Description: At this meeting, statisticians from Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (South Kivu), Nigeria, and Norway shared overall impressions and key results from cognitive testing of the draft questionnaire in their respective national contexts and national languages. Further test results from the Slovak Republic and Cabo Verde are expected by the end of 2023. The key focus for 2024 will be on field-testing (piloting) the revised questionnaire on larger samples (100-300 respondents). To save on costs, this can be done as part of an ongoing survey, to which the NSO can attach a short (“core”) module on the topic. NSOs from all regions and all development contexts were invited to take part in this critical step towards the finalization of the questionnaire.
Description: 2023 is a watershed moment for governance statistics. In March 2023, the UN Statistical Commission endorsed an updated Classification of Statistical Activities (CSA 2.0) which includes Governance as a new domain of official statistics. In the wake of such a momentous advance for the field of governance statistics, the role to be played by the Praia Group in the coming years needs to be carefully considered. On the 3rd of October, the Praia Group held its 2023 Members’ Meeting to update members on the progress made since 2021 in implementing the Praia Group’s Plan of Work, and to seek feedback from members on this work and suggestions on priority areas for the Praia Group in the remaining two years before the end of its second term (2021-25). To kick off the meeting, national statistical offices (NSOs) from Ghana, Mexico and a Regional Statistical Centre (GCC-Stat) for Arab Countries of the Gulf reflected on what it means, in practical terms, NSOs to now be able to draw on a revised Classification where governance statistics sit on par with economic, demographic and social statistics. This was followed by a progress update on path-breaking methodological work being carried out to help develop internationally recognized methodologies and standards on two dimensions of governance that lack such standards, namely Participation in Political and Public Affairs (Task Team chaired by Statistics Norway) and Non-Discrimination & Equality (Task Team co-chaired INEI Peru and Statistics Finland). The Praia Group on Governance Statistics held its 2023 Membership Meeting with the aim to achieve three main objectives: To discuss what it means, in practical terms, for NSOs and development partners to now be able to draw on an updated CSA 2.0 that explicitly refers to Governance as a standalone domain of official statistics. In a Round Table titled “Leveraging the CSA 2.0 for Governance Statistics: Where do we go from here?”, selected representatives of NSOs and development partners shared experiences and recommendations for the revised CSA to deliver on its promise to lead to a marked increase in governance statistical production worldwide e (also captured in this Brief: Governance Now A Domain the CSA 2.0: What’s Next for Governance Statistics?); To update members on the progress made since 2021 in implementing the Group’s Plan of Work for the period 2020-25, with a particular focus on ‘Pillar 1 – Methodological Work’ and the achievements of the two Task Teams on Participation and Discrimination; and To seek feedback from members on this work and suggestions on priority areas of work for the Praia Group in the remaining two years before the end of its second term.
Description: The UNSD Global Geospatial Information Management Section (GGIMS) was asked by UN-GGIM Americas, Caribbean Geospatial Development Initiative (CARIGEO) to coordinate and deliver a webinar on fostering effective participation at UN-GGIM meetings, on 17 July 2023 in advance of the thirteenth session of the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM). The UNSD in collaboration with the UN-GGIM Americas Regional Committee, ECLAC and the Dag Hammarskjöld Library staged the webinar to an audience of over 35 participants from the Americas. The objective of the webinar was to raise awareness on the formality of participating in United Nations meetings and to strengthen the advocacy skills of geospatial experts to effectively represent and communicate their national positions and requirements specifically at UN-GGIM regional and global meetings. The webinar was moderated by the Vocal for North America, Gabriela Garcia Seco from INEGI, Mexico. Welcome remarks were delivered from the President of the UN-GGIM Americas Regional Committee, Ms. Sofía Alejandra Nilo Crisóstomo from Chile and Vocal for the Caribbean, Ms. Simone Lloyd from Jamaica. This was followed by testimonials on the benefits of participating in the regional and global inter-governmental processes, particularly on global geospatial information management, from Ms. Michelle St. Clair of Barbados and Ms. Artie Dubrie from ECLAC, Trinidad and Tobago. Ms. Ariel Lebowitz, Librarian at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library gave an overview on the UN, its main organs, the UN library resources delegates need to know, and how to access them. The main presentation on preparing for and participating in the annual session of the Committee of Experts delivered by GGIMS included the role and responsibilities of national representatives to the Committee of Experts, guidelines on preparing and delivering statements and interventions and the preparation of decisions and resolutions. This was followed by a panel discussion on what happens in countries in preparation for the session and actions post the session. The panelists were Ms. Pilar Garcia from Mexico and Mr. Paul Riley from the United States. The panel discussion was followed by an open discussion which was moderated by Ms. Valrie Grant of the UN-GGIM Private Sector. This webinar was an intervention that sought to strengthen the participation and engagement of Caribbean Member States and their technical representatives at UN-GGIM sessions at the regional and global levels. The presentations and recordings will be made available on the UN-GGIM Americas website.
Description: At this meeting, methodology experts from Statistics Norway presented the findings from their expert appraisal of the draft questionnaire as well as some recommendations on how to address the weaknesses identified. Members were invited to join a small working group who will be meeting at least once a week in the next 3 weeks to revise the questionnaire based on the expert appraisal findings. We also discussed two methods – namely, standardized protocol-based verbal probing and semi-structured qualitative interviews – that NSOs could apply to help test the questionnaire across different electoral systems and diverse socio-cultural contexts. We also presented the support available to NSOs interested in testing the questionnaire in their national setting, including virtual training sessions and on-demand support from the core team.
Description: The Regional Forum is co-organized by Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia), World Vision International (WVI), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) in preparation for the 2nd Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific from 16 to 19 November 2021. It will serve as a platform for Civil Society Organizations involved in CRVS in Asia and the Pacific to share their knowledge and experiences ahead of the Conference. It will take place online on 20 October, from 13:00 to 15:00 hours, Bangkok time. More information can be found here.
