A Guide to Developing a
State Strategic Statistical Plan (SSSP) in the States and
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Chapter
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Chapter
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Chapter
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Chapter
7 Phase IV: Preparing the implementation plan, budget and financing plan |
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Chapter
8 Phase V: Implementation, performance indicators and monitoring, reporting
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8.6 Completion of the plan for monitoring
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Annex
1 Possible economies in preparing SSSPs given similarities in states’
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Annex 3 Using the information in the 35 Study Reports and the Synthesis |
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Chapter1
1.1 General
1 The State Strategic Statistical Plan (SSSP or Plan) is expected to provide a state with a strategy for strengthening statistical capacity across the entire State Statistical System (SSS). The preparation of a SSSP provides the opportunity for all stakeholders to assess the current status of statistics, to review data needs, provide a vision for where the SSS should be in five to ten years and set out strategies for getting there. The Plan should set out a viable, technically sound and user-oriented work program with planned actions, including inter-alia budget lines and time lines covering capacity building for institutional, data production, dissemination and other reforms aimed at achieving the desired improvements. It should present a framework for continual assessment of user needs and priorities for statistics. It should also provide a framework for mobilizing resources (both state and national through the India Statistical Strengthening Project (ISSP)), and a framework for monitoring achievement of the Plan. It should also ensure that statistical activities are being developed and managed in as coordinated, efficient and effective a manner as possible.
1.2 SSSP Essentials
2 In more detail, a good SSSP will satisfy the following principles:
The SSSP should be integrated into state and national development
policy processes and context. It should:
· have political support and commitment, and be championed by high-level state and national official(s);
· be demand-focused and user-friendly, responding to needs and priorities for information to enable governments to manage for results;
· develop statistics as a public good, funded from state government budgets, complemented (where appropriate) by national and international support;
· be mainstreamed as part of state and national development policy;
· respect all relevant legislation or regulation, recommending changes where appropriate;
· work within the state and national context, both cultural and institutional.
The SSSP should be developed in an inclusive way, incorporating results-based
management principles and meet quality standards. It should:
· be the output of a consensus-building/advocacy process, which helps build commitment and partnerships, with clear processes for consultation throughout;
· be the output of genuinely state led, owned and inclusive participatory processes including all stakeholder groups (e.g. users, analysts, producers, government, private sector, and civil society);
· incorporate results-based management principles in its design, and manage its implementation with performance indicators (e.g. for the supply of statistical information, user satisfaction, governance, support to state and national policies, confidentiality) and a performance reporting, monitoring and evaluation plan;
· follow the values and principles portrayed by the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics[1] ( details at Annex -6) to produce useful high-quality data that will have the confidence of users of statistics;
· comply with designated technical specifications as set down by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) or other competent authority (complying with international standards, recommendations and experience to capitalize on worldwide knowledge).
The SSSP should be comprehensive
and coherent and provide the basis for the
sustainable development of statistics with quality (i.e., "fit for
purpose"). It should:
· cover the whole SSS, that is all state entities involved in production of official statistics including all data collection, analysis, dissemination and use from censuses, surveys and administrative systems;
· have mechanisms for coordination and consultation;
· provide a platform for the long-term, sustainable development of statistics whilst also addressing immediate needs for statistics;
· contribute to the basis for evidence-based decision making, with quality that is "fit for purpose" (relevance, accuracy, timeliness, independence);
The SSSP should show where the statistical system is now, how it needs
to be developed and how to accomplish this. It should:
· provide an assessment of the current status of the SSS (where we are), incorporating a comprehensive appraisal of statistical outputs measured against agreed criteria;
· maintain appropriate statistical production and procedures, and build on existing activities and on-going processes;
· provide a vision for state statistics (where we want to go), strategies to deliver the vision (how we plan to get there) which address institutional, organizational and operational constraints, and integrate performance indicators (how we know we have arrived);
· incorporate strategies for leadership and management, financial management, human resources, communications, infrastructure (e.g. information technologies) and dissemination as well as the technical work areas (e.g. national accounts, poverty and health statistics and others);
· set out a statistical capacity building programme, which (i) builds capacity to implement and adapt the strategies; (ii) turns statistics into information through analysis, dissemination, publicity and user education; (iii) is prioritized/sequenced and timetabled; (iv) provides the framework for (annual) implementation work plans; (v) is realistic, pragmatic and flexible enough to cope with changes in priorities over time, new information needs and lessons learnt, and is as easy to accomplish as possible;
· outline the financing requirements while responding to user needs but be realistic about resources (implies prioritization, sequencing, cost effectiveness: e.g. considers alternative ways of compiling data such as administrative records and sample surveys).
3 These Guidelines have been prepared primarily to assist states to design their SSSPs. The Guidelines are not prescriptive, recognizing the wide variations in states and organisations that will be using them. They are necessarily broad but provide a solid introduction to strategic planning for an SSSP design team. They are designed to be practical and to provide an outline of the main processes involved in developing a strategic approach to statistical capacity building. Where specific advice seems warranted and appropriate, such advice is built into the Guidelines
4 How the SSSP approach is applied will vary from state to state and will depend on a number of factors, including what is already in place, the local environment for statistics, and administrative structures. The approach in the Guide is thought to be appropriate for the wide range of situations and characteristics of the states. States have been categorized into three Groups for the ISSP (specified in Table C, Expected Results and Monitoring Framework, page 30 of the National Strategic Statistical Plan (NSSP)); the three Groups should follow the general principles set out in this Guide but with modifications reflecting the expected results set out in the above referred Table C of the NSSP which reflects the variations in current situation and assessed capacity of the three Groups. The Guide is much more about what needs to be taken into account and what kinds of things need to be done rather than about what should be achieved, how tools and processes should be applied in practice and what strategies should be adopted.
5 It is anticipated that, as the Guide is used in practice, the material will be adapted by states to meet their particular needs. States should feel free to adapt the Guide to meet their own situations. There is no right or wrong way to apply strategic planning to state statistical systems; the primary criterion should be what works in practice in a given situation and at a given location. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), Government of India would like to encourage all those interested in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of official statistics to contribute to the process of developing this material, especially by sharing experience of what works and what does not and identify those sections of the Guide that might benefit from modification or expansion.
1.4 Possible economies in preparing SSSPs
6 The 35 Study Reports (March 2007) on ‘Identifying Specific Requirements for Strengthening of State Statistical Bureaus’, one for each state, reveal many similarities in the SSSs. The SSSPs can be expected to have many commonalities, along with some variations in cases where a unique situation may exist or where priorities and timing may differ. Consequently, many of the goals, priorities, strategies, and elements of the implementation plans of the states can legitimately be expected to be somewhat similar or identical. For example all states will probably need to develop the following which would be very similar from state to state:
· Human Resources (HR) Development Plan/Strategy
· Training Needs Assessment and Plan
· Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Assessment and Strategy
· ICT Hardware and Software Specifications
· How to develop and implement a web-site and what to put on it
· Specification of the set of metadata to be made available to users
· Strategy for Improving Coordination
· Advocacy Plan
· Specification of the Responsibilities of the DES/SSB as Nodal Agency
· Programme of User Consultations/Seminars and Agendas for them
· Data Dissemination Policy
· Programme for Outreach to Providers of Raw Data to Improve Response Rates
· Specifications of a State Data Bank and its Establishment and Operation
· State Statistical Legislation Complementary to the National Legislation
·
A Programme to
7 While the principle is very clear that each state is to develop its own unique SSSP and a ‘one size fits all’ approach is to be avoided, the fact of the significant similarities raises the possibility of economies to be achieved in the preparation of the SSSPs. States may be able to benefit selectively from the SSSP work done by other states, especially in the areas listed above. It may be useful if all the SSSPs and the Strategies/Plans/Programmes/Specifications listed above are placed on the state and MOSPI website so that states may benefit from the experience of others; additionally it may be useful for guidelines to be issued to help states to prepare them. Annex-1 presents an analysis of the similarities among the states based on the 35 Study Reports and the basis for possible economies in preparing the SSSPs.
1.5 Credits
8 The Guidelines draw heavily on:
“A Guide to Designing a National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS)”, Paris21 Secretariat, November 2004;
“Guide to Drafting a Roadmap for Designing a National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS)”, Paris21 Secretariat, February 2005;
“NSDS Essentials-check list” and “Explanatory Notes” Paris21 Secretariat, February 2006
“National Strategies for Statistical Development (NSSD)-General Presentation”, Paris21 Secretariat, 2004
“Mainstreaming sectoral statistical
systems in
“National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS): Some issues in design and implementation planning”, Paris21 Secretariat, March 2007;
“Guidelines for preparing a STATCAP Statistical Master Plan”, World Bank;
“Reference Regional Strategic
Framework for Statistical
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Chapter 2 What makes a good SSSP
2.1 Phases of the SSSP process
1 The preparation of a good SSSP requires a carefully managed process. The following phases are recommended and considered in the chapters indicated below.
Phase I: Launching/leading the SSSP process (
2 The key outcomes of this Phase will be a decision to prepare a SSSP and a plan/Road Map to develop the SSSP. The decision to develop an SSSP will have already been made in the Letter of Participation (LOP). The agencies leading the preparation of the SSSP will need to prepare a plan/ or Road Map/ or calendar of actions that will set out what needs to be done, by whom, when and how it will be financed. Arrangements for coordination and consultation with users and producers need to be set up in this Phase.
Phase II: Assessment/diagnosis of the current status of the SSS (see
Chapter 5)
3 This Phase involves an assessment of the current status of the SSS (statistical environment, legislation, coordination, institutional, organizational, management and consultation framework), and statistical operations including from the user perspective; identifying constraints on performance and development; the assessment should take account of any existing improvement programmes.
Phase III: Developing the vision, strategic goals, priorities and
strategies (see Chapter 6)
4 These activities build on the assessment/diagnosis and, through a dialogue with stakeholders, permit development of a vision, setting out an agreed statement of what the government and other stakeholders want from the SSS over time e.g. an outline of the results expected of the data production system; strategic goals compatible with the vision; priorities among the goals; and strategies to overcome the constraints and achieve the goals.
Phase IV: Preparing the implementation plan, budget and financing plan (see
Chapter 7)
5 A detailed action plan with a timetable should be developed to implement the strategies; the cost of carrying out the plan should be estimated to form a budget; a financial plan incorporating the proposals for assistance under the ISSP should be developed.
Phase V: Implementation, performance indicators and monitoring,
reporting and evaluation (see Chapter 8)
6 The SSS needs to provide for managing change and mechanisms to monitor, report on, and evaluate progress, to allow review of progress, and to make modifications to strategies and plans when required. This involves establishing performance indicators.
2.2
Observations on timing and length
7 The Road Map could be completed in about a month of elapsed
time; its length could be 5-10 pages of text (exclusive of any annexes). A Road
Map may also be presented in tabular form with columns of Period of time, Action
to be taken, Action by whom, and Output expected. Annex 2 includes an abridged
extract from a Road Map for the strategic planning process in
2.3 Building on what is already in place
8 The states need to develop/formulate a SSSP drawn on the basis of the broad directions contained in the NSSP and the state-specific reports prepared by MOSPI for each state. A SSSP should build on institutions, the legal basis, procedures, and outputs etc that are already in place and assessed to be appropriate.
