National statistical systems

The Paris Declaration’s emphasis on measurable results led to a surge in donor investment in national statistics services. But instead of focusing on generating statistics to support government decision-making, in all too many cases the main function of the statistics office seems to be helping donors monitor the effectiveness of their aid - a role that risks compromising the effectiveness and integrity of national statistics services.

Under ever-increasing pressure to show the outcomes of their development assistance, while following the Paris principle of local ownership, donors have increasingly sought to use national statistics offices to help measure the impact of their investment on their stated goals. This has led to a surge in donor sponsored surveys around issues such as reduction of poverty, increased school attendance or improved healthcare.

However, in many cases the data quality data quality is poor and it is often difficult to draw conclusive results about policy outcomes and impacts. Statistics offices - often largely reliant on donors for their funding - are often challenged to produce the quantity of data demanded rather than being able to focus on quality, and the results are often under-utilised,. Understandably, local governments then hold their statistics office in low regard, something that in turn affects their perception of statistics in general.

What’s required is stronger governance of national statistics services, to balance priorities and to ensure they provide the accurate and relevant data needed to inform policy-making and economic planning. In OPM’s experience of working with statistics offices around the world, the most important factor in achieving this is not so much investment in the technical capacity of the statistics service (although this is still needed), but rather a top-down commitment from senior figures in the government: where statistics are valued, used and endorsed by senior officials, and are seen to play an integral role in the policy development process, the quality of data is consistently significantly higher. This often means a stronger focus on economic statistics than has been the case in recent decades.

For example, in Rwanda, the presidential demand for accurate information and economic statistics has ensured a strong demand for good quality results, where data feeds directly into ministerial planning and the overall policy cycle. As in most other countries where statistics are valued, a governing board exists to help oversee a statistics, and the government prioritises investment in statistics, and helps to channel donor funds towards common statistical priorities.

Such ministerial support not only delivers better information the government, but also ultimately for donors, who get a more accurate - if potentially less positive - report on the outcomes of their aid investment.