Experience from the Pacific Community

1. Paris21 ForumReinforcing Statistical Co-operation at the Regional Level to Support Sustainable Development5 – 6 October 2015, OECD Conference Centre, Paris, FranceSession 2: South-south learning on regional statistics cooperation

2. Experience from the Pacific Community • Introduction • 22 PICTs (8 million -> 1,200) • 21 NSOs (157 -> 7 countries with < 5 staff) • Since 2011 regional statistical developments guided by Ten Year Pacific Statistics Strategy (2011 – 2020), 3 phase approach • Phase-1 (2011 – 2014): massive investments in data accessibilty (fill data gaps: censuses and HH surveys; parallel developments in IMS (CRVS+EMIS); web-based access through National Minimum Development Indicator Database (NMDID), PRISM • Phase-2 (2015 – 2017): improve data quality, data use

3. Experience from the Pacific Community 2. Tangible aspects of regional cooperation • Resources(Financial and Human) • Data(improve data quality, innovative collection systems, dissemination) • Technical cooperation and collaboration(country-country; inter-agency)

4. Experience from the Pacific Community 2.1 Resources Ten Year regional strategy facilitated multi-year resources commitment: predictable SPC funding for technical core positions, plus multi-year commitments by key financial partners • 4 year commitment by Australia to Phase-1 (2011-2014) • Move to 3-year funding by New Zealand (2014-2016) • Successive 2-year seed funding by Asian Development Bank to regional Household survey program managed by SPC • Making greater use of existing national human resources for regional deployment (South-South) – helps create “virtual” regional statistical system)

5. Experience from the Pacific Community 2.2 Data • Improve data quality (integrity, comparability, timeliness) • Growing adherence to international standards and regional systems and classifications (in line with international standards) • Consistent practice across countries is essential to improve data quality, innovative collection systems, dissemination) • Consistent practice across all major collections essential for provision of multiple data points over time (Example: Yr-1 Census; YR-4: Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES); YR-7: DHS; YR10: Census)

6. Experience from the Pacific Community 2.2 Data (PIC Unemployment rates)

7. Experience from the Pacific Community 2.2 Data • Innovative Collection Systems: development of Pacific Living Conditions Survey prototype • Prohibitive costs of regular HH surveys in small and widely dispersed populations over large areas of Pacific Ocean • PLC Survey prototype developed with WB Support(includes core HIES/DHS modules to compile most population-based indicators, and allow extraction of other information required from, e.g. HIES (-> feeding into NA and CPI-rebasing) • Results thus far: excellent compatibility regards HH income/ expenditure data) matched to HIES 2 years earlier; similar matching planned for 2016 (against DHS 2 years later) • Prototype survey carried out at 25% of combined HIES+DHS costs

8. Experience from the Pacific Community 2.2 Data C. Developments in Data dissemination • Greater attention to user-relevance and -friendliness: infographics, charts, GIS-maps, fact-sheets (with notes on policy relevance of key findings) • Facilitateaccessibilty of data – more web-basedstatistical information (www.spc.int/nmdi; www.spc.int/prism)

9. Experience from the Pacific Community Example of HIES Infographics and PLCS Factsheet (next slide)

11. DHS Facts and Figures at your Fingertips Folder (reduces standard/dry DHS telephone-book format DHS reports to more user-friendly format for most users: each standard chapter is reduced to one back-to-front factsheet, which includes a Policy Note box, highlighting key findings that might be usefully addressed as a matter of priority. Example of DHS Facts and Figures at your Fingertips Factsheets

13. www.spc.int/nmdi and www.spc.int/prism home pages

14. Experience from the Pacific Community 3. Technical cooperation and collaboration Brisbane Accord Group (BAG) excellent illustration of well-functioning multi-agency/party working environment

15. Experience from the Pacific Community 3. Technical cooperation and collaboration BAG secret of success – realization early on that • Regional CRVS development too big a task for any one agency to tackle on its own; • No single agency has the technical capacity and budget to effectively address all critical components: registration of births and deaths, IT skills regards system development, skills for accurate capture /classification of cause of death • We operate as one, even when one/two agencies take lead role for particular tasks (“agency flags stay behind”)

16. Experience from the Pacific Community 4. Future outlook – post 2015 SDG agenda and global funding uncertainties for data and analytics • 320+ SDG indicators could do with some trimming down; good start with SDSN proposal of 100, and UNSD 82 Global Tier-1 indicators • Recently completed development of draft Pacific headline indicators of 62, plus matching exercise of Global Tier-1 showed overlap of 28 • If current Global list remains, massive collection/reporting challenge for Pacific -> 116 (nearly double of MDG lists of 60) • Danger of unfolding double-whammy scenario: (i) setting countries (specially SIDS) up for failure, plus (ii) risk of wiping out early gains during MDG period, without concerted international and national efforts to address current funding gap of 1 billion required annually by IDA eligible countries.

17. Thank you