9 There are several reports and other relevant material on what is already in place:
The Study Report on Identifying Specific Requirements for Strengthening of State Statistical Bureaus (March 2007) brought out by MOSPI (the 35 Study Reports,one for each state);
The Synthesis of the 35 Study Reports on ‘Identifying Specific Requirements for Strengthening of State Statistical Bureaus’ brought out by MOSPI, (the Synthesis Report);
The Report (available on the website of the International Monetary Fund viz. IMF) on Observance of Standards and Codes - Data Module, International Monetary Fund, March 2004. This report assesses data quality at the national level, but is valuable for identifying strengths and weaknesses.
The National Strategic Statistical Plan (NSSP)- June 2008 brought out by MOSPI.
The individual state LOPs for the ISSP sent by State/UT Governments to Secretary of MOSPI (various dates), Government of India.
The Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to be entered in to between the State/UT Governments and the Government of India (GOI) with regard to implementation of the SSSP within the limits of the ISSP, various dates.
The Report of the National Statistical Commission, August 2001.
10 Each state should identify any other relevant initiatives and reports, perhaps relating to statistics that are the responsibility of state line departments.
11 Observations on the use that states can make of the 35 Study Reports and the Synthesis Report, and cautions, are set out in Annex 3. The Annex also contains some guidance on how the Study Reports can be made more usable by deleting duplicated material in some chapters and reconciling differing content in some chapters, in particular lists of activities for “Undertaking new activities for strengthening the statistical system” and “Technical measures for meeting/bridging data gaps”.
2.4
Coverage of all
statistical institutions in the state
12 A lot of data are produced by state line departments such as education, health, agriculture, and others. They are used for management of sector-specific programmes and projects and feed into national statistics. Current best practice is for strategic plans that cover the complete SSS. Deciding on what agencies are to be covered by the SSSP in any state will be a state decision, but in general the coverage should include all statistical activities of all state institutions, including the 20 key statistical activities listed in Annex-7.
13 Experience suggests that bringing other agencies within the scope of the SSSP may well need to be done gradually. Not all agencies may see the advantages of active participation from the outset. In these circumstances, a more gradual approach, which promotes participation by demonstrating the advantages, may well be more effective than one which simply requires participation through external pressure.
2.5 Focusing on demand as well
as supply
14 To be effective, the SSSP should be demand-focused to maximize the value-added to users of statistical outputs. To effectively serve users, statistical managers need to have an understanding of who the users are and develop mechanisms for regular consultation with them. In virtually all states, there would be a diverse and large number of users of state-generated statistics, at both state and national level, including: policymakers and decision-makers in government and quasi-governmental bodies; politicians at all levels; researchers, analysts, and academicians; civil society organisations such as NGOs; private sector organisations; international and regional organizations, the donor community, the media and the public at large.
2.6 Statistics for use at
different geographic levels
15 Strategic planning for SSSs should take into consideration use of statistics at different levels - national, state and sub-state levels. In the Indian context, as the process of decentralization is a cornerstone of the development policy, it is important that the situation of local government, is acknowledged and addressed in the SSSP process.
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Chapter 3 Phase I: Launching/leading the SSSP process (
1 The Road Map is the plan and timetable for producing the
SSSP. Once prepared, it is the reference document for all participants involved
in the preparation of the SSSP. The suggested structure and contents of each
chapter are set out below. The annotations are extensive but not
exhaustive; there may be other specific elements for states to take into
account; they are supplemented by the other text in this chapter.
A Statistical and political background and
context
This
chapter can include:
Reminder
viz. an aide-memoire of all official decisions and rationale that have led to
the decision to produce the SSSP
Definition
of the scope of the SSS
General
overview of the current situation in the SSS including from any recent studies
Current
statistical development initiatives in the SSS
Reminder
viz. an aide-memoire of the dates of the major political events in the state such
as budget meetings
List of
documents relating to the development of the SSS
B Overview of the goals, process and expected
outputs
The
general goal is to prepare a SSSP. The goal of the Road Map is to describe how to
prepare the SSSP. This chapter can state the main principles of the SSSP design
process, which are:
It
covers the entire SSS.
It
embraces a participatory approach, enlisting the contribution of all
stakeholders; i.e. is inclusive and transparent;
It is
integrated into state decision-making processes;
It takes
into account what already exists and is adapted to the real situation in the
state.
It is
conducted in phases to simplify situations that are generally complex and
foresees for each stage consultation prior to the preparation of studies and
reports; review of all progress reports by stakeholders; submission of
proposals to authorities for decision; and production and distribution of final
documents and dissemination of information on all decisions taken.
It is
endorsed by state authorities after each phase.
It is
conducted by the state and is state owned.
The expected
outputs will include studies, progress reports, evaluation reports, strategy
documents, planning documents, conclusions of workshops or formal committee
meetings, and advice after review from the Statistical Council/ Steering
Committee, and decisions from the Council of Ministers, etc.
C Inclusion of the SSSP in the state
development policies and political and budgetary timetable
This
chapter will clarify how the state will integrate the SSSP into the state
development policies. In particular,
this section will show how the SSSP design timetable will fit into the state's
political and budgetary timetable.
D Overall organisation and roles of all
participants
This
chapter describes the organizational arrangements to be adopted by the state to
design its SSSP. Organising the work means identifying/establishing the teams
to design and approve the SSSP and delineating the roles and responsibilities
of these teams.
D.1 Steering Committee/State Authority: the
state decision making body
Under the LOP, each State/UT is to establish a high level Steering
Committee for the ISSP under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary and
including a representative of MOSPI. The Steering Committee is to be empowered
to issue the necessary directions to all participating departments/agencies of
the State/UT concerned with statistical matters. States may have their own unique
State Authority which decides on and validates all statistical activities in
the state. If such a state authority exists, its relationship to the Steering
Committee would need to be clarified for the purposes of the SSSP. The
principle is to validate the SSSP at the highest level of government possible
D.2 State Statistical Committee or similar
The State Statistical Committee or similar may
exist in some states and would be the forum in which the widest consultation of all stakeholders (producers,
users, academics etc) takes place; it
would be responsible for providing advice and would have reporting arrangements
to the state statistics authority.
Technical
management and leadership will be needed to coordinate the design of the SSSP
and subsequently, its implementation.
The Project
Management Team may be established as the main design and implementing body
that would drive the process forward; it would conduct the studies, write the
reports, conduct/organize consultations including workshops, develop proposals and
present draft decisions to the authorities (and may ultimately manage the
implementation of the Plan as well). The configuration of the design team can
change from phase to phase, but it is important to maintain a core team
throughout the process.
The
Project Management Team should not be so large as to be unwieldy. A core team
of, say, three to four people might be adequate, with ideally some of these
working full-time during the entire design process, with additional
people/teams to address various aspects of design, assessment and specialist
issues. Members of the Team should come from various parts of the SSS,
including sectoral line departments and decentralised structures of government
and comprise a mix of statisticians, analysts, and other users of statistics. Members
of the Team may come from the State Statistical Committee or its equivalent.
There needs to be a clear signal on objectivity, which could be provided by
engaging a broad membership, including one or more independent people to help
the team to address issues objectively.
The Project
Management Team may be under the supervision of a Manager, most likely provided
by the DES/SSB or designated Nodal Agency. (The LOP requires each state to specify
which entity will play the leadership role (nodal agency) for all statistical
matters in the States/UT and to be the Point of Interaction with MOSPI). A secretariat
providing logistical support should also be made available to the Team. It is
important that all involved be allowed sufficient time by their institutions to
effectively & efficiently play the role expected of them on the Team. The
Project Management Team would report to the State Statistical Committee or
similar which would, in turn, report to the State Authority.
Since the
assessment of the SSS requires the gathering of information and assessment covering
many areas and many issues, the Project Management Team could be assisted by
Specialised Teams that could conduct studies on such matters as HR, ICT, user needs and satisfaction, data
production systems, legislation etc
Advisors
or Committees of Experts may be consulted for technical expertise/advice on topics
such as Legal issues, ICT, and HR management.
E Steps
to prepare the SSSP and the timetable
In this
chapter, the list of activities, reports, meetings, etc that are thought to be
necessary as a part of preparing the SSSP may be listed, along with an estimate
of their timelines and who is to be responsible. This is the detailed timetable
for preparing the SSSP. The actions may include the following (the details for
any state may differ from those below)
E1 -
Launching
·
writing and endorsement
of the draft Road Map
·
setting up of the organization
structure for designing the SSSP
·
mobilisation of needed
resources
·
setting up arrangements
for advocacy
·
proposing a timetable
for preparing the SSSP that takes into account the state’s situation,
priorities and deadlines. The participatory approach requires more time than
the drafting of an expert’s report does. The endorsement from state authorities
can also affect the timetable
·
review and decisions
from authorities
E2 -
Assessment
·
setting up of the mechanisms/individuals/teams
for doing the assessment;
·
Setting up arrangements
for information collection and sharing
·
specifying a system of appraisal,:
(i) evaluation of environmental, legal, coordination, institutional,
organizational, management and consultation performance; (ii) evaluation of HR,
physical infrastructure, ICT, statistical infrastructure, financial resources;
(iii) evaluation of the data production system; (iv) evaluation of user
satisfaction.
·
establishment of an
assessment/synthesis of the current situation
·
a report on the
assessment
·
review and decisions
from authorities
E3 –
Vision, goals, priorities and strategies
·
definition of the
vision for SSS development
·
selection of strategic
goals, and for each goal, a set of strategies and actions needed for building
the capacity necessary to produce the desired results
·
establishment of
priorities among the goals
·
comparative study of
the alternative strategies
·
draft proposals to be
submitted to authorities
·
review and decisions
from authorities
E4 -
Action plans, timetable, budget, sources of finance
·
establishment of an
implementation programme covering the plan period
·
establishment of a
draft activity programme for year 1, taking into account upcoming budgetary
discussions
·
preparation of a detailed
advocacy programme
·
Estimation of the required resources (human, equipment and
financial) for design and preparation of the Plan covering such items as : secretariat
and logistics, drafting of reports, consultations and technical assistance, information
gathering, technical syntheses, review of draft documents, workshops, statutory
meetings, printing and distribution of documentation, the Project management
Team’s operational expenses
·
Determine the sources
of funding and expertise.
·
Approval of
implementation plan, budget and sources of finance by the authorities
F Implementation,
performance indicators and monitoring, reporting and evaluation.
·
arrangements for managing change
·
arrangements for selecting indicators for
monitoring
·
design of reporting and evaluation mechanism
for SSSP implementation
G Final
steps
·
draft proposals to be
submitted to authorities
·
review and decisions
from authorities
·
consolidation of all
decisions and documentation on the SSSP
H Annexes - As considered necessary.
3.2 Consultation is the key
in developing the SSSP
2 The SSSP should be the result of a broad consensus which can only be reached if there is an extensive and continuous consultation with all the concerned stakeholders. Arrangements for this should be established in the launching phase and continue to the monitoring, reporting and evaluation phase. The consultations may include workshops, reviews of draft documents, and other forms of contact.
