Assessment and Prioritisation of user needs: Challenges

1. Assessment and Prioritisation of user needs: Challenges Workshop on Review of the Implementation of the Reference Regional Strategy Framework for Statistical Capacity Building in Africa Kigali, Rwanda, 18th – 21st October 2011 By Said Aboud National Bureau of Statistics Tanzania

2. Outline • Calendar of events to be prepared and shared • Website for users to give their comments and requests • Stake holders meeting • Dialogue • Evaluation • Dissemination • Recommendations

3. Calendar of events to be prepared and shared • A daft calendar of census and surveys should be prepared and shared to the stakeholders for comments it should be at least a 3-year calendar • Stakeholders should be reminded before the planning stage of any census or survey

4. Website for users to give their comments and requests • Draft Questionnaires should be posted to the web for users to comment • Time frame of the survey and census to be undertaken need to be known. It should include dates for the stakeholders meetings • Publications should be posted to the web

5. Stakeholders meeting • They need to be invited, they should be Government Ministries on the subject matter, NGOs, Higher learning institutions, Civil Society, Religious organisations, Development Partners, UN Organisations, Business Community etc. • Subject matter specialist should explain the indicators briefly for comments. Stakeholders who already contributed need to be acknowledged.

6. Stakeholders meeting cont’d • Stakeholders meeting are normally attended by those who are near the headquarters. Those from regions if invited are selective to avoid paying DSA and transport costs. • Some stakeholders find difficult to understand the questionnaires. Ample time is required to explain.

7. Stakeholders meeting cont’d • The sample design should be explained very briefly to avoid indicators which will not give good estimates. • Subject matter specialist should be ready to tell where some of the information required by the stakeholders can be obtained instead of including everything in the survey or census

8. Dialogue • Some stakeholders are too demanding. They will be required to have special discussion privately. • Some stakeholders who we know are important but do not have a behaviour of responding or attend the meetings. Special appointments to be made to follow them. In most cases they are the first to criticise during dissemination.

9. Evaluation • To be undertaken after every end of data collection. Enumerators and supervisors should be represented. This will help to modify questions and some respondents are among our users who may happen to give comments during interview. All these need to be documented for future use.

10. Dissemination • Preliminary reports need to be prepared and disseminated. This will help to include some cross tabs required by stakeholders during analysis.

11. Recommendations • Ample time need to be allocated during planning instead of rushing • Stick to the time frame • Wide dissemination of the results in form of publications and soft copies • They need to be posted to the web • Raw data should be given to stakeholders on request without bureaucracy.

12. Thank You Asanteni