The Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data- Strategies and Objectives
The strategies, objectives, and key actions from the Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data released January 2017.
Strategic Area 1:
Coordination and strategic leadership on data for sustainable development.
Objective 1.1: Strengthen national statistical systems and the coordination role of national statistical offices
Key Actions:
- Conduct needs assessment of national statistical capacities and an assessment of available resources to address those needs, including those related to technical cooperation, training, and sharing of best practices offered by countries
- Integrate the acquisition of data production and dissemination of statistics for sustainable development into 1) the established work programmes of national statistical systems; 2) existing national strategies for the development of statistics (NSDS); and 3) national and sector development plans and priorities.
- Strengthen coordination between NSOs and other government data producers, where relevant.
Objective 1.2: Strengthen coordination among national statistical systems and regional and international organizations active in the production of data and statistics for sustainable development
Key Actions:
- Establish and/or improve the coordination mechanism for collecting, sharing, and communicating sustainable development statistics among national statistical systems, and among national, regional and international statistical systems.
- Review the effectiveness of the coordination mechanism for collecting, sharing, and communicating sustainable development statistics among national statistical systems, and among national, regional and international statistical systems.
- Strengthen coordination between national statistical system and regional and international statistical systems through mechanisms such as the Regional Strategies for the Development of Statistics (RSDS), especially in regions where fewer resources are available.
Strategic Area 2:
Innovation and modernization of national statistical systems.
Objective 2.1: Modernize governance and institutional frameworks to allow national statistical systems to meet the demands and opportunities of constantly evolving data ecosystems
Key Actions:
- Promote the revision of statistical laws and regulatory frameworks, where necessary, consistent with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, to: (1) enhance the status, independence and coordination role of national statistics offices; (2) strengthen their access to data, including enhanced data sharing across the national statistical system, and thereby their ability to more efficiently respond to emerging data and statistical needs; (3) develop a mechanism for the use of data from alternative and innovative sources within official statistics; (4) improve transparency of, and public access to, official statistics; and (5) strengthen the availability of sustainable funding for national statistical systems.
- Explore ways of revising the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics to include relevant and appropriate aspects of open data initiatives.
- Clarify and support the role of the national statistical systems in open data initiatives, consistent with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.
- Encourage national statistical offices to embrace the open data initiative and ensure stakeholders of the national statistical system as part of part of the process.
- Update the Handbook of Statistical Organizations with the aim to provide guidance and best practices to achieve a modern, more integrated and coordinated national statistical system.
- Encourage statistical organizations to share and apply generic models of statistical production and architecture.
Objective 2.2: Modernize statistical standards, particularly those aimed to facilitate data integration and automation of data exchange across different stages of the statistical production process
Key Actions:
- Define and implement standardized structures for the exchange and integration of data and metadata on the social, economic and environmental pillars of sustainable development and at all levels (global, regional, national and sub-national), following the SDMX and related standards.
- Promote interoperability of these systems to facilitate such integration.
Objective 2.3: Facilitate the application of new technologies and new data sources into mainstream statistical activities
Key Actions:
- Identify specifications for interoperable, open source technologies to incorporate the flexibility in information systems needed to allow the strategic use of new and emerging technologies for official data collection, processing, dissemination and analysis.
- Identify and remove barriers to the use of new data sources, including registries and administrative data and other data from new and innovative sources, and coordinate efforts to incorporate them into mainstream statistical programmes through, inter alia, confidence- and trust-building measures, legal reforms, better funding and capacity building.
- Develop guidelines on the use of new and innovative data generated outside the official statistical system, into official statistics (that is, principles on using new data sources and other data for official statistics).
- Promote the development of integrated database systems to support the efficient and effective review and follow up of the implementation process of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, building, where possible, on existing MDG database platforms.
Strategic Area 3:
Strengthening of basic statistical activities and programmes, with particular focus on addressing the monitoring needs of the 2030 Agenda
Objective 3.1: Strengthen and expand household survey programmes, integrated survey systems, business and other economic survey programmes, population and housing census programmes, civil and vital statistics programmes and the International Comparison Programme taking into account the needs posed by the 2030 Agenda
Key Actions:
- Increase harmonization and ensure country ownership of internationally sponsored household surveys programmes (such as DHS, MICS, LSMS, Child Labour Survey, WHS, CWIQ, etc.) by strengthening the existing Household Survey (HHS) Network and the Intersecretariat Working Group on Household Surveys.
- Increase harmonization and ensure country ownership of internationally sponsored economic surveys by creating an Economic Survey Network.
- Encourage developing countries to develop an economic statistical capacity programme focussing on improving and strengthening economic statistics with a view to rebasing GDP, CPI and other economic indicators.
- Support the implementation of the 2020 Population Census Round, recognizing such contributions as an integral part of integrated social survey systems.
- Support developing countries in implementing CRVS programmes that will facilitate the collection, collation and dissemination of disaggregated data.
- Support the preparation and development of national, integrated household and business statistics programmes, with a particular focus on enabling the compilation of disaggregated data on SDGs indicators.
- Conduct the International Comparison Programme regularly.
- Increase the integration of data from different sources: surveys, administrative data and new sources.
- Support the implementation of the 2020 World Programme for the Census of Agriculture, recognizing such contributions as an integral part of integrated census and survey systems.
