not shoot (or punish) the messenger, if you do not like the reality!
28.1.2008 Petteri Baer - UNECE Statistical Division Slide 16
Statistics is an issue for us all With good
statistical information into evidence-based decision structures!
Thank you for your attention!