3 Workshops should be held at key stages of the design process when broad consultation and discussion is needed, for instance: to launch the design activities ; at the beginning of the assessment phase; at the end of the assessment phase to review the draft report on the system assessment; at the end of the vision and strategy phase to review the scenarios and formulate advice on the comparative advantages; after adoption of the programming report to launch SSSP implementation. For example, a launch workshop could be convened to engage key stakeholders, and discuss the benefits that are expected to emerge from the SSSP and what is expected of the stakeholders. It might have an agenda, relating, for example, to the following:
· Advocacy film on strategic planning for statistics (Paris21)
· Outline problems and possibilities for the SSS as expressed by the DES/SSB and the state line departments; ( this starts the process of consultation on the performance of the SSS in satisfying information needs)
· Outline the ISSP and the NSSP
· Outline proposals for designing the SSSP and preparing for implementation, including outlining processes and timelines
· Introduction to relevant guidelines, standards, frameworks and concepts
3.3 The need for political
leadership and support
4 Also, during the launch phase, arrangements should be made for political leaders and senior officials to approve, launch, and be engaged in the SSSP design process as early as possible. A plan that has a senior political champion (or preferably champions) driving the process forward can be expected to yield better results. At the political level, there should be a focus on engaging with the Minister of Finance and/or Planning. Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and/or Planning as champions of statistical development as their agencies are among the main users of statistics in the State.
5 This kind of leadership is established with the LOP. It is signed by the Chief Secretary and calls for a Steering Committee chaired by him/her. The LOP includes the commitment by the state government to supply the necessary land and buildings and meet all associated recurring expenditures including manpower, and commitment by MOSPI to provide the necessary technical and financial assistance to meet the non-recurring expenditures for implementing the ISSP. The signing of the LOP may be followed by a public statement by a high level official about the plan to develop statistics and statistical system in the participating State/UT.
6 Statistical
advocacy should be included as a priority activity in the Road Map. Statistical advocacy is about
creating statistical awareness (numeracy) and a society that is inclined and
able to use statistical information in decision making; making the general case
that statistics are a necessary part of the enabling environment for improving
development outcomes; demonstrating the use of statistical data for
decision-making at the government, business, and community level; making a case
for specific statistical activities such as the population and housing census
by drawing attention to the range of uses census data can be put to; mobilizing
and properly using state and national resources for statistics; and promoting
coordinated investment in developing statistical capacity.
7 Every opportunity should be taken and optionally utilised at the launching phase to sensitise stakeholders about the SSSP and how its implementation will contribute to statistical development in the country. It is important that everyone in the DES/SSB and all key stakeholders in the SSS get educated about, understand, share and embrace the vision of the SSSP, the strategies for achieving them and how their individual actions and those of others will contribute to the achievement of the SSSP goals and objectives. In particular, staff of the SSS should be mobilised to support it. The staff should be educated about changes to be brought about by it and how their individual contributions will affect the realisation of its goals.
3.5 Developing a
communications plan
8 From the launch phase, the SSSP Project Management Team will need to keep stakeholders informed of progress throughout the design and development process, communicating key messages, keeping the momentum going and building wider support for the strategy, for instance amongst Parliamentarians/Legislators and the general public. A communication plan will be helpful and will need to be supported by staff and a budget.
9 Different modes of communication and messages are likely to be needed for different audiences and at different points of the issue. A regular briefing note or newsletter could be addressed to all identified stakeholders, reporting progress and inviting comments and contributions. A separate briefing arrangement might be needed for Parliamentarians/Legislators, preparing the ground, for instance, for new legislation; as well as regular reports to those responsible for both the technical and political management of the strategy process (e.g., steering committees). Informing and building support more generally could be tackled through the media, including Press Releases and briefing, radio and TV interviews, and posters. The programme should also aim to break communication barriers in the SSS, encourage a free flow of information and ideas on initiatives for achieving SSSP objectives and help to position the SSSP in the public eye.
10 All documentation produced and decisions taken during the SSSP design process should be made available on a state website as also given wide and extensive publicity through the other modes of communication available.
Chapter 4 The first two
chapters of the SSSP
1 Having completed the Phase 1 “launch” and prepared the Road
Map, the SSSP itself can be prepared. The rest of this Guideline publication
presents the CHAPTERS
AND SECTIONS of the SSSP outline with
annotations. The annotations are extensive but not
exhaustive; there may be other specific elements for states to take into account;
they are supplemented by the other text in chapters 4 through 8.
2 The first two chapters of the SSSP are BACKGROUND AND PROCESS and CURRENT DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE STATISTICAL SYSTEM. Comments on these follow:
1.
BACKGROUND AND PROCESS
1.1 Statistical and political background and
context
This
chapter can be prepared by modifying the text prepared for Chapter A of the
Road Map by adding an overview of the NSSP, introduction of the 20 key
statistical activities, and state and national government general and sectoral public
policy development and reform strategies and their implications for state
statistics.
1.2 Overview of the process including
consultation with stakeholders
This
chapter can be prepared by modifying the text prepared for Chapter B of the
Road Map by adding a list of all agencies and entities consulted, both in the
public and private sectors, and deleting text relating to the phased approach
of the Road Map.
2. CURRENT DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE
STATISTICAL SYSTEM
2.1
Description of the system
The
description should include a general description of the structure of the system
(decentralized), overall resources deployed, any arrangements for standard
setting, coordination among producers, interactions with users, statistical
cadre.
2.2 The main data producing agencies and
division of responsibilities
For
each of the main agencies, describe functions and responsibilities, including
details of activities, budgets, staff, and outputs and services.
2.2.1
State Statistical Bureau
2.2.2
Department of Education
2.2.3
Department of Health
2.2.4 Others
viz. other Departments wherein statistical activities are undertaken on a
regular and continuing basis
--------------------
Chapter 5 Phase II Assessment/diagnosis of the current status of the SSS
5.1 The approach to assessment
1 As the first step in developing a SSSP, an in-depth assessment of the current status of the SSS is carried out. The assessment should be realistic and objective. It should be benchmarked against standards as appropriate (e.g. technical specifications issued by the CSO and as expressed in Chapter 3 of the Synthesis Report (see the annotations for 3.2.7 below for the list of technical specifications that are available on the MOSPI website)). The assessment should lead to an understanding of the supportiveness of the external environment for statistics, the adequacy of management and resources, and the extent to which outputs meet user needs for the SSS as a whole and of the individual agencies.
2 The Project Management Team might identify small groups of SSS staff and key stakeholders with whom to conduct these assessments and confirm findings with the leadership of the SSS and key stakeholders. It may be useful to discuss first with users and then wherever relevant with the central ministries as these ministries will have a broad overview of the main policies being considered and the consequent data needs, and then approach the sectoral departments for their needs. The needs of local government also need to be addressed.
3 The statement of information needs should be compared with what is already available and planned in the SSS to identify gaps. Where data are available, quality or timeliness standards need to be agreed, for instance by using the IMF Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) dimensions of quality which are set out in Chapter 3 of the Synthesis Report, and the available data need to be matched against these standards to assess their fitness for purpose. If the data are not sufficiently accurate or reliable to be used with confidence for the purpose for which they are intended, then these should also be marked as those needing development.
4 A Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis can help with assessment, identifying opportunities and threats which are largely beyond the control of the agencies; and strengths on which to build the strategy, and weaknesses to be addressed. The SWOT analysis identifies and evaluates controllable activities within the organisation that are performed especially well (Strengths) or poorly (Weaknesses). The strategy is to build on the strengths and mitigate or eliminate weaknesses. The SWOT analysis also involves environmental scanning which identifies and evaluates those economic, social, environmental, political, legal, governmental, technological trends and events that could benefit the organisation (Opportunities) or harm it (Threats). A summary of the SWOT analysis is usually presented in a report form and a table. Annex 4 contains some notes on the use and practice of SWOT analysis.
5.2
Notes on assessing user
satisfaction and needs
5 There are many types of users, including politicians,
government agencies, research organizations, public and private sector companies,
civil society organisations, academia, the media, the general public, and donor
and international agencies. Users tend to have many statistical needs, and every
effort should be made to guide users to identify their priorities. Also user
needs and priorities change, and tracking these changes requires that consultation
and dialogue with users should be a
committed regular, periodic and on-going activity.
6 The consultations and discussions with users should aim to establish, among other things:
· how they use statistics in their operations; their ability to make effective use of statistical information
· their assessment of the adequacy of existing statistics in terms of relevance, accuracy, consistency, completeness, timeliness, level of dis-aggregation (geographic, gender, etc.) and accessibility;
· their current and perceived future statistical needs and priorities and where there are gaps; and
· how they think their needs can best be met in the context of the SSSP .
7 One approach is to identify those who are interested in particular data sets or groups of data and arrange for periodic and regular contact with these users. The mailing list used for dissemination of statistics and those frequently in contact with the DES/ SSB and other state-level statistical agencies may be a good starting point in identifying the main data users. Selected institutions from each of the main user groups should be included in the consultation and discussions held with them, either individually or in small groups, whilst others might be invited to contribute their views/comments and suggestions in writing. The process should ensure that policy and decision makers as well as technical staff in user institutions are consulted.
8 A second approach to user involvement that has met with success is workshops. These workshops bring together data compilers /producers and data users and encourage dialogue among them. One large multi-subject workshop can be useful, especially if some prior work has been done on assessing the extent to which user needs have been met. Otherwise, several workshops can be held dealing with specific statistical fields.
9 A standard questionnaire is useful for these kinds of assessments such as the one that was used for the preparation of the 35 Study Reports, available from MOSPI.
5.3 Completion of the assessment
10 The assessment should result in (a series of) reports being prepared on the various aspects assessed, and shared with all stakeholders. A Workshop of all stakeholders should review and adopt the assessment reports.
5.4 The SSS as a whole and the main agencies
11 The assessment can be broken down into an assessment of the System as a whole and an assessment of each of the Main Agencies and their outputs and user needs.
12 The above observations are
reflected in the relevant chapter and section headings of the SSSP as follows:
3.
ASSESSMENT OF STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF CURRENT SYSTEM
3.1 System as a whole
3.1.0 The environment for statistics in the state
Consideration
of the external environment of the SSS should identify and evaluate the
economic, social, political, and technological environment which may be
supportive of or a hindrance to the operation
of the SSS. It should review the level of statistical awareness in the state;
the extent to which statistics are utilized, especially for evidence-based policy
and decision-making; and any reform programmes ( state reforms and the national
public policy reform programmes) which may impact upon the SSS.
3.1.1 Adequacy of legislation
Describe
and assess how the legal basis is supportive of or a hindrance, if any, to statistical
operations at the state level in terms of providing necessary authority to collect
and publish data, preserving confidentiality, establishing the organizational
basis for at least a DES/SSB with nodal authority; and supporting independence
of the SSS from political intervention (this assessment should cover national
statistical legislation and any complementary state legislation, including
legislation under which each of the agencies may operate, specific to any
particular field of statistics, including their mandates and roles). NOTE: The
United Nations Handbook of Statistical Organization [2]provides
an annotated model of a National Statistics Act, which states can use as a
guide to assess the adequacy of the national and state statistical legislation
for state purposes.
3.1.2 Coordination mechanisms among producers of
statistics
Describe
and assess the effectiveness of overall system-wide mechanisms e.g. committees
or other arrangements in place for coordination of statistical policy and
programs/activities among producers.
3.1.3 Mechanisms for consultation between producers
and users
Describe
and evaluate any overall system-wide arrangements e.g. committees or other
arrangements, for interaction between producers and users (any arrangement that
is unique to a particular agency can be treated under that agency under 3.2
below).
3.1.4 Institutional, integrity, professional,
transparency and ethical principles
This
part of the assessment relates, in part, to the institutional framework of the
SSS. Assess (i) whether the quality of
statistics is affected by the institutional structure in the state e.g. the
position and status of statistical agencies within government, for instance, as autonomous or
semi-autonomous agencies or as part of a
government ministry or
department; (ii) the extent to which the
agencies are objective in the collection, processing and dissemination of
statistics, and whether statistical policies and practices are guided by professional
principles; (iii) whether operations are transparent e.g. the extent to which
analysis is undertaken and whether there
is clear separation of statistical products from statistical analysis; and (iv)
whether any guidelines for ethical staff
behavior are in place.
