• Aid policy
• Debt Management
• Education
• Financial sector
• Growth and Resources Policy
• Health
• Poverty and Social Protection
• Public Financial Management
• Public Management and Accountability
• Regional Development and Local Government
• Social Development
• Statistics
• • Support to national statistical systems
  • Quantitative information for policy and programme

Support to national statistical systems

The production and use of reliable statistics are essential to good governance. Increasingly, statistical systems are under pressure to report to both national and international users on the effectiveness of development policy and on progress towards the MDGs. Within government, reliable statistics provide a basis for formulating and evaluating the effectiveness of economic and social sector policies and programmes. They allow the media, parliamentarians and the public to undertake an informed assessment of the performance of the Government, ensuring accountability. Statistical information is also essential for many private sector activities.

However, in many developing countries statistical offices are fragile and typically heavily reliant on external support and funding. The international community is increasingly recognising that a strategic and coordinated approach is required to the reform of statistical systems. OPM has 20-years experience of supporting policy reform in the public sector, and is well placed to support statistical reform programmes. OPM’s expertise in surveys and statistics, combined with its sector reform expertise, provide a mix of statistical and organisational development services.

OPM's current support to national statistical systems includes:

• Support in the reform and management of statistical agencies, including strategic statistical development planning, business plan development, organisational development and change management support.
• Developing national statistical systems and supporting the processes necessary to harmonise official statistical data arising from multiple statistical producers.  OPM supported the development of the South African Statistical Quality Assessment Framework (SASQAF) which is being used to assess data quality throughout the national statistical system (see South Africa: Statistical Quality Assessment Framework (336 kb) .) Quality assured data are an essential component in the design of indicator systems appropriate to the national statistical systems which provide the information.
• Support of technical capacity building in the areas of economic and social statistics, using a wide network of associated specialists with proven competence and experience in supporting quality improvements in economic, social and rural sector statistics in the developing world.
• The development of capacity within statistical agencies to design, undertake, analyse and disseminate sample surveys . OPM has particular experience in multi-sector household surveys incorporating both social sector and income / expenditure components. It also undertakes poverty analysis using sample survey data, and qualitative research

Project Examples

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