United Nations Statistical Commission

Overview

Timely, quality, disaggregated data is vital to the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through supporting effective monitoring and decision-making. However, while some progress has been made in recent years to increase the availability of internationally comparable data for SDG monitoring, significant challenges remain. For four of the seventeen Goals, less than half of the countries have internationally comparable data. What's more, even countries with available data may often only be able to produce estimates very infrequently and with substantial time lags, preventing policymakers from accurately monitoring progress and identifying trends. To help address these problems, the Data For Now (D4N) initiative was launched by UN Deputy-Secretary General Amina Mohammed on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, in September 2019, with a set of eight trailblazer countries worldwide.

Despite continuing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, implementation efforts have begun in the eight pilot countries, and progress remains steady. This year, the partners plan to deepen their efforts in the pilot countries as well as expand efforts to additional countries. The partners will continue to place a strong focus during the initial stages on engaging decision-makers in the prioritization of indicators, bringing in key stakeholders and partners from across sectors, and assessing the potential innovative approaches that can help improve the availability of the prioritized indicators by NSOs. Examples of some of the recent work will be presented during this event, showcasing the variety of topics covered and partners involved in the initiative. The four core partners spearheading D4N - the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), The Sustainable Development Solutions Network's Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics (SDSN TReNDS), the World Bank (WB), and the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) - will jointly moderate and engage in the event.

Objectives:

This side event, jointly organized by GPSDD, SDSN TReNDS, WB, and UNSD, aims to provide an update on the D4N initiative and highlight recent country experiences of innovative partnerships and solutions built as part of D4N. More concretely, the event will:

• Provide an update of work and showcase innovative results and learning from countries.
• Highlight some of the noteworthy partnerships formed as part of the initiative
• Present upcoming plans, including expansion to involve more countries and partners as well as efforts to make materials more widely available

Moderator:

1. Ms. Francesca Perucci, Assitant Director, UN Statistics Division (UNSD)

Introductory Remarks and Update on Progress  (5 min)

• Mr. Grant Cameron, Director, Sustainable Development Solutions Network's Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics (SDSN TReNDS)



Using social media data to complement information on SDG 16 indicators in Colombia  (10 min)

• Ms. Julieth Solano, Technical Director of The Regulation Division, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE)
• Mr. Vahan Martirosyan, UNDP's SDG Innovation lab, Armenia



Engaging with National Statistical System to build COVID-19 hub in Senegal  (10 min)

• Ms Madon Awissi Sall, Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (ANSD)
• Mr. Cheikh Faye, Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rurale (IPAR)



Panel discussion  (30 - 35 min)

Moderated by Dr. Claire Melamed, Chief Executive Officer, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD)
• Mr. Biratu Yigezu, Central Statistical Agency, Ethiopia
• Mr. Omar Seidu, General Statistical Service, Ghana
• Ms. Janne Utkilen, Statistics Norway
• Dr. Charles Kimpolo, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)
• Ms. Rachael Beaven, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)



Q&A  (10 - 15 min)

Closing  (5 min)

• Ms. Haishan Fu / Mr. Keith Garrett, World Bank

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Concept note