3.1.5 Statistical cadre
Describe
the existence or otherwise of a statistical cadre and the effectiveness of its
operation (wherever applicable)
3.2 Main agencies (Do a separate series of
sections 3.2.1-3.2.10 for each of the state agencies participating in the SSSP)
3.2.1 Organizational arrangements
Evaluate
organizational arrangements in the agency including the strengths and weaknesses
of regional/field units (District Statistical Offices and others) to carry out
surveys.
3.2.2 Management, including human resource
management
Describe
and evaluate HR policies for statistical staff; e.g. sources for hiring
professional staff, adequacy of compensation. Assess arrangements, if any, for staff
development/skill upgrading and career development.
3.2.3 Effectiveness
of the process of consulting with providers
Availability
of a published consolidated work programs to let the data/information providers
know the reasons for each data collection activity, and their work loads and
schedules to meet deadlines; provider response rates for key inquiries,
3.2.4 Effectiveness of process of consulting with
users
Describe
and assess any steps that the agency takes to consult with its users; assess user
satisfaction; assess media coverage that may be organized by the agency for
release of any of its statistical reports.
3.2.5 Adequacy of resources (human resources,
physical infrastructure, information and communications technology, statistical
infrastructure, and financial resources)
Evaluate
the supply and the weaknesses and gaps on the supply side. The review should
provide quantitative information on staffing by levels, availability of skills,
qualifications (sampling, IT, etc). Describe
and evaluate current physical infrastructure (buildings, vehicles, office
equipment), ICT infrastructure (both hardware and software). Identify the existence
or absence of a LAN, net-working arrangements, and website. Assess the
availability and quality of statistical infrastructure such as business
registers, sampling frames and types and nature of databases. Assess funding
levels for the SSS as a whole.
3.2.6
Type and purpose of data produced
List the
main data series produced under the appropriate thematic areas listed below:
A. Economic statistics (main series: e.g. Gross
State Domestic Product, Wholesale Price Index, Consumer Price Index and others)
B. Social and Demographic indicators (e.g. population,
gender etc)
C. Key sector statistics (e.g. agriculture,
industry etc)
D. General statistics (e.g. yearbooks,
compendia, etc
3.2.7 Methodological soundness
Assess whether the methodological basis for the statistics
follows CSO (or other) technical specifications,
which should, in turn, be, in accordance with internationally accepted
standards guidelines and good practices. At present, 24 Manuals pertaining to various
themes of ‘Official Statistics’ are under various stages of preparation and
finalization in MOSPI. Technical
specifications (draft or final), some dealing with the 20 key statistical
activities, are presently available on the MOSPI website, as per the details
given below:
|
National
Accounts Statistics: Estimation of State and District Income-2008 |
|
Manual on Index of Industrial Production |
|
Manual on Annual Survey of Industries |
3.2.8 Accuracy and reliability of data
Assess whether
source data and statistical techniques are sound and statistical outputs
sufficiently describe the real situation. Assess consistency between alternative
sources of data. Evaluate, for main surveys, the basis for sampling, the data
consistency checks, coverage, and frequency of collection. For data sets based
on administrative records, assess adequacy of coverage and other features. Assess
whether there is an appropriate/balanced use of surveys and administrative
records.
3.2.9 Usefulness/Serviceability of data; Assessment
of relevance
Evaluate
the extent to which statistical outputs are issued with periodicity and
timeliness following standards set (and users’ stated needs) (See Chapter 3 of
the Synthesis Report), and are consistent and revisions follow a regular and
publicized pattern. Assess that data in each field covers relevant information
in that field and meet users’ needs.
3.2.10 Accessibility
of data
Assess
whether data and metadata are easily available; and assistance to users is
adequate. This covers all aspects of dissemination and metadata availability,
including archiving of data for use in long term studies
---------------------
Chapter 6
Phase III: Developing the vision, strategic
goals, priorities and strategies
1 This chapter describes the inter-related concepts of "Mission": which describes the business that the organisation or system is in; "Vision": where the organization is heading; strategic goals compatible with the vision; a prioritisation plan among the goals; and strategies to achieve the goals.
6.1. Establishing the
2 A
3 The Mission statement for the CSO in India, as set out in the Report of the National Statistical Commission in September 2001, is “to provide, within the decentralized structure of the system, reliable, timely and credible social and economic statistics, to assist decision making within and outside the Government, stimulate research and promote informed debate relating to conditions affecting people’s life”. This mission statement may well be adopted by states, with the modification “to assist decision making within and outside the state government as well as the national government”.
4 The Vision answers the question: What do we want to become in the longer-term, perhaps 5-10 years from now? It should encompass goals, values, beliefs and expected outcomes. It should be short, usually not more than one or two sentences. The Vision would normally emerge from a brainstorming session of stakeholders led by the nodal agency.
5
In the case of the states, there are compelling guides as to the Vision for the
SSSs. As per the LOP, states should subscribe and conform to the national
vision and strategic policy framework as set out in the NSSP. As
set out in the NSSP, the vision for the Indian Statistical
System with special reference to the SSS is: “The immediate objective of
strengthening State Statistical System is to develop a coherent and consistent
system of data collection, analysis and dissemination within the present
structure of a decentralized set of responsibilities under the constitutional
framework. The system must ensure that
the statistics produced meet the needs of data at all levels of aggregation
from the national down to the sub-state level. It would also need to ensure
that the data generated at different levels are comparable both across time and
space. Achieving such an integrated
system will require action at various levels of the official statistical system
in
6 One of the commitments of the states would be to “Develop a State Strategic Statistical Plan (SSSP) which would outline the road-map which the State proposes to follow to meet the key statistical activities that have been laid out in the NSSP and other statistical activities that may be in the priority of the State.”
6.2 Strategic goals,
priorities and strategies
7 Having established where a SSS is (the Assessment), and where it wants to get to (the Vision), the next step is to establish the strategic goals (Overall Accomplishments to be achieved), priorities among the goals (which ones to be achieved first), and strategies (overall methods for achieving the goals and the vision).
Strategic goals
8 Strategic goals aim to address/resolve strategic or important issues which will have been identified during the assessment phase and which relate to achieving the Vision. The goals should be creative and forward-looking. As much as possible, they should be well defined and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time- bound).
9 Strategic goals relate to what is wanted to be achieved in relation to outputs i.e. the statistical products and services to meet user needs such as:
· methodological soundness;
· accuracy and reliability of data;
· usefulness/serviceability and relevance of data
· Access to the data by users.
10 They can also relate to educating and influencing the potential users, as in promoting the role of statistical information in society, and the management process of how the goals are met as in delivering the outputs efficiently. Some examples of strategic goals are set out in Annex 5.
11 It is also possible to set goals in terms of the inputs to the statistical process. This and the approach based on outputs are not mutually exclusive. The input approach looks at input issues such as:
· Environmental, legal, coordination, institutional, organizational, management, and consultation effectiveness
· Adequacy of HR
· Adequacy of physical facilities
· Adequacy of ICT
· Adequacy of statistical infrastructure
· Adequacy of financial resources.
12 However these factors may be looked at as strategies to achieve the output goals (See under Strategies below).
13 Strategic planners of a SSS will be faced with a wide variety of conflicting demands. The process of consultation will help in prioritizing the demands, and clear messages on priority needs will be provided by state and national policy processes and development plans. The final decision on priorities will need to be taken at an appropriate senior level in government. The 20 key statistical activities represent, for the present, priorities for all states under the NSSP, LOP and MoU.
14 Having decided on priorities, it will be necessary to develop strategies to build the capacities needed to reach the goals. These strategies will most likely include:
· Improving environmental, legal, coordination, institutional, organizational, management and consultation effectiveness ;
· HR acquisition and development (training); the SSSP should explain where the additional staff required will come from, the cost and administrative implications and the timetable. The impact that staff constraints will have on statistical development should be carefully considered and spelt out;
· Improving physical facilities;
· Improving ICT;
· Improving statistical infrastructure;
· Improving the adequacy of financial resources;
· Strengthening methodology and statistical operations and procedures to support accuracy, reliability, usefulness/serviceability and relevance of data, and dissemination and access to the data by users.
15 Some examples of strategies are set out in Annex 5.
6.3 Assessment against
alternative strategies
16 There may be alternative strategies to achieve the goals. The alternatives should be compared and the choices made should be justified.
6.4 Completion of the
strategy development
17 A report should be produced on the strategies and any analysis of alternatives considered. A Workshop of all stakeholders should be held to ratify the strategies
18 The above observations
are reflected in the relevant chapter and section headings of the SSSP as
follows.
4 THE VISION, STRATEGIC GOALS, PRIORITIES
AND STRATEGIES
4.1 Long-term Vision to meet specified data
needs
Express
the
4.2 Identification of strategic goals, priorities
and strategies
Institutional
strengthening will require that goals be set for environmental, legal,
coordination, institutional, organizational,
management (especially in human resource and financial management) and
consultation effectiveness improvements; HR development; targeted investments
in building physical, ICT and statistical infrastructure; acquiring the
necessary financial resources; strengthening
methodology and statistical operations
and procedures all aimed to improve,
accuracy, reliability, usefulness/serviceability and relevance of data, and
dissemination and access to data by users.
The priorities should be assigned to goals and the strategies should be set
out.
4.3 Assessment against alternative strategic
choices
There
may be alternative strategies to achieve the goals. The alternatives should be
compared and choices made and justified. For example, choices between administrative
reporting vs. statistical surveys; censuses vs. surveys; outsourcing to the
private sector; external training vs. domestic training.
Chapter 7 Phase IV: Preparing the implementation plan, budget and
financing plan
1 The broad strategic approaches stated in the strategies need to be translated through consultation into a detailed action, implementation or work plan, which sets out more precisely what is to be done by whom and when. It should specify actions needed to reach each of the goals. It should also identify what results and outputs will be achieved. The action plan will include detailed costs, an overall budget and a financing plan.
2 The LOP requires that the state governments in consultation with the MOSPI would need to develop an appropriate MOU with the GOI with regard to implementation of the SSSP within the limits of the (ISSP) Project. The state governments would need to collect, compile and disseminate the stipulated data/statistics as prescribed in the MOU in accordance with the norms and standards as may be issued from time to time by the Government of India. These together will influence very much the implementation plan.
3 Some goals can be met by simply amending existing data instruments such as household surveys, or through qualitative improvements to existing data series either extending the scope or upgrading the methodology. Still other goals will require more fundamental developments that will take a number of years to reach fruition and possibly involve a sequence of steps. For example, improved state accounts may require better industrial output data, which in turn first requires improvements in business registers. In developing the implementation plan, it is desirable to seek to make some early successes such as improve the timeliness of some important series such as the Consumer Price Index or Wholesale Price Index, process and publish some previously unprocessed survey data, or establish/improve an Internet website.
4 The SSSP sets out an operational plan that balances improvements to the statistical system with the human and financial and technical resources that can be made available to deliver these improvements, the priority given to each statistical area (for example, are health data required more urgently than environmental data and if so, should they be dealt with more quickly), and allocates responsibility for taking the work forward. The plan should explain how goals will be met; for example, there may be a choice between alternative sources as in information on education that can be produced through household surveys or by compiling information from school administrative records, and evaluate whether one is preferable on cost or reliability grounds.
