PARIS21 is seeking proposals for innovative projects that enhance trust in data and statistics in low and middle-income countries. The initiative will sponsor six to twelve-month projects up to 50 000 EUR each. Eligible candidates include national statistical offices (NSOs) or any private, public or civil society entity in joint partnership with a NSO. The initiatives will foster the implementation of innovative solutions across any of the statistical, structural and/or reputational aspects of trust in the national statistical system.
More information and application instructions
Note: Application deadline is 31 January 2020
Selection Panel
Dr. Lisa Grace S. Bersales, Philippine Statistics Authority, Former National Statistician
Dr. Lisa Grace S. Bersales is a professor of statistics at the University of the Philippines’ School of Statistics. She served as the first national statistician of the Philippines from April 2014 to April 2019 as head of the Philippine Statistics Authority. During this period, she was also the Philippines’ Civil Registrar General and started the implementation of the Philippines’ national identification system. She implemented the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013 with the creation of the Philippine Statistics Authority. She is currently a member of the board of Open Data Watch based in Washington D.C., member of the Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics (TReNDS) of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network based in Los Angeles, Emphasis Editor on Official Statistics and Human Resources of the Statistical Journal of the International Association for Official Statistics and president of the Philippine Statistical Association, Inc. She holds a PhD in statistics from the University of the Philippines, where she also earned her bachelor's and master's degrees.
Matías Bianchi, Asuntos del Sur Director and Founder
Matías Bianchi is the founder and director of Asuntos del Sur, a think tank focused on political innovation in Latin American. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona. He holds a PhD in political science from the Institute d´Études Politiques de Paris (SciencesPo). He has published articles in academic journals and books, the most recent being the edition and compilation of "Recuperar la Política: agendas de innovación Política en América Latina" (2017).
Rajiv Ranjan, PARIS21 Innovation Team Lead
Rajiv Ranjan possesses strong expertise in information systems, data technologies, statistics & social sciences. He supports national statistical offices around the world in data dissemination effectiveness, strengthening data management practices and NSDS planning processes. Prior to joining PARIS21, Rajiv was an advisor with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and was seconded to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda where he significantly improved distribution, uptake and use of data for evidence-based planning and decision making. Rajiv’s experience also includes planning and implementing ICT for Development and e-Government projects, as well as supporting the development of organisation-wide knowledge management systems.
Rajiv holds a master’s degree in business administration with specialisation in information technology and management, and a bachelor's degree in technology.
Rajeswari Sengupta, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) Assistant Professor of Economics
Dr. Rajeswari Sengupta is an assistant professor of economics at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) in Mumbai, India. In the past, she has held research positions at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in Chennai, the Reserve Bank of India, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington D.C. She was a member of the research secretariat for the Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee (BLRC) that recommended the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code for India. Her research focuses on policy-relevant, macro-financial issues of emerging market economies in general and India, particularly in the fields of international finance, open economy macroeconomics, monetary policy and banking, national income accounts and financial markets and regulations. Dr. Sengupta completed her master’s degree and PhD in economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She holds two previous degrees in economics from India, a bachelor’s degree from Presidency College, Calcutta and a master’s degree from Delhi School of Economics.
WATCH: Dr. Rajeswari Sengupta talks trust in data at the PARIS21 Cross Regional Forum 2019
Joseph Tedou, Cameroon National Institute of Statistics Director-General
Joseph Tedou of Yaoundé, Cameroon, is a graduate of the Sub-Regional Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (ISSEA), the CESD / ENSAE of Paris with a degree in statistical and economic engineering and of the University of Paris I - Sorbonne with a degree in Etudes Approfondies (DEA), concentrating on economic policy analysis.
He joined the Cameroonian administration in 2005 and held several positions including Director of Statistics and National Accounting and Director General of the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
At the international level, he has been involved with setting up the Economic and Statistical Observatory for Sub-Saharan Africa (AFRISTAT) and was Chairman of the Management Committee from 1996 to 1998. He has also been on the Executive Committee of PARIS21 since 2012. He served as a Rapporteur to the United Nations Statistical Commission for the 44th, 45th, and 46th sessions held in New York. Joseph Tedou is an Officer of the National Order of the Value of Cameroon, and Knight of the Order of Merit of Niger on an exceptional basis.