National Minimum Development Indicators: A Key to Sustainable Development in the Pacific

1. REGIONAL MEETING OF HEADS OF STATISTICS AND PLANNINGStatistics 2020 – Developing sustainable national and regional statistical capacities12 – 16 July 2010, Noumea, New Caledonia Session 4.5 Addressing key national and regional policy concerns Information Paper 10 National Minimum Development Indicator Database Gerald Haberkorn Manager Statistics and Demography Programme

2. Purpose • Information on work-in-progress • Pacific Plan Mandate • Harmonized systems, definitions, statistics • Upgrade and extend national and regional information systems and databases across all sectors • Working title of project: National Minimum Development Indicators

3. Expected Output • Minimum number of indicators, that give maximum traction to tell a story. • Emphasis on: • accurate rate and comprehensive snap-shot of the state of development, or the “health” of specific sectors in each country. • looking at indicators, and at as few of them as possible, that would provide a credible picture of • the performance of national economies in the region as compared to the ‘economic-wellbeing of its citizen, • tell us how agriculture is faring across the Pacific, • provide insights into the health of Pacific island people, • allow for an assessment of “community well-being”.

4. Expected Output Requirements to make the cut - ensure maximum user-relevance • indicators had to have a clear purpose, • selection justified (links to national development plans, regional/international policy and reporting frameworks. • Provide comparable information to regional Heads of Government.

5. Development Process Stage 1: • close consultation stretching some 12 months with SPC sector specialists across all themes. (Note: challenging exercise to many having to define, justify, prioritize. Stage 2 and 3: • involvement of member countries and technical and financial partners to ensure, proposed list meets most (not all) information requirements. • Objective: minimum number of indicators that give maximum traction to tell a story (not meant to address M&E Framework for each country and agency)

6. Progress to date • Stage 1: work completed on first comprehensive draft • Stages 2/3: NMDI data list to be sent to countries and partners in parallel next week (Process: formal mail-out by SPC Director-General) • Pre-view for you today (Information Paper 10).

7. NMDI Summary Cross-cutting themes • Population and Development (26) • Gender (12) • Cultural Practice (11) • Youth (7) Sectoral themes • Health (47) • Agriculture and Forestry (12) • Fisheries and Aquaculture (9) • ICT (8) • Energy (5) • Maritime (4)

8. NMDI – Population and Development

9. NMDI – Agriculture and Forestry

10. NMDI – Health

11. Associated Developments Upcoming developments • development of a consolidated system of primary data capture that provides the input data to calculate these various development indicators. • Serious attempt over coming 3 years in upgrading key administrative bases in key sectors (in line with benchmarking study, PRSIP, common sense) Develop development indicator tracking survey prototype • collaboration between SPC/World Bank – IHSN • Objective: give countries who need it (no administrative databases) inexpensive alternative to DHS/HIES to generate key indicators to track/monitor development progress

12. Discussion points Conference is invited to comment on: • SDP activity/progress report on developing Minimum National Development Indicators data list in response to Pacific Leaders mandate for a harmonized approach to upgrade and extend country and regional statistical information systems and data bases across all sectors; • NSO capacity to coordinate regular national update of this regional priority indicator list; • likely challenges faced by NSOs in undertaking this task, and proposed mitigation measures;