5 A senior official should make a public statement about the adoption of the SSSP and the implementation plan. Leadership by the designated nodal agency will continue to be crucially important in the implementation phase.
7.2 Costing and financing
the SSSP
6 The SSSP will need to be carefully costed and a budget approved. The budget should show the total recurrent and investment cost of developing the capacity of the SSS for the planned improvements. It shows in some detail how resources will be used, for example for HR, equipment, statistical collections (censuses, surveys, exploitation of administrative records), etc. It specifies the expected burden on the state budget and any external financing requirements (such as the ISSP).
7 It is particularly important to make realistic estimates for the future recurrent expenditure that will be required to continue to run the new systems and products once they have been developed (ICT hardware maintenance, hardware upgrades etc).
8 The LOP requires that an exclusive/dedicated budget line for the ISSP should be created in each state to be managed by the designated nodal agency. It also requires that the state government would need to provide if, when and wherever required, the necessary land and/or buildings, manpower and also meet all associated recurring expenditure for implementation of the SSSP and the specific provisions of the MoU. It also specifies that the states expect MOSPI (and MOSPI has committed) to provide the necessary technical and financial assistance to meet the non-recurring expenditure for implementing the ISSP by the state within the limits of the Project.
9 Where possible, teams preparing an SSSP should also complete a cost-effectiveness analysis for some, if not all, major activities. The analysis might consider the costs of alternative ways of compiling data, for instance, comparing the use of administrative sources with a specially commissioned sample survey.
10 It is crucial that the improvements effected through the ISSP Project are sustained by the SSS over the long term. It is therefore recommended that the SSSP implementation plan places considerable emphasis on how activities supported through the SSSP are to be sustained, once external support has stopped.
11 Other sustainability issues involve special risks. These risks may include:
· absorption capacity of the agencies;
· staff loss through attrition;
· successful project pilot activities are not introduced into regular practice, or introduced with delay; etc.
· management failure;
· inadequate state funding;
· vested interests resisting change and acceptance of new approaches.
12 Potential controversial issues, based on state circumstances, should be highlighted. These may include ethnic sensitivities, government employment policies and more. Describe the threats to sustainability and the actions proposed to moderate them.
7.4 Completion of the
implementation planning
13 A report of the implementation plan, including budget and financing plan should be prepared. A Workshop of all stakeholders should be held to endorse the implementation plan. As the implementation will usually stretch over a number of years, the activities in the plan should be reflected, not only in the upcoming annual budget, but also in longer range financial plans, where these exist.
14 The above observations
are reflected in the relevant chapter and section headings of the SSSP as
follows.
5.
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
The
activities and time frame for implementation will need to be tailored to state
circumstances, both in terms of needs and the current programs. Priorities will
have to be selected among the activities of the agencies included in the SSSP,
as all actions cannot be reflected in the initial timeframe. The listings in
this section should be viewed as illustrative, even though some of the elements
identified may be applicable in most states.
5.1
Improving statistical environment, legislation, coordination, institutional,
organizational, management and consultation framework
Actions/outputs
and timeframe
·
Raise the
profile of statistics
in government generally and improve statistical advocacy through developing and
implementing an Advocacy Plan
·
Change the regulatory
framework for the SSS as a whole and for key agencies. This could include: reviewing
and revising statistical legislation to better
reflect the Fundamental Principles of
Official Statistics and provide an
effective mandate for
all statistical activities in the
state;
· Provide effective mechanisms for coordination such as coordination committees with regular meetings; directory of statistical outputs; review of statistical plans of line departments by the DES/SSB; technical review of line department statistical surveys by the DES/SSB; sharing of data; networking
·
Review the
institutional framework for statistics i.e. the positioning and status of
statistical agencies within government and statistical cells in the line
departments
·
Review and revise the statistical
organization and management for efficiency and effectiveness
· Improve producer-user relationships and producer –provider relationships to improve consultation effectiveness of the statistical system
·
Establish a
statistical cadre, if not already in place
5.2 Human Resources and their development
Actions/outputs
and timeframe
·
Comprehensive HR Development
Plan to cover all
the main types
of staff employed
by statistical agencies including managers, professional statisticians,
other professionals, clerical staff and other support staff to improve:
recruitment of new staff; initial statistical training opportunities; the
skills, competencies and expertise of existing staff; career path for staff;
staff morale and motivation (and reduce
turnover and wastage); design and management of staff development and training programme; and
training to manage change.
5.3 Investment in physical infrastructure and
equipment
Actions/outputs
and timeframe
·
Office space
·
Vehicles
·
Office equipment
5.4 Investment in Information and
Communications Technology
Actions/outputs
and timeframe
·
Comprehensive review
of ICT requirements; particularly covering networking and connectivity for data
transmision
·
Hardware & software
procurement
·
IT training
infrastructure
·
Completion of master
plan for ICT strategy; specifications for hardware
·
On line access to
major users,
·
Hardware in place,
along with new software
·
Trained staff in place
5.5 Statistical infrastructure development
Actions/outputs
and timeframe
·
Investment and
improvements needed in statistical infrastructure, including: the development
of registers, sampling frames, etc, setting up a Geographical Information System and database,
developing/improving a field organisation for the management and implementation
of surveys and censuses, developing statistical and metadata databases
5.6 Financial resources
Actions/outputs
and timeframe
·
Representations to
state budget authority
·
Representations to
MOSPI
5.7
Upgrading/developing and sustaining statistical operations, including
dissemination
Actions/outputs
and timeframe
· Review and plan for implementing each of the 20 key statistical activities and other statistical activities in the state
· Assess and make plans to upgrade compliance with technical specifications issued by the CSO or other authority
· Plan the ongoing data collection, processing and dissemination programmes of all agencies; eliminate duplications and redundancies; eliminate unnecessary data collections; streamline schedules to collect only what is needed; integrate different censuses and surveys to improve the efficiency of field work; improve data quality, for example, by reducing delays and increasing response rates;
· Improve in-house expertise in sampling techniques
· Ensure manuals available to guide survey operations
·
improve the collection
and management of administrative data; fill data gaps by better exploiting
administrative records;
·
Upgrade analytical
capacity of staff to strengthen data analysis
and reporting
·
improve the
periodicity and timeliness of statistical products; improve the design of statistical
products
· Assess user needs and improve understanding of the use of statistics; assess user satisfaction through a survey, say, every three years
·
Review/establish data
access policies and ways in which data and metadata are disseminated; establish
an advance release calendar
6. COST AND FINANCING PLAN
6.1 Input requirements
The
budget should include both the cost of developing and sustaining the capacity
of the SSS, as well as the cost of running it. It is particularly important to
make realistic estimates for the future recurrent expenditure that will be
required to continue to run the new systems and products once they have been
developed (ICT hardware maintenance, hardware upgrades etc).
6.1.1 Capital expenditures (land, buildings, and
equipment)
6.1.2 Recurrent expenditures
6.2 Financing plan
6.2.1 State government budget
6.2.2 ISSP
6.3 Sustainability issues
Describe
the threats to sustainability and actions proposed to at least substantially moderate
(if not eliminate) them.
---------------------
Chapter 8
Phase V: Implementation, performance
indicators and monitoring, reporting and evaluation
8.1 Implementation
1 A good plan should build in appropriate and cost–effective mechanisms to respond to changes, problems, and opportunities during the implementation process. A key requirement of the implementation process, therefore, is that it includes mechanisms for managing change, for monitoring and reporting on progress, for evaluating progress and for adapting and changing the SSSP when required.
8.2 Managing implementation
and change
2 Implementation of the SSSP may require that a number of changes be made — in work ethics, organisational culture and structures, procedures, the work practices etc. The planning should be accompanied by efforts to obtain support and commitment from key stakeholders. Those to be affected by change should be given full information and enough time to prepare effectively. People should have a chance to comment on the proposed changes and help in planning. A clear and convincing rationale for change should be given. Potential obstacles to change should be identified and effective ways to overcome them devised.
3 Management capacity needs to be developed to implement the strategy, including leadership, communicating with stakeholders, creating awareness, and maintaining external and internal support. Leadership and management styles supportive of the SSSP should be adopted. Bureaucracy and top-down management styles should be avoided, as far as possible, in preference for a participatory style that encourages cross-functional and problem-solving teamwork.
4 The Project Management Team may oversee the implementation of the Plan with periodic (quarterly) meetings. In the DES/SSB and the line departments, any existing management teams should take on issues of the SSSP implementation, otherwise, new teams should be established for the purpose. Departmental Teams should function also, particularly in departments that are significantly affected by the Plan. These should comprise the Head of the Department (as chair) and Heads of Divisions and Sections. These teams should meet regularly to discuss issues and matters affecting the departments and their sections and feed their deliberations into the (DES/SSB and line department) management team meetings. Standing committees and temporary working groups: These should be established to handle specific cross-functional tasks
5 Individual agency implementation plans will need to be translated into annual work programmes and objectives for each work area, and into individual job plans and appraisal systems. This will involve engaging with and motivating staff.
8.3 Performance indicators
and monitoring
6 Performance indicators for monitoring progress and achievement of results should be identified up front and agreed. A short list of indicators should be used and ones that can readily be compiled. The specific indicators will depend upon the goals and strategies selected by a state but would include the following types of indicators:
For the 20 key statistical activities
· Number of key statistical activities not previously carried out but now planned/initiated/partially undertaken/fully undertaken
· Number of key statistical activities previously undertaken with coverage or other gaps but now in full/improved compliance with technical specifications (See Chapter 3 of the Synthesis Report for the proposed standards)
· Number of key statistical activities brought into compliance with the specified standards on periodicity and timeliness (See Chapter 3 of the Synthesis Report for the proposed standards) (a less demanding but acceptable indicator can be “improvement of periodicity and timeliness in the direction of the proposed standards)
For other statistical activities in the state: Indicators can only be state specific but can be patterned on the above indicators for the key statistical activities.
7 Many indicators can relate to the introduction of certain good practices also set out in Chapter 3 of the Synthesis Report and these apply to the totality of the statistical activities of the SSS. These can include
Access
· the dissemination of advance release calendars providing at least one-quarter advance notice of approximate release dates, and at least a one-week advance notice of the precise release dates; and
· the simultaneous release of data to all users.
Integrity
· the dissemination of the terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced and disseminated;
· the identification of internal government access to data before release;
· the identification of ministerial commentary on the occasion of statistical release; and
· the provision of information about revision and advance notice of major changes in methodology.
Quality
· the dissemination of documentation on statistical methodology and sources used in preparing statistics;
· dissemination of component detail and/or additional data series that make possible cross-checks and checks of reasonableness;
· Post descriptions of data dissemination practices (metadata) on state and MOSPI websites;
· Post descriptions of summary methodologies, which describe data compilation practices in some detail on these websites; and
· Establish a website, referred to as the State Summary Data Page, which would contain the actual data described in the metadata and to which the state and MOSPI websites would be electronically linked.
8 Additional indicators can be chosen reflecting the DQAF elements (see the Annex to the Synthesis Report).
8.4
Reporting
9 A decision should be made about what reports need to be produced, how frequently, who should produce them, and who should receive them. The performance information could serve many users and should lead to a strategic learning process to enhance future performance. Brief quarterly reports should be assembled for the Project Management Team, made up of reports from each entity of the SSS that has planned to take action within the SSSP. The Project Management Team should prepare bi-annual (six monthly) reports for the Steering Committee, which would be the basis of an annual report from the Steering Committee to the State Authority, which should also be copied to the CSO.
