Description: Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) is a classification defined by the United Nations Statistics Division and adapted to the IMF government finance statistics (GFS) reporting framework. COFOG enables trends in government expenditure by function (e.g., defense or education) or policy purposes to be examined over time. The value of this is that expenditure by functions of government of different countries can be compared. Participants will gain an understanding of how the ten functions of government as described in the GFSM 2014 are classified, how to categorize expenditure data to generate a functional split will be explained and how it should reconcile with the economic classification of expenditure data used in the GFS. Participants should feel comfortable to present and discuss relevant data of their own country. Practical exercises with participants working in random groups will feature throughout the course enabling them to be able to appropriately categorize expenditure data to the correct functional categories.
Description: The third CR8 meeting was jointly organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (UNICEF-ROSA), and hosted by the Office of the Registrar General, Local Government Division, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, from 6 to 8 June 2023 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The meeting brought together civil registrars in South Asia to discuss priority areas of common concern. The meeting was convened to review progress against the 2015-24 CRVS Decade and take stock of efforts to date to strengthen CRVS in South Asia, highlight the successes, good practices and lessons learned, and identify promising and effective initiatives and investments that need to be prioritized and/or resourced to scale up initiatives in the region. It also offered the opportunity to review the impact of COVID-19 on targets and identify areas for accelerated action. In particular, the meeting focused on: 1. Stocktaking of efforts, interventions, and investments to date to strengthen CRVS in South Asia, including regional and country-led initiatives and action plans. 2. Review of available data on birth, death and causes of death registration in South Asia, and the evidence base for effective programming, key research findings, gaps and priorities. 3. Identification of promising and innovative practices, success stories and lessons learned, as well as remaining gaps, challenges and unintended consequences of programming and policy level interventions. 4. Revisiting achievements in implementing the 2015-24 Asia Pacific CRVS Decade including the Regional Action Framework in South Asia and commitments in the Ministerial Declaration (2021) identifying priorities for future actions to align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The meeting included group discussions on links to identity management and digitalization as well as update on the upcoming 2024 review of the CRVS Decade. Participants also benefited from a site visit to Bhakurta Union Pasishad, Savar, Dhaka to better understand the sub-district-level civil registration process at the local civil registration office and health clinic. Resources for the fourth CR8 meeting can be found here. MP4 files: Maldives presentation CR8 Nepal Birth Registration Video ESCAP_Nicola with video_CR8_Service linkages
Description: This course, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, is intended to broaden participants’ understanding of the theory and practice of compiling CPIs, PPIs, and XMPIs. It covers the index number theory and its practical implications in terms of the choice of the index number formula at lower and higher levels of aggregation. The course also covers methods for sampling and collecting data from retail outlets and enterprises. The role of price indexes as deflators in the 2008 SNA is analyzed, as are related principles of scope, coverage, and valuation. There are sessions on the following topics: methods for handling temporarily and permanently unavailable items; adjusting prices for quality changes, including new products, establishments, and outlets; and chaining and linking indexes with updated weighting structures.The course follows the principles and recommended practices in the CPI (2004), PPI (2004), and XMPI (2009) manuals.
Target Audience: Experienced compilers of consumer price indexes (CPIs), producer price indexes (PPIs), or export-import price indexes (XMPIs).
Description: The value of national SDG data and metadata platforms is greatly increased by the incorporation of open data principles and data interoperability standards. These principles and standards allow users to seamlessly access, integrate, analyze and use SDG data for decision making. Thus, building on the outcome of the Conference, the United Nations Statistics Division has worked closely with various partners in multiple initiatives to promote and enable the implementation of open data and interoperability for SDG data reporting.