Objective 3.2: Improve the quality of national statistical registers and expand the use of administrative records integrating them with data from surveys and other new data sources, for the compilation of integrated social, economic and environmental statistics and in relation to follow up on the 2030 Agenda
Key Actions:
- Develop, standardize and improve the coverage of registers of persons, property and businesses for statistical purposes.
- Establish the preconditions for greater use of and better access to administrative data and develop the necessary infrastructure and skills of statistical and other relevant technical staff to link administrative records with statistical registers.
- Develop guidelines and best practices on optimal use of administrative data for official statistics, including statistical standards, harmonization tools and development of metadata.
- Support countries as they develop national plans to achieve improved use of administrative records in the production of official statistics, in cooperation with the national partners.
Objective 3.3: Strengthen and expand System of National Accounts and the System of Environmental Economic Accounts
Key Actions:
- Support the implementation of the System of National Accounts and the System of Environmental Economic Accounts, taking into account country experiences to date and current capacity needs to improve implementation.
- Support the strengthening and further development of other satellite accounts, such as for unpaid work and tourism, among others.
Objective 3.4: Integrate geospatial data into statistical production programmes at all levels.
Key Actions:
- Promote the integration of modern geospatial information management systems within mainstream statistical production programmes by highlighting synergies between the two systems.
- Promote the integration of geospatial and statistical metadata.
- Encourage the use and adoption of technologies that promote integration of geospatial and statistical information.
- Support the implementation of the Global Statistical and Geospatial Framework, when it is adopted.
Objective 3.5: Strengthen and expand data on all groups of population to ensure that no is left behind
Key Actions:
- Improve the production of high-quality, accessible, timely, reliable and disaggregated data by all characteristics relevant in national contexts to ensure that no one is left behind.
- Promote the systematic mainstreaming of gender equality in all phases of planning, production and usage of data and statistics.
- Support the strengthening and further development of methodology and standards for disability statistics.
- Promote the expansion of data collection programmes to ensure the coverage of all age groups.
Objective 3.6: Strengthen and expand data on domains that are currently not well developed within the scope of official statistics.
Key Actions:
- Develop, standardize and improve coverage and quality of data that today are beyond the scope of official statistics.
- Promote the implementation of the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistical (FDES 2013).
- Advance the construction of concepts and methodologies to obtain indicators that are more difficult to measure.
- Develop a comprehensive data quality assurance framework to be adopted by data producers, including for new data sources.
- Build and/or strengthen partnerships between national statistical offices and line ministries.
Strategic Area 4:
Dissemination and use of sustainable development data.
Objective 4.1: Develop and promote innovative strategies to ensure proper dissemination and use of data for sustainable development
Key Actions:
- Promote the development of technological infrastructure for better data dissemination.
- Leverage the experience of the MDGs in using online methods for the dissemination of SDG statistics, including the use of SDMX.
- Develop effective communication and data dissemination strategies and guidelines for public and private dialogue oriented to policy-makers, legislators, the media, the general public, the economy, etc.
- Leverage the use of e-learning platforms to share knowledge between producers and users of statistics.
- Develop and implement educational programmes to increase data literacy and data misuse recognition and empower institutions and individuals to use statistics effectively in their own decisions.
- Promote the adoption of policies for access and use of micro-data and strategies for micro-data archiving.
- Promote regular review and updates to statistical laws, frameworks and guidelines to address issues related to privacy and confidentiality.
Strategic Area 5:
Multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable development data
Objective 5.1: Develop and strengthen partnerships of national and international statistical systems with governments, academia, civil society, private sector and other stakeholders involved in the production and use of data for sustainable development
Key Actions:
- Improve the transparency and accessibility of official statistics to the public.
- Create frequent and periodic opportunities to consult with all stakeholders on the production and use of statistics for sustainable development by (i) organising a UN World Forum on Sustainable Development Data every second year; (ii) establishing similar venues for on-going consultations and cooperation at regional and national levels.
- Develop the institutional arrangements that are needed for public-private cooperation, including the use of data from non-official sources, in accordance with the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.
Strategic Area 6:
Mobilize resources and coordinate efforts for statistical capacity building
Objective 6.1: Ensure that resources are available to implement the necessary programmes and actions as outlined in this global action plan (both domestic and from international cooperation)
Key Actions:
- Provide an overview of capacity needs based on the implemented or existing needs assessments and consider appropriate matches between types of support and types of needs.
- Identify and coordinate existing resources, including south-south and triangular cooperation mechanisms, to strategically address these needs, and identify resource gaps.
- Develop a programme for statistical capacity building on the basis of capacity needs.
- Mobilize donor support towards the priorities agreed in national and regional statistical strategies and promote reporting on financing for statistics.
- Create opportunities for participation of non-state actors in funding statistical activities through innovative financing mechanisms using means consistent with the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.
- Promote nationally and/or regionally-owned coordination mechanisms of capacity building initiatives
- Support countries in the implementation of the SDG indicator framework.
- Engage in communication and advocacy activities at the policy-making level to raise awareness and understanding of implementation aspects of the SDG indicator framework.
- Develop criteria and mechanisms to set priorities for the mobilization of resources.
- Promote the sharing of relevant implementation experiences between countries.