8.5 Evaluation
10 Two evaluations can be scheduled; one at the midpoint, and at the end, a more comprehensive evaluation to assess the most successful activities and the most significant constraints and generally to assess how well the strategy will have met the set goals. Both should be conducted by a body or official not involved in the development of the SSSP.
11 The above observations are
reflected in the relevant chapter and section headings of the SSSP as follows.
8.6 Completion of the plan
for monitoring and evaluation
A report should be produced on the indicators chosen and monitoring, reporting and evaluation plan. A Workshop of all stakeholders should be held to ratify the approach.
7.
IMPLENTATION PLAN
7.1 Mechanisms for implementing the SSSP
Describe
organization changes planned to support implementation of the SSSP. List the
indicators to be used and who will compile them. Describe the reporting
schedule and evaluation process and decision process to modify the SSSP, if
deemed necessary.
-----------------------
Annex 1 Possible economies in preparing SSSPs given similarities in states’ circumstances
1 Given the similarities of the SSSs as reflected in the Study Reports, the SSSPs can be expected to have many commonalities along with some variations in cases where a unique situation may be known to exist or where priorities and timing may differ.
2 Similarities or even identical situations exist in terms of institutional arrangements:
· The system is decentralized in each state, with the DES/SSB and many line departments carrying out statistical activities
· The DES/SSB is a part of a larger department
· The Director of the DES/SSB is generally the representative of the State in all technical deliberations organised by the CSO through various working groups/steering committees.
· The level of the director of the DES/SSB is considered inappropriately low
· The DES/SSBs have similar functions (although the number of the 20 key statistical activities for which the DES/SSB is responsible in a state varies)
· the DESs/SSBs have significant statistical functions beyond the 20 key statistical activities
· Individual line departments have similar functions from state to state in terms of responsibility for the 20 key statistical activities
· Individual line departments have significant statistical functions beyond the 20 key statistical activities
· DESs/SSBs and line departments (generally) have district level structures and have similar data collection responsibilities at the district level
· States rely on federal statistical legislation and there is no complementary state level legislation (in most cases)
· The DES/SSB is the declared nodal agency in most states
3 Similarities or even identical situations exist in terms of the assessment of the SSSs:
· While the DESs/SSBs (or other institution) may have been declared the nodal agency, they are not ineffective in ensuring required coordination
· A statistical cadre has been established in over half of the states but the effectiveness and management of the cadre is considered inadequate
· The data gaps identified among the 20 key statistical activities are similar from state to state
· The stated current priorities among the 20 key statistical activities are similar or identical
· The listed management and technical challenges are identical/similar
· Delays in data is a common situation
· Most states have a serious HR deficiency, especially in terms of numbers (with some variation) and level of training
· HR deficiencies are frequently in the same field of statistical activity from state to state e.g. statistics for local area planning, health statistics, state gross domestic product and other aggregate economic statistics, crop area and production statistics, NSSO Rounds, wholesale and consumer price indices and industrial statistics.
· Deficiencies in physical infrastructure and information and communications technology are widespread
4 Similarities or even identical situations exist in terms of the recommendations in the Study Reports:
· There are some 23 recommendations that are common to all states in the 35 Study Reports (see Chapter 4 Part I of the Synthesis Report for a full list of them): 1) establish an DES/SSB if it does not already exist; 2) improve the institutional status of the DES/SSB and the level of its Director; 3) DES/SSB to be the nodal agency (10 responsibilities); 4) role of the Director of the DES/SSB (2 recommendations); 6) On coordination: DES/SSB to do a periodic review of the content , methodology and output of the statistics of all state line departments and hold more meetings with GOI; 7) hold user seminars; 8) build quality into the management and technical practices of the DESs/SSBs and line departments: 9) provide adequate human resources; 10) develop manpower skills (with wide ranging training programmes); 11) establish a state data bank in the DES/SSB; 12) strengthen ICT infrastructure; 13) establish an EDP Centre in the DES/SSB; 14) establish IT based communications/network; 15) create an enabling ICT working environment; 16) improve the physical infrastructure and general working environment; 17) establish a common statistical cadre under the management of the DES/SSB, raise the management level of the cadre and revise the cadre and recruitment rules; 18) improve dissemination (6 specifics); 19) fill data gaps in the low and medium quality areas of statistics; 20) fill data gaps for the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments and for monitoring achievement of the MDGs; 21) improve quality (9 specifics); 22) improve the quality and form of raw data; 23) improve the mode of data transmission (use ICT)
· The technical measures for bridging the data gaps and improving the statistical capacity of the states in the 20 key statistical activities are also rather standard across states; state gross domestic product 35 states, poverty statistics 33 states, gross fixed capital expenditure and savings 28 states, local area planning statistics 27 states, type studies 23 states, housing statistics 22 states, wholesale price index 21 states, health statistics (birth and death registration statistics ) 20 states
· The recommended action areas (beyond the 20 key statistical series) for bridging gaps were also similar across the states, with services statistics 21 states, tourism statistics 14 states
· The technical content of the recommended actions to bridge data gaps and strengthen the SSS were also similar/identical.
· Suggested demand-driven priorities were almost identical from state to state
· Suggested quality-driven priorities had significant similarities with the following assigned high priority for more than 30 of the states state domestic product, state gross fixed capital expenditure and savings, district domestic product, contribution of local bodies, major fiscal variables, crop area and production statistics, wholesale price index, consumer price index, health statistics, Education and literacy statistics, labour and employment statistics, birth and death registration, environment and forestry statistics, water supply and sanitation statistics.
5 In addition, in terms of commonalities for SSSPs, under the LOP, the states should subscribe and conform to the national vision and the strategic policy framework as set out in the NSSP. The states would need to develop/formulate a SSSP drawn on the basis of the broad directions contained in the NSSP and the state specific reports prepared by MOSPI for each State (the 35 Study Reports). The states should incorporate within these broad framework the specific needs and priorities of the state, in terms of other statistics. Specifically, the states would need to develop a SSSP which would outline the road-map which the State proposes to follow to meet the key statistical activities that have been laid out in the NSSP and other statistical activities that may be in the priority of the State.
6 Distinctions can however be drawn among the states on a number of characteristics
· the number of statistical activities that the DES/SSB is involved in,
· the number of the key activities not undertaken by each state,
· the number of human resources and the size of the gap between available and optimum levels of human resources, and
· the number of recommendations for technical measures for bridging data gaps and strengthening the state statistical system and other measures.
· Other differences are identified e.g. existence or not of a web site, a training institute, a Cartographic Unit, a statistics cadre; DES/SSB declared a data warehouse; experience in pooling of survey data; and others.
7 Based on the 35 Study Reports, all the states require enhancements in each of seven areas i.e. reform in business rules, legislation, policy and regulation, HR increases and development, IT, other physical infrastructure, statistical infrastructure, statistical operations in line with international standards and with improved efficiency and effectiveness, and coordination and management.
8 As a consequence of the above, many of the goals, priorities and strategies of the states can legitimately be expected to be similar or identical. While the principle is very clear that each state is to develop its own unique SSSP and a ‘one size fits all’ approach is to be avoided, the facts of the similarities set out above raise the possibility of economies to be achieved in the preparation of the SSSPs. State may be able to benefit selectively from the SSSP work done by other states. It may be useful if all the SSSPs are placed on the state and MOSPI website so that states may benefit from the experience of others; additionally, it may be useful for guidelines to be issued to help states to prepare some of the common features (see Chapter 1.4 above possible economies in preparing SSSPs).
----------------------
|
Period |
Activity |
What Is Involved |
Who Is Responsible? |
|
13-18 June, 2005 |
Road Map for the NSDS Process |
Meetings with the Ag. Director, Central
Statistical Office (CSO) _
Meetings with the Transformation Team with
CSO members and the State Enterprise & Privatization Agency _
Holding meetings with key policy makers - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Development etc _
Charting the road map for the planning process
including approach, who will be involved, timelines, etc |
_
International Consultants _
Inter-agency Transformation Team _
UNDP |
|
13-18
June |
Draft
Statistics Act |
_
Producing 1st Draft _
Circulating Draft among key
stakeholders for comment |
International Consultants & Transformation Team |
|
20
June-15 July |
Draft
Statistics Act |
_
Receive & incorporate comments on Draft
Statistics Act and produce 2nd Draft |
Transformation
Team |
|
20-21 July |
1st
NSDS Workshop |
Two days of diagnosing
decline in statistical production, prescribing strategic management of the NSS and
presentation of Draft
Statistics Act |
International Consultants & Transformation Team |
|
22-26
July |
Prepare formats for data collection |
Questionnaire and other instruments for CSO, key
data users, training institutions, development partners |
International Consultants & Transformation Team |
|
25-30 July |
Preparation of the Workshop
Report |
Report to include:
objectives, a summary of presentations, a summary of issues raised
in discussions, evaluation of the workshop, conclusions and the way forward,
annexes including the workshop timetable
& list of participants |
Rapporteurs under direction of Ms. T. Mungate, Assistant Director,
CSO |
|
29 July-14 August _
|
Get written comments on the Draft Statistics Act |
Send reminders to institutions to submit comments within two weeks _
Collate comments with those obtained
from the 1st Workshop |
Transformation Team |
|
1-10 August |
Recruitment of a National Consultant |
Working out TOR,
short-listing |
Ag. Director, CSO |
|
1-20 August |
Preparation of a Memorandum of Principles for the Cabinet Committee on Legislation (CCL) |
_
Presenting: - Background information - Justification for development of NSDS - Justification for
revision of the Current Statistics Act - Highlights of sections
and articles of the Act that need to change or to be included - Way forward -
CCL’s acceptance of the memorandum to
be followed by drafting of a Bill |
Transformation Team, Attorney General’s Office and Ministry for Economic Development Attorney General’s Office |
|
Assessment
of the NSS |
|
|
|
|
27 July- 13 August |
Interview key
stakeholders: data users, producers, suppliers |
Administer various
instruments |
National Consultant & Transformation Team |
|
13-16 August |
Conduct a SWOT Analysis |
Organising small group discussions with CSO
staff and stakeholders |
National Consultant & Transformation Team |
|
16-20 August |
Prepare a Draft Report |
Putting together results
of the assessment including the SWOT |
National Consultant & Transformation Team |
|
23 August |
Circulate the Draft
Report to stakeholders for comment |
Check the report for completeness and accuracy |
Ag. Director, CSO |
|
Visioning and strategizing |
|
|
|
|
22-26 August _ |
Visioning exercise _
Select strategies |
_
Articulate a vision, mission and key
values for the NSS consistent with the Draft Statistics Act and existing NSS _
Expand on the strategies presented in
the workshop _
Vision, mission, key values, functions,
structure, etc. of ZIMSTAT consistent with
the Draft Statistics Act and building on what is at CSO |
National Consultant & Transformation Team |
|
Develop
an action plan |
|
|
|
|
30 August- 18 September |
_
Prepare an Action Plan _
Develop a plan for implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting Develop an investment and financing plan |
_
Mainly a prioritised work programme and
capacity building programme _
Address issues of performance culture,
change management, management styles, standards, performance indicators,
targets _
Include recurrent and investment budget for
each year. _
Identify technical assistance that may
be required |
National Consultant & Transformation Team |
|
Draft
Reports& Workshop |
|
|
|
|
19-24 September International |
Assemble the Draft NSDS Report |
A summary of the
assessment and then all the above issues to be included. |
Consultants, National Consultant & Transformation Team |
|
28-29 September |
2nd Stakeholders’ Workshop |
To receive and deliberate
on the: _
NSS Assessment Report &NSDS Report |
International Consultants, National Consultant & Transformation Team |
|
30 September- 3 October |
Finalise the reports |
Taking into account
comments from the Workshop |
Consultants & Transformation Team |
|
5 October |
Submit the Reports to Government |
Deliver printed reports
to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Development |
Ag. Director, CSO |
|
Early 2006 |
Create strategy awareness |
Implement an extensive
and consistent communication programme to: _
Develop an understanding of the strategy throughout
the NSO _
Educate staff about management systems _
Break communication barriers (the silo
mentality)at NSO _
Publicise
the strategy among the public |
CSO Management with assistance from communication experts |
-------------------
Annex 3 Using the information in the 35 Study Reports and the Synthesis
report
1 All states have available to them the Study Report (March 2007) for each state March 2007 and the Synthesis Report (April 2008). These contain an assessment of the SSS. Each state should review the assessment and refine and update it taking into account Chapter 6 of the Synthesis Report which provides a critique of the Study Reports.
