The PARIS21 task team on Improved Support to Monitoring Development Goals was formed to identify specific actions to be taken at national and international levels that would improve statistics available for monitoring and managing development results. The purpose of the Team was to identify gaps within national statistical processes, inconsistencies between national and international statistical activities, and provide a set of recommendations for stakeholders. Active members of the Task Team included UN Statistics Department (UNSD), UNDP, the European Commission, DFID, and the Development Data Group of the World Bank (acting as Convener).
The work of the Team was divided into three main activities: Country Case Studies, to investigate issues relating to the production of key indicators at national level; a study of the International Statistical System in relation to the production of key indicators; and a study of Internationally Sponsored Household Survey Instruments in developing countries in relation to the use of survey data.
Country case studies were conducted in Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Moldova, Malawi, and Yemen to identify key issues and recommended actions for improvement at the country and international level. A wide range of stakeholders including National Statistical Offices, line ministries, donor groups, NGOs, MDG reporting teams, PRSP teams, were consulted for the preparation and revision of each report. A summary report of the six studies was also produced to highlight issues that seem to require special attention across countries, as well as to understand variations in the problems addressed. Given the perceived demand for this type of in-depth study with concrete recommendations at the country level, it is hoped that further initiatives will follow and that the study guide developed for the case studies will be a useful reference for the purpose. A full report on the six case studies is also available.
An International Study of the current international statistical system in relation to key MDG indicators was conducted to highlight problems and propose options that could improve the quality and availability of statistical data reported at international level. Outputs of this study are a full report and a briefing note aimed at raising awareness among international agencies of key issues, and identifying possible actions for improvement.
A Household Survey Study was commissioned because improvements in household surveys have been identified as one of priority areas for improvement from the international and country case studies. Household survey data are often under-utilised in international data sets, and surveys are not conducted in a harmonised manner in countries. The output of this study is a report with recommendations that would improve the efficiency of internationally sponsored household surveys and their value for monitoring national and international development goals.
Findings from of the Country Case Studies and the International Study fed into the Marrakech Action Plan for Statistics (MAPS), which was prompted by a request of the IMF/World Bank Development Committee request for a time-bound and costed plan of actions to improve statistics for measuring development outcomes.
The team's overall final report was presented at the June 2005 PARIS21 Steering Committee meeting in Paris.
Documents from previous meetings of this task team can be consulted on the following pages:
