Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

1. Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia Seng Soeurn Deputy Director General National Institute of Statistics Ministry of Planning Cambodia

2. Presentation Outline • Cambodian National Statistical System (NSS) • Role of the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) • Role of other Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) statistics units • Statistics Law and regulations • Strategic planning framework • Cambodian Statistics Master Plan • Lessons learnt Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

3. Characteristics of Cambodia’s NSS • Cambodia’s NSS is highly decentralized compared to other countries • In organization - NIS central, provincial, and district offices, plus RGC statistics units in line ministries and agencies • In producing official statistics - NIS statistics are basic, cross-sector and national, while RGC statistics units produce sector statistics and partial indicators • Given this high degree of fragmentation, having an effective and integrated strategic framework is vital for official statistics. As a result the NIS, in consultation with with all key stakeholders, developed the following: • Statistics Law and supporting statistical regulations (sub-decrees) • Strategic statistical planning framework and related planning documents Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

4. Statistics Law: Role of the NIS • Under the Statistics Law the NIS is responsible for: • Collecting, processing, compiling, analyzing, publishing and disseminating basic data by conducting censuses and surveys, and utilizing administrative data sources (i.e all censuses and large sample surveys are to be conducted by NIS). • Compiling national accounts and price indexes, as well as economic, environment and socio-demographic indicators. • Disseminating all “basic statistics”, i.e. official economic, environment and socio-demographic statistics, that are cross sector in nature, national and sub-national, required for policy and program formulation and evaluation, as well as for use by the wider community. Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

5. Role of NIS (continued) • Official statistical policies in establishing an integrated National Statistical System. • Coordination in activities of statistical development, including training, with RGC ministries and institutions and the private sector. • Cooperative arrangements in statistical activities with international organizations, other national statistical offices and other private institutions. • National statistical standards (classifications, concepts, definitions and statistical units). Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

6. Role of RGC statistics units • Ministries and institutions (i.e. RGC statistics units) shall collect sector data either independently or in cooperation with the NIS by: • Conducting sector specific sample surveys. • Collection of statistical data on administrative records. • Disseminating these “sector statistics”. Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

7. Statistics Advisory Council (SAC) • The SAC is the peak user advisory body. The functions of the Council are to advise the RGC through the Minister of Planning, and the Director-General of NIS, in relation to: • Identifying statistical priorities and requirements to be addressed by the Institute and government statistics units producing designated official statistics; • Financing and staffing requirements and sources; and • Improvement, extension and co‑ordination of the National Statistical System and designated official statistics provided for public purposes in Cambodia. Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

8. Statistics Coordination Committee (SCC) • The SCC is the main coordination body. The functions of the Committee are to assist the NIS, as the official statistical policy-making body, in relation to: • the establishment of an integrated NSS for Cambodia through effective coordination and cooperation on statistical activities and development between government statistics units, including the Institute, responsible for producing and disseminating official statistics; and • Evaluating and monitoring progress on statistics capacity development, and relevance and quality of official statistics production and dissemination. Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

9. Statistics Law and statistics regulations (continued) • The Statistics Law is closely based on the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, with the exception of budgetary independence of the NIS. • In addition to setting out the role of the NIS, other RGC statistical units, SAC and SCC; the Law includes a number of provisions relating to collection, compilation, dissemination, confidentiality, rights and obligations, and penalties. • The articles (provisions) in the Law are further elaborated on in the statistical regulations (i.e. two Prime Ministerial sub-decrees). • In addition to the long-term strategic planning and organizational parameters set out in the statistics legislation, the NIS has led the development of an integrated strategic planning framework for Cambodia’s official statistics. Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

10. Strategic statistical planning framework • The NIS strategic planning and monitoring framework was developed in January 2002, and intended to cover the NIS and all other RGC official statistics units. The framework was closely modeled on the IMF General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) framework adopted by Cambodia in December 2001. • The framework envisaged the development and implementation of: • A vision-based Strategic Plan • A detailed five-year NIS forward work program • A coordinated five-year NSS forward work program • Regular monitoring and reporting of implementation of work programs Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