The Study Report
2 Chapters 1 and 2 provide background to the study and geographic, demographic, administrative and economic information on the state.
3 Chapter 3 of the Study Reports describes the SSS. The relevant parts of the Chapter should be reviewed by DES/SSB and the state line departments and confirmed as still being accurate or adjusted for known changes. This chapter identifies the line departments that are engaged in official statistics and helps with the decision on which line departments should be included in the SSSP. It also lists the range of statistical activities of the DES/SSB and the line departments and so helps define the range of statistical activities that should be covered by the SSSP (in addition to the 20 key statistical activities); as a first approximation those activities which were judged as sufficiently important to appear in the Study Report should be covered in the SSSP. The chapter contains the list of publications issued by the DES/SSB and line departments; the list should be updated, especially to see if there has been any improvement in timeliness since the reports were assembled. The HR information (manpower, recruitment process and minimum prescribed qualifications, actual qualifications and functioning of the statistical cadre) also should be updated/ confirmed.
4 Chapter 4 describes technical characteristics of each of the 20 key statistical activities. This chapter helps identify gaps in methodological coverage, quality, periodicity and timeliness for the key activities. The responsible state organization should update/confirm the information for each of the activities.
5 Chapter 5 provides for 2 DSOs for each state (where possible), a description of their activities and assessment of staff numbers/facilities/constraints and some recommendations. The approach provides a good model for looking at all of the DSOs but each state will have to assess what can be deduced about the other DSOs from the analysis of the two DSOs in the Reports.
6 Chapters 6-8 contain the detailed assessments of ICT, HR and physical infrastructure and estimates of additional requirements. They need to be updated/ confirmed.
7 Chapter 9 provides two suggested ways for looking at priorities for statistical activities, one based on demand and the other on quality. While these approaches are interesting and can be an input into the process, each state should determine its priorities through a consultative process of all stakeholders. This chapter also lists a number of recommended new actions or changes for strengthening the SSS; the recommendations are largely based on the assessments and priorities. Each state should make its own conclusions on the validity of the recommendations.
8 Chapter 10 summarizes the assessment and recommendations. Many of the recommendations are common to all states and others are unique to one or a small number of states. Table 10.1 on Status of Statistical activities in the State and Table 10.2 Principal Data Gaps are useful summaries. This chapter contains many of the assessments and actions that a state should include in its SSSP.
9 The Executive Summary repeats a lot of what is in the Report but does not reflect well the recommended new statistical activities which are better presented in Chapter 10.
10 The Position Paper repeats a lot of what is in the Report but provides some additional valuable material generally in: 5 Improvements in the effectiveness of transmission of raw data.
The Synthesis Report
11 Chapter 1 provides the background, based on Chapter 1 of the Study Report.
12 Chapter 2 summarizes the common features of the SSSs.
13 Chapter 3 provides a proposal on the national benchmark for norms and performance standards for the state statistical system. This provides a significant part of the basis against which states should assess the current performance of the SSS.
14 Chapter 4 Part I contains, from the 35 Study Reports, the recommendations that are common to all states. The common recommendations are listed in Chapter 4 Part I; additionally, there are recommendations made by the NSC in its report NSC (2001); these are extremely important and are recorded separately in this chapter even though some of them have already been picked up in the Common Recommendations from the state reports. Additionally, there are recommendations which have emerged during the process of reviewing the 35 Study Reports; these are included in this chapter. Some of the recommendations above are already in place in some states.
15 Chapter 4 Part II contains the unique recommendations that were made for one or a small number of states.
16 Chapter 5 summarizes the cost estimates from the Study Reports. The 35 Study Reports contained cost estimates for additional needed ICT and physical infrastructure for improving the statistical capacity of each of the states. Footnotes in the 35 Study Reports indicated that the following costs have to be factored in: Annual maintenance costs, Hardware upgrades, Solid cell batteries, and Site hosting charges. These costs were not calculated for the Study Reports but they are calculated in the Synthesis Report as they are legitimate additional operating costs which need to be taken into account in the planning process (even if they are not to be covered under the ISSP funding process).
17 Additional costs to be included in any SSSP include costs for coordination, statistical infrastructure, technical advice on statistical operations such as implementing technical recommendations to fill gaps and improve statistical capacity, and technical advice on improving operations. These were not estimated in the Study Reports or the Synthesis Report.
18 Chapter 6 contains a number of critical observations about the Study Reports which should be considered by the states as they prepare their SSSPs. Basically, in preparing the SSSP, there needs to be a comprehensive run through of the existing assessment in the 35 Study Reports, namely, the gaps and priorities and a reassessment of the recommended actions and costs, taking into account the work of all the statistics-producing entities in the state.
Some guidance on how to make the Study Reports more easily usable.
19 The 35 Study Reports are rather large and difficult to use partly because some material is repeated in several places and may in fact be a little different in some of the places. A scaled down version can be made that contains all the relevant material in an easier-to-read form. As the reports are not identical in structure, it is not possible to give a single set of guidance applicable to all of them but guidance is presented below for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It can be used as a model by other states with some individual differences that would become apparent during the process of making the changes and could be adjusted for.
20 The principle adopted is to make each chapter self-sufficient in terms of description, assessment and related recommendations and to include in Chapter 10 Summary of Findings and Recommendations only those recommendations that have not appeared in earlier chapters; this approach also eliminates duplication of the same information in different parts of the Report. (The other option considered was to move all the recommendations from earlier chapters and place them in Chapter 10. However the way the text is written in the Study Reports, especially in the chapters on district level statistical activities (chapter 5), information technology (chapter 6) human resources (chapter 7) and physical infrastructure (chapter 8), where assessment and recommendation are combined in the same sentences, paragraphs, and tables makes this approach difficult).
21 A special case arises with Technical Measures for Meeting Data gaps and Undertaking New Activities for Strengthening the Statistical System; these lists appear in the Executive Summary, Chapter 9, Chapter 10 and the Position Paper; the lists are not the same in each area; the changes proposed below create a single complete list in Chapter 9 where Activities to be Undertaken with Less Frequency and Activities to be Dropped and Not Undertaken are also listed. HR information is deleted from Chapter 3 when it is contained in Chapter 7. HR, IT and physical infrastructure information is deleted from Chapter10 when it is included in Chapters 6, 7 and 8. Only those (limited ) parts of the Position Paper that are “new “ are retained and placed in an appropriate chapter or else retained separately.
Rajasthan
To reduce the Study Report:
Delete: The Executive Summary except for ES3.11 Key Management Challenges
Delete: Chapter 2 The State of
Delete: Chapter 3: 3.7 Manpower
Add to Chapter 9.4: 10.3.3 Building District, Block and Village Data
10.3.5 Housing Statistics
Add to Chapter 9.4: Position Paper 4.1.1 SDP & DDP 4.1.2 Health Statistics
Delete: Chapter 10: 10.1.6 Available and Required Manpower
10.1.7 Available Manpower Resources
10.1.10 IT Resources, Available and Additional Required
10.1.11 Total Cost of IT Procurement
10.1.12 Physical Infrastructure
10.3.3 Building District Block and Village Data
10.3.4 Service Sector Statistics
10.3.5 Housing Statistics
10.3.6 Poverty Statistics
10.3.7 Environment Statistics
10.3.8 Tourism Statistics
10.3.9 Gender Statistics
10.3.17 Upgrading Physical Facilities
Delete: Position Paper all except 3 (2 paras) Possibility of Producing Current Output with either Better Quality or with Fewer Resources and 5.1 Quality and Form of Raw Data and 5.2 Mode of Data Transmission.
Madhya Pradesh
To reduce the Study Report:
Delete: The Executive Summary except for ES3.10 Key Management Challenges
Delete: Chapter 2 The State of
Delete: Chapter 3: 3.2.4 Staff Strength 3.2.5 Line Departments
Delete: Chapter 6: 6.1.8 Proposed Training Areas
Add: to Chapter 7.2: 3.2.4 Staff Strength except for Table 3.4 Available Statistical manpower in DES by Activity (which is already in Chapter 7)
Add to Chapter 9.6: 10.3.1 Undertaking New Statistical Activities (all)
10.3.2 Bridging Data Gaps (all)
Delete: Chapter 10: 10.1.6 Available and Required Manpower
10.1.7 IT Resources Available and Additional Required
10.1.8 Required Improvement in Physical Facilities
10.3.1 Undertaking New Statistical Activities (all)
10.3.2 Bridging Data Gaps
Delete: Position Paper all except 3 Possibility of Producing Current Output With Either Better Quality or With Fewer Resources (2 paras), 3.3 Possibility of Producing Current Output with Better Quality, 3.4 Possibility of Producing Current Output with Fewer Resources and 5.1 Quality and Form of Raw Data and 5.2 Mode of Data Transmission.
--------------------------
Annex 4 Use and practice of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats (SWOT) analysis
(Based on a text prepared by the Statistical Offices of the European
Communities, 17 March 2004)
1.1 Basics
SWOT analysis can be simply understood as the examination of an organisation's internal strengths and weaknesses, and its environment, opportunities and threats. It is a general technique for assessing any private or public organization and its environment. It belongs to the “analysis” part of a strategic planning process and helps decision makers focus on key issues. Once key issues have been identified, they feed into operational objectives.
SWOT is performed by the managers of a National Statistical Institute (NSI) in a group work. It should be shared as much as possible with the whole staff of the NSI in order to make it more committed to the general objectives described by the SWOT. A facilitator, who comes from outside the institution, could be useful in order to keep the work on the track and help to weight the various proposals.
SWOT analysis should be flexible: situations change with the passage of time and an updated analysis should be made from time to time. SWOT is neither cumbersome nor time-consuming and is effective because of its simplicity.
1.2 To identify key issues
SWOT analysis is an effective method of identifying the Strengths and Weaknesses of a NSI, and to examine the Opportunities and Threats it faces. Often, carrying out a SWOT analysis will be enough to reveal changes, which can be usefully made in putting problems into perspective. The method provides a framework for identifying critical issues. Analyses are then limited to the significant items that can really be addressed.
1.3 To prepare a strategic approach
The purpose of SWOT analysis is to isolate key issues and to facilitate a strategic approach: strategic planners usually limit their efforts to those issues that have the most impact on the situation. To this end, the items in the SWOT list must have been thoroughly analysed and represent the real priorities as observed by the majority of the group. If they bear no relation to the actual discussion, that could defeat the purpose of the SWOT exercise.