11. NIS Strategic Plan • The NIS Strategic Plan 2002-2006 was developed and released in May 2002, articulating: • A vision of an integrated Cambodian statistical system based on statistical relevance, integrity, accessibility, professionalism and trust. • The mission of the NIS to “coordinate, collect, compile, analyze and disseminate high quality and objective official statistics to assist informed decision-making, debate and discussion within the Royal Government, provincial and commune governments, businesses and the media, as well as the wider Cambodian and international user community.” Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

12. NIS Strategic Plan (continued) • The Plan sets out seven key objectives: • A coordinated and improved NSS • NIS statistical service that is timely, relevant, responsive and respected for its integrity and quality • Informed and increased use of official statistics • NIS as an active participant in international and regional statistical activities • NIS as an institution that encourages learning, innovation, and high performance in all its statistical activities • Trust and cooperation of NIS data providers • Strong recognition and support for the NIS amongst decision makers and the community Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

13. NIS Forward Work Program • The NIS released a 5-year forward work program (FWP) in July 2002 for 2003 to 2007. • The FWP sets out detailed statistical activities and development objectives by department and core data items and indicators. • The FWP also includes the frequency, timeliness and resource requirements for each activity. • Progress in implementing the department work programs is monitored and reported to the monthly MOP/NIS senior management meeting. Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

14. Cambodian Statistics Master Plan • The objective of developing an integrated five-year NSS forward work program was superceded by the adoption of the Paris 21 Statistics Master Plan (SMP) concept by the NIS in June 2003. • The development was delayed due to resource constraints until 2005, when the World Bank provided funding. • The SMP for Cambodia was developed by the NIS in consultation with all key stakeholders, with technical support from the IMF and World Bank. • The final version of the SMP was released in September 2005. Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

15. Cambodian SMP 2005 • Sets out the vision of the Cambodian NSS and official statistics in 2015; • Long-term development plans to develop statistics infrastructure and staff; • Sets priorities for various statistics and related activities; • Timing of censuses and major surveys (e.g. Population Census 2008); • Associated financing and staffing requirements; Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

16. Cambodian SMP 2005(Continued) • Sources of funding and financing gaps; • Statistics capacity gaps and future requirements; • Linked to RGC strategies and programs (i.e. Rectangular Strategy; National Strategic Development Plan 2006-2010; CMD Goals; Public Financial Management reforms; and Governance Action Plan; • Balances priorities between economic and socio-demographic statistics; and • Articulates monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, such as the Statistics Advisory Council and the Statistics Coordination Committee. Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

17. Other evaluation and monitoring mechanisms • In addition to the SAC and SCC, that perform the evaluation and monitoring function at the national level, NIS statistics activities and development is monitored through: • Monthly MOP/NIS Management meeting; • Weekly NIS Senior Management meetings; and • Regular statistics program implementation monitoring meetings with the relevant financing partners (e.g. JICA, SIDA, UNDP, UNFPA) Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

18. Lessons learnt – the benefits • The use of strategic statistical planning has had a number of benefits, including: • More comprehensive and coherent coverage of the NSS • A platform for long-term sustainable statistical development • Greater awareness of data users’ needs, with work plans being more demand-focused and user-friendly • Improved dialogue and data coordination between statistical units • Work plans are more closely aligned with legislation and regulations, as well as with cultural and institutional aspects • Greater ownership of official statistics development by stakeholders • Closer alignment with fundamental principles and international good practice Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

19. Lesson learnt – the challenges • However, a number of challenges and constraints remain: • A shortage of influential champions in government to mobilize greater budget and development partner funding for official statistics (i.e. insufficient political support and commitment where it counts) • SSP is yet to be effectively integrated into national planning processes, especially budget processes • Still somewhat low acceptance of official statistics as a public good • Still need to see much greater commitment, partnership and consensus amongst government decision-makers and international development partners, i.e. the need to address significant financing gaps and the balance between economic statistics and MDG related statistics (heavily skewed by development partners for MDG) • The pace of statistical development continues to be constrained by the limited availability of suitably skilled statistics staff Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia

20. Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to recognize that strategic statistics planning needs to be complemented by: • effective and enforced Statistics Law and regulations; • effective user consultation and data coordination; • appropriate government and development partner financial support for official statistics; and • core staff capacity to implement the SMP. Thank you for your kind attention Strategic Statistical Planning in Cambodia