1.4 The SWOT should inter-alia cover all of the following areas, each of which may be a source of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats: political and economic environment of the institution, staff and staff policy, operating budget, statistical production, relationships with international organisations, other donors and other Statistical Institutes, relationships with users and customers.
2. THE INTERNAL FACTORS:
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
The analysis of the
internal factors should be considered from both an internal and external basis:
does our environment perceive our strengths/weaknesses as we do? Therefore, the
assessment of strengths and weaknesses is facilitated through surveys or
interviews with main users or customers. Once weaknesses and strengths are
delineated, it would be appropriate to reconfirm these items: different
perceptions may exist depending on the representative group consulted.
Strengths can refer to the
NSI, to its environment, to public relations and perceptions, and to people.
When performing the SWOT analysis, Strengths can be approached in answering the
following questions: What are our advantages? What do we do well? What are our USPs (Unique Selling Points)
Weaknesses can be
approached in answering the following questions: What is done badly? What
obstacles prevent, reduce or delay progress? What could be improved? What
should be the Dos and Don’ts ?
The assessment should be
realistic, even if it is always unpleasant to face negative assessments. Making
a list of internal weaknesses could reveal areas that can be changed to improve
the institution, but also things that are beyond the control of the
institution. But this is also a key message for persons inside and outside the
NSI to recognise the shortcomings that will have to be tackled and minimized in
the future.
3 THE EXTERNAL FACTORS:
OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS
The external look is
complementary to the internal self-study in a SWOT analysis. Information about
the political and socio-economic environment, the changes in the society, and
all changes that have an effect on the NSI but are beyond its control should be
considered in this phase of the study.
Opportunities and threats
are not absolute. What might at first seem to be an opportunity, may not emerge
as such when considered against the resources of the NSI or the expectations of
society. Again, Opportunities and Threats have to be reported in a realistic
way for their impact on the NSI.
Opportunities can be
approached in answering the following questions: Where are the good chances
facing us? What are the existing, emerging and interesting trends? Useful opportunities can
come from such things as: national or international events, changes in
government policies, changes in technology, changes in user needs or social
patterns, changes in the Management perceptions and attitudes etc.
Threats can come from
different horizons at different points of time, in varying intensities /degrees
and in various forms. Threats need to be ascertained. Such kind of questions
may help to evaluate them: What obstacles do we face or are likely to face? Are
the required specifications for our works, products or services changing? Is
changing technology threatening our position? Do we have budget uncertainties? Where do we stand in competition?
4. PROS AND CONS OF SWOT
ANALYSIS
The practical message from
a SWOT analysis is that decision-making should contain the following elements: building on
Strengths, minimising Weaknesses, seizing Opportunities, and counteracting
Threats. It is a relatively simple way of communicating ideas, policies,
and concerns which can help managers to disseminate their
vision.
A SWOT analysis can be an
excellent, fast tool for initiating a strategic planning exercise. It looks at
future possibilities for the institution through a systematic approach of
introspection into both positive and negative concerns.
SWOT analysis usually
reflect a (group of) person's existing position and viewpoint, which can be
misused to justify a previously-decided course of action rather than used as a
means to open up new possibilities. It is important to note that sometimes
threats can also be viewed as opportunities, depending on the people or groups
involved.
Finally,
a SWOT analysis can be rather subjective and a way to increase its validity is
to raise the number of criteria and to weight them for each of the factors.
Tabular presentation of results of a SWOT
analysis
(Extracted from the Strategic Plan for Central Bureau of Statistics
|
Strengths |
Opportunities |
|
1.
Statistics Act |
1. A
new political dispensation |
|
2.
Extensive Field infrastructure |
2.
Increased demand for data |
|
3.
Technical skills in different areas of statistics |
3.
International Frameworks |
|
4.
Capacity to harness IT |
4.
International partnerships and support
for statistical development |
|
5. New
Leadership |
5.
Advances in IT |
|
|
6.
Local and regional Training facilities |
|
Weaknesses |
Risks |
|
1. Low
profile of CBS |
1.
Political interference |
|
2.
Outdated Statistics Act |
2.
Inadequate funding from Government |
|
3.
Limited statistical advocacy |
3. Poor
staffing |
|
4.
Unconducive work environment |
4. High
staff turnover |
|
5. Weak
coordination, collaboration, networking
and information sharing |
5. Lack
of commitment to coordination, collaboration, networking and information sharing |
|
6. Lack
of IT strategy |
|
|
7. Lack
of HR Development Strategy |
|
|
8.
Inadequate data disaggregation |
|
|
9.
Limited analytical capabilities |
|
|
10.
Inadequate knowledge management |
|
|
11.
Some data series are outdated |
|
|
12.
Lack of a dissemination policy |
|
|
13.
Lack of timeliness in data |
|
|
14.
Frequent change of top management |
|
|
15.
Over-dependence on donor assistance |
|
------------------
Annex 5 Examples of strategic goals and strategies
1 Some examples of strategic goals and strategies are:
Goal: raise awareness of the role of statistical information in the state
Strategy: invigorate statistical advocacy through raising skills and setting up networks of contacts
Goal: raise the accuracy and reliability of state statistics
Strategy: (i) train appropriate staff of the DES/SSB and line departments on the CSO technical specifications, data assessment techniques and data collection techniques
(ii) improve the amount and quality of supervision at the data collection level
(iii) establish the statistical infrastructure needed to produce good economic and social statistics
Goal: raise the usefulness and relevance of state statistics
Strategy: (i) improve IT facilities meet the proposed standards for periodicity and timeliness of available data sets
(ii) improve the organization structure to promote the flow of data
(iii) establish the capacity/system to meet with users to understand their needs
Goal: understand and meet user needs more consistently
Strategy: (i) establish the capacity/system to meet with users to understand their needs
(ii) consult with users on a regular basis about their needs and the extent to which available data sets meet those needs
(iii) improve capacity for data collection, processing and transfer of data through training of staff, improved supervision, and use of ICT facilities/network
Goal: supplement statistical data with analytical work
Strategy: (i) establish an Analysis Unit
(ii) enhance capacity of senior staff to do analysis
(iii) partner with a state tertiary institution for analytical work
Goal: ensure that available statistics are easily available to users and are understood
Strategy: (i) raise the use of electronic forms of dissemination
(ii) ensure that metadata is prepared and made available with the data
Goal: develop efficient management structures and operations
Strategy: (i) train staff in the modern management of a statistical institution
(ii) acquire and apply ICT aimed at efficient operations
2 Other strategies which apply to a wide variety of strategic goals are:
develop a legislative structure that is fully supportive of statistical operations;
ensure effective coordination among all stakeholders to produce compatible statistics meeting quality standards;
design and implement a Human Resources Development Strategy;
have all staff trained to the appropriate level for their responsibilities;
provide for all staff a physical work environment that is supportive of their functions and which meets state standards;
acquire appropriate and adequate state of the art ICT equipment, software and the necessary training in ICT applications for all staff;
acquire adequate financial resources to maintain the SSS over time.
-----------------------
Preamble
The
Statistical Commission,
- Bearing in mind that official statistical information is an essential basis
for development in the economic, demographic, social and environmental fields
and for mutual knowledge and trade among the States and peoples of the world.
- Bearing in mind that the essential trust of the public in official
statistical information depends to a large extent on respect for the
fundamental values an principles which are the basis of any society which seeks
to understand itself and to respect the rights of its members.
- Bearing in mind that the quality of official statistics, and thus the quality
of the information available to the Government, the economy and the public
depends largely on the cooperation of citizens, enterprises, and other
respondents in providing appropriate and reliable data needed for necessary
statistical compilations and on the cooperation between users and producers of
statistics in order to meet users' needs.
- Recalling the efforts of governmental and non-governmental organizations
active in statistics to establish standards and concepts to allow comparisons
among countries,
- Recalling also the International Statistical Institute Declaration of
Professional Ethics,
- Having expressed the opinion that resolution C (47), adopted by the Economic
Commission for
- Noting that, at its eighth session, held in Bangkok in November 1993, the
Working Group of Statistical Experts, assigned by the Committee on Statistics
of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific to examine the
Fundamental Principles, had agreed in principle to the ECE version and had
emphasized that those principles were applicable to all nations,
- Noting also that, at its eighth session, held at
Adopts the present principles of official statistics:
Principle 1. Official statistics provide an
indispensable element in the information system of a democratic society,
serving the Government, the economy and the public with data about the
economic, demographic, social and environmental situation. To this end,
official statistics that meet the test of practical utility are to be compiled and
made available on an impartial basis by official statistical agencies to honor
citizens' entitlement to public information.
Principle 2. To retain trust in official
statistics, the statistical agencies need to decide according to strictly
professional considerations, including scientific principles and professional
ethics, on the methods and procedures for the collection, processing, storage
and presentation of statistical data.
Principle 3. To facilitate a correct
interpretation of the data, the statistical agencies are to present information
according to scientific standards on the sources, methods and procedures of the
statistics.
Principle 4. The statistical agencies
are entitled to comment on erroneous interpretation and misuse of statistics.
Principle 5. Data for statistical purposes
may be drawn from all types of sources, be they statistical surveys or
administrative records. Statistical agencies are to choose the source with
regard to quality, timeliness, costs and the burden on respondents.
Principle 6. Individual data collected by
statistical agencies for statistical compilation, whether they refer to natural
or legal persons, are to be strictly confidential and used exclusively for
statistical purposes.
Principle 7. The laws, regulations and
measures under which the statistical systems operate are to be made public.
Principle 8. Coordination among statistical agencies within
countries is essential to achieve consistency and efficiency in the statistical
system.
Principle 9. The use by statistical agencies
in each country of international concepts, classifications and methods promotes
the consistency and efficiency of statistical systems at all official levels.
Principle 10. Bilateral and
multilateral cooperation in statistics contributes to the improvement of
systems of official statistics in all countries.
-------------
Annexure 7
– List of key statistical activities
considered under ISSP
|
Sl.No. |
Key Statistical Activity |
|
1 |
State Domestic Product
Estimates |
|
2 |
Estimate of Capital
Formation and Savings |
|
3 |
Estimates of District
Domestic Product |
|
4 |
Estimates of the Contribution
of Local Bodies |
|
5 |
Data on Major Fiscal Variables |
|
6 |
Annual Survey of Industries |
|
7 |
Index of Industrial
Production |
|
8 |
Crop Area and Production Statistics |
|
9 |
Wholesale Price Index |
|
10 |
Consumer Price Index |
|
11 |
Health, Morbidity, Mortality
and Family Welfare Statistics |
|
12 12.A 12.B |
Education and Literacy
Statistics Statistics on Educational Institutions School Enrolment Data |
|
13 13.A 13.B |
Labour and Employment Statistics Labour Statistics Employment Statistics |
|
14. |
Housing Statistics |
|
15. |
Birth and Death Registration
Statistics and Population |
|
16 |
Electricity Production and Distribution
Statistics |
|
17 17.A 17.B |
Environment and Forestry Statistics Forestry Statistics Water Supply and Sanitation
Statistics |
|
18 |
Participation in Surveys of
the National Sample Survey Organization. |
|
19 19.A 19.B 19.C 19.D |
Transport Statistics Motor Vehicle Registration Statistics Road Statistics Traffic Accident Statistics Passenger Traffic Statistics |
|
20 |
Statistics for Local Area